Özgür Özel's reaction to SSI debts: Melih Gökçek eats, Mansur Yavaş pays

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel paid a visit to Eskişehir. Özel made statements regarding the agenda at the Provincial Headquarters.

While the 'SSI debts' debate continues, Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Vahap Seçer announced that liens had been placed on the municipality's accounts. Özel stated that the pressure regarding SSI debts is a financial coup attempt.

Stating that "there is a financial coup attempt taking place across all of Turkey," here are the highlights from Özel's speech:

'THERE IS A FINANCIAL COUP ATTEMPT'

"When the military coup attempt occurred, I stood firmly against it together with all our deputies. We do not expect anything from coups or coup plotters. That day, the coup attempt was repelled. So what is happening today? Last time they did it in Istanbul, we all went and stood by Mayor Ekrem.

Now it is a financial coup attempt. They sent letters from the SSI to all municipalities. It started in Mersin, and yesterday our Çankaya Mayor in Ankara and many of our other mayors mentioned it. Execution notices are arriving for everyone one by one. My brother, we took over a very large portion of these municipalities from you.

'MELIH GÖKÇEK HAS NEVER PAID A LIRA OF SSI IN HIS LIFE'

If we didn't take them over this time, we took them over last time. It was Melih Gökçek who inflated this debt of Ankara. The man has never paid a lira of SSI in his life. We took it over last time, and it has multiplied with interest and reached this point.

And a habit had developed in the municipalities; over time, since the municipality was in the hands of the AK Party, they would issue amnesties for SSI and tax debts and wipe out the interest. When that happened, all municipalities started to behave this way. The fault here does not lie with the mayors, but with the management style of those who run the country. Now that CHP has taken over the municipalities, they say 'pay it with interest.' Melih Gökçek ate the meal, and Mansur Yavaş should pay the bill. Just as soldiers come and stage a coup and tie your hands, they are going to tie our hands financially. And they will make us unable to provide services, and they will try to gather votes for themselves through this. I am, first of all, complaining about this financial coup attempt to all of Turkey, secondly, I am saying that we will not bow down, and thirdly, we will continue to provide services in the face of this malice."

News Source: 12punto