Imamoglu's message: 'Let those who turn back turn, I will not turn from my path': 'Tyrants will be wiped away'

Detained in the March 19 operation and held in Silivri for 176 days, CHP's presidential candidate and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu addressed the citizens gathered for the 4th Sercesme Hunkar Haci Bektas Veli Festival from his cell. Stating that "walls will not be able to separate us from each other," Imamoglu said, "In the conscience of the people, before history, and in the great judgment, our reckoning with these cruelties will not end. You hold my hand, I am here. Together, together, together, we will carry this beautiful country to bright days... With the voice of Pir Sultan coming from ages past... 'On the day of the great judgment, the court is established / The guilty and the innocent come and are resurrected there / Those who have no guide are known there / Let those who turn back turn, I will not turn from my path...'"

Organized with the contributions of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, the 4th Sercesme Hunkar Haci Bektas Veli Festival began with a ceremony attended by Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Ozgur Ozel, CHP Istanbul Provincial Chairman Ozgur Celik, IMM Deputy Mayor Nuri Aslan, and a large crowd of citizens. At the opening ceremony of the festival, which will be held at the Yenikapi Event Area between September 13-14, speeches were delivered by Ozel, Aslan, Hacibektas Mayor Ali Kaim, and Alevi Culture Associations (AKD) General President Seher Sengunlu Yilmaz, and a letter sent from Silivri by CHP's presidential candidate and IMM Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who was detained in the March 19 operation, was read.

In his letter read by presenter Basak Ikiz, Imamoglu said the following:

“My dear souls, friends, beautiful people of Sercesme, I have been in Silivri for 176 days. I carry the pain of not being among you today like a sting in the deepest part of my soul. From behind four walls, I send my greetings, love, and affection to you, to every heart filling this square, with all my sincerity.

How are you? Are you well? Is your health good? Is there abundance in your home and peace in your heart? I know; life outside is heavy, bread is hard, and hearts are weary. But know that I am here, enduring by thinking of your every day, your every effort, and your every hope. I missed you very much. I am waiting impatiently for the days when we will embrace. This beautiful city, Istanbul, gifted the Sercesme gathering not to me, but to all of us. This festival is the ballad of being human, justice, peace, and equal citizenship. Every day I was in office, I had the honor of sitting at the same table with our cemevis, mosques, churches, and synagogues, and reminding everyone that we are equal people of the same city. I considered entering the doors of our 105 cemevis to ask how they are and supporting them as much as our means allowed not as a municipal task, but as a duty of humanity. Because every belief, every identity, every language, and every color of this city is equal.

"WE DO NOT BOW BEFORE MAN, BUT BEFORE THE TRUTH"

My brothers and sisters; history knows: There have been chains, dungeons, and bans in these lands. But there is another truth: The chain breaks, the path remains. Those who follow the path of the Ahl al-Bayt, those who carry the mourning of Karbala in their hearts, emerged from the dungeon door with the light of hope. We remember the 4th Imam, Zayn al-Abidin; he carried the path of truth in the shadow of oppression. The well of Prophet Yusuf became a station of patience. And the breath of Nesimi is in our ears: 'While He is the generous provider who gives sustenance to all / I do not show gratitude to the ruler of the earth.' This word is on my tongue and in my heart today as well. Because a country where man is not made to be beholden to man is possible. We bow before the truth, not before man. Today, some want to make us memorize the present by making us forget the past. These people, while not forgetting the thousands-year-old case of the righteous and the unrighteous, never think about how they forget and accept so much injustice. To frighten, to divide, to silence... Today, some think that turning the judiciary into a stick, silencing the media, and using public power means shaking a finger. But they forget: Hizir Pashas pass, the path remains. Just as Pir Sultan's voice did not go silent, the breath of Sercesme has not gone silent and will not. That love and affirmation for the truth and justice, which thousands of hearts in this square feel most deeply, will never end.

My dear souls; allow me to speak briefly about the story of Istanbul's Sercesme Gatherings, where I cannot be with you now. When we first thought of this gathering, our intention was this: To give the Alevi-Bektashi wisdom the visibility it deserves in Istanbul's memory, to set the stage for unity rather than division, and to bring the saz, the word, the deyiş, the semah, and the knowledge and wisdom together in the same square. After three, four years, this festival became a value of Istanbul, the most beautiful city in the world, and the conscience of the city. Young people coming from every poor or rich neighborhood of Istanbul, students, families running from distant districts, neighbors standing side by side with dear souls... Every year I saw with the same feeling: This square is more than a cultural event; this square is the common language of the call for justice and brotherhood, the beauty of living together. In our Yenikapis, no bad words were ever spoken to anyone, and no member, identity, or community of the nation was targeted. Sercesme Gatherings have always been a table with human warmth for a future where the country, the nation, and society will understand and know each other better.

"THE FOUNDATION OF THIS CITY AND COUNTRY IS BROTHERHOOD"

Today, Turkey is trying to breathe in a climate of severe injustice. Women are resisting inequality, violence, and mobbing in every area of life. Young people are objecting to their future being stolen by unemployment and uncertainty. Children are growing up in the shadow of poverty. Laborers are seeking the reward for their sweat. The middle class is being crushed under the burden of the cost of living. With the solidarity networks we established in our cities, we served as if entering through the 'service door' of Hunkar Haci Bektas Veli; without discrimination, without making anyone invisible, and without hurting anyone's dignity. I must say this clearly: Public power cannot be made a favor to one segment and a punishment to another. Public power belongs to the public. We knew this in Istanbul, and we did it this way. At our Faith Desk, we sat at the same table with the imam, the priest, the rabbi, the father, and the dede. Whatever we did, from the maintenance and repair of cemevis to worship facilities, from the needs of places of worship to the protection of cultural heritage, we did it for equal citizenship. Because the foundation of this city and this country is brotherhood.

My brothers and sisters; the dungeon teaches a person two things: Serenity and the value of the word. Here, every day, every hour, I think about this: 'What kind of a country do we want?' My answer is clear: A country where everyone's dignity is protected, the law functions, no one has a stick in their hand, and the scales of justice do not waver. I know that this country is possible. Because the foundation of these lands allows for it. When Hunkar says, 'Do not forget that even your enemy is human,' he showed us the path of non-violent justice. That is why we will not carry hatred on our tongues or stones in our hands. We will hold on to goodness.

I know and feel; some of you are asking, 'So what will we do now?' What we will do is this: With its Sunnis and Alevis, Kurds and Turks, Laz and Circassians, the equal citizens of this country will continue to stand together. We will show that the sole owner of sovereignty is the nation, without fear, without anger, and within the framework of law and democracy. We will do this not by inciting one against the other, but by inviting everyone to the same table.

"RECEIVING THE REWARD FOR ONE'S SWEAT IS A RIGHT"

Youth of Sercesme, I have a few words for you too: I do not spend a single day without thinking about your dreams and the free and just life you will build in our country. We have established a local government that touches the shoulder of every young person preparing for university, looking for a job, pursuing art, or wanting to leave a mark in science. Growing this and protecting your self-confidence is my duty. Because a society with broken self-confidence has no tomorrow. Women; all women who carry the burden of life on their backs and whose labor is tried to be made invisible... My word is to you: I see your struggle for equality in the municipality, in the neighborhood, at work, and at home. We have increased zero tolerance against violence, social support, employment, and nursery networks; we will build more. Because women's equality is the first condition of democracy. Laborers; my brothers and sisters who hit the road at the crack of dawn and return home late at night... Receiving the reward for your sweat is not a favor, it is a right. We have made public transportation, social support, and city services rights-based; we will strengthen them even more.

"TYRANTS WILL BE WIPED AWAY, HUMANITY REMAINS"

Dear friends; even if I am not here today, I say this: Fear wants crowds, courage wants a heart. We have united our hearts. Sercesme is the name of this. These gatherings do not grow the shadow of Hizir Pasha; they make the sun of justice rise. Because we know: Tyrants will be wiped away, humanity remains. Names, positions, and titles change; the path remains. Our path is the path of Haci Bektas, Pir Sultan, and Nesimi. It is the path of serving humanity for truth, justice, peace, and brotherhood. Now I have a request from you: As you return home from this square, hold the hand of the soul next to you. Even if you don't know their name, hold it. Because unity begins with standing side by side first. Think of your neighbor, your neighborhood, your colleague; consider their difference as your wealth. When we are together, we will not allow anyone to pit us against each other with propaganda. And one more promise: Equal citizenship is a duty written not to our desires, but to the Constitution and conscience. The status of place of worship, which has been demanded for cemevis for years, is a demand for the dignity of a society. Every step we take in the municipalities is to increase equality. Today and tomorrow, wherever we are, whether in the dungeon or outside, we will be the followers of this.

My brothers and sisters; the walls of the dungeon are thick, but the human heart knows no walls. Every morning, I hear the voice of Istanbul; in the whistle of the ferry, in the crowd of the bazaar, in the steps of the child walking to school, in the neighbor's window in the cool of the evening... That voice tells me: 'Continue on your path.' And I say: We will continue. With patience, fortitude, reason, and law... Not one day, but every day. You are now in the streets and squares of Istanbul, where I lived with the honor and enthusiasm of serving. You are now at these hours, on the Yenikapi coast, with a sea breeze above you, a light breeze, thousands of souls intertwined, arm in arm, warmly, with your eyes, ears, and hearts fixed, listening to people, souls, and friends who are each more valuable than the other. At these very minutes, you are reading and listening to these lines of mine. In these minutes, I am thinking of you, imagining the image of thousands of my brothers and sisters who have gathered on this beautiful night and turned into fireflies.

"OUR RECKONING WITH THESE CRUELTIES WILL NOT END"

They closed my ventilation 1 hour ago. Now I am inside four walls, with the ventilation closed, cut off from the sun and the sky. I am paying the price for the beautiful days that these lands expect, having been torn away from my family, my children, you my brothers and sisters, and my freedom, in return for the effort, devotion, and love we have given to these lands. While thinking of these, I send you my heartfelt love, heartfelt. Feel this, do not forget. Walls will not be able to separate us from each other. In the conscience of the people, before history, and in the great judgment, our reckoning with these cruelties will not end. You hold my hand, I am here. Together, together, together, we will carry this beautiful country to bright days... With the voice of Pir Sultan coming from ages past... 'On the day of the great judgment, the court is established / The guilty and the innocent come and are resurrected there / Those who have no guide are known there / Let those who turn back turn, I will not turn from my path / I am Pir Sultan, our fame rises to the heavens / He is also our elder, our guide / May our strange soul be surrendered to the Truth / Let those who turn back turn, I will not turn from my path.' I embrace you all with longing and affection. Together, we will continue to walk on the path of justice, peace, and brotherhood. Hope is here, hope is in your beautiful hearts. Thank you, long live...”

News Source: 12punto