Özgür Özel's 'I have a grudge' outburst: We forgive what was done to Özgür Çelik, but we will not forgive those who oppress the nation and wear down the youth

The CHP began the week with a police blockade in front of its Istanbul Provincial Presidency building. Gürsel Tekin, who was appointed as a trustee to the Istanbul Provincial Presidency, entered the Provincial Presidency building accompanied by his delegation and the police.

The Provincial Presidency building, where tensions rose following police intervention, was declared the new office of CHP Chairman Özgür Özel. The Bahçelievler District Presidency was declared the new Istanbul Provincial Presidency building.

While judicial pressure continues, the CHP continues to meet with citizens as part of the "The Nation Protects Its Will" rallies.

ÖZGÜR ÖZEL: THERE ARE CURRENTLY 125 THOUSAND PROTESTERS IN KADIKÖY

Greeting the citizens in Kadıköy with the music "Sabahın bir sahibi var" (The morning has an owner), CHP Chairman Özgür Özel stated that the most crowded rally of recent years was taking place. Özel said, "According to the information given to us, there are currently 125 thousand protesters in Kadıköy." Özel stated, "This square is currently the square where all democrats stand shoulder to shoulder to secure democracy." Özel's speech was interrupted by chants of "Shoulder to shoulder against fascism."

The following statements stood out in Özel's speech:

"I would like to thank Kadıköy Mayor Mesut Kösedağı and the symbol of the resistance, my president Özgür Çelik, for this rally.

They attempted to appoint a trustee to our Istanbul Provincial Presidency under the coordination of a judge with an AKP record and the chief villain. This is Kadıköy, we know each other. We will win.

Nazım Hikmet, who was from Kadıköy via the Balkans, calls out as follows;

'Oh son of Hikmet, son of Hikmet!

If you were the water of the Danube,

If you came from the Black Forest,

If you poured into the Black Sea,

If you turned blue, turned blue, turned blue..

If you passed through the Bosphorus,

With the air of Istanbul on your head,

If you struck the Kadıköy pier,

If you struck, if you struggled'

"SALARIES ARE BELOW THE HUNGER THRESHOLD THE DAY THEY ARE PAID"

We have a thousand-year-old state tradition. This government has closed the door of the state to the nation. They see the peace of a handful of people as more important than the peace of all of us. The poor are excluded from everywhere, and everything is risked so that one person's rule can continue.

We will not allow that rule to continue at the expense of the hopelessness of the youth, at the expense of little children starting life so far behind that they cannot close the gap, for the sake of all the democrats who support us.

We will never surrender to it. I ask all over this country, does Erdoğan love you? (No) Why doesn't he love you? (Because we are poor) There is a management mentality that does not love the poor.

Today in Turkey, official figures call those below 88 thousand liras 'poor'. Especially the government, which has devastated the minimum wage earner and the retiree, has destroyed the middle class. Salaries are below the hunger threshold the day they are paid. We see the value of the professional organizations here. We say this clearly: as long as all the oppressed and all those who object are in the squares, we will succeed.

"I HAVE A GRUDGE NOW!"

Last year, they said 7.9 percent for 2026 inflation. Today they say inflation will be 16 percent in 2026. There is no such deviation anywhere in the world. But what happened? How did it change? A coup happened. The whole world saw that no document issued by the Republic of Turkey has any value. Those who don't know the name of Turkey know the name of Istanbul. They say, 'Where the diploma of the person who came with a 1 million vote difference is cancelled, how can I trust a stock certificate, how can I trust the title deed of the house I bought?' I have a grudge now against those who send people to collect bruised fruits and vegetables at the market, and those who ruin tradesmen by making them flip their credit cards and go bankrupt. We will forgive what was done to Özgür Çelik and what was done to Özgür Özel. But we will not forgive those who oppress the nation and wear down the youth!

"IF ALEPPO IS THERE, THE YARDSTICK IS HERE"

You are in a state where you cannot go out on the street. We are breaking a record in every action, just like here. If you trust yourself and have the courage, if Aleppo is there, the yardstick is here. Bring the ballot box, don't run away; let the nation make its decision.

Multi-party politics in Turkey is in danger. Some artists take risks and speak out. Some unions are resisting, but there are those who have surrendered. We call out to those who do not realize the issue before their turn comes. Do not be silent, as you remain silent, your turn will come! Let no one have the ambition to be saved alone in this dark order. Young people cannot be saved before the police, and guards cannot be saved before the young people.

The DİSK Chairman is among us. Greetings to the entire organized Turkish working class. The DEM Party will visit our former provincial presidency that was attacked tomorrow. If we were in Ankara, the Zafer Party would have come. As Saraçhane taught us, now is the time to fight shoulder to shoulder from the far right to the far left."

ÖZGÜR ÖZEL WROTE THE FOREWORD, EKREM İMAMOĞLU THE AFTERWORD: ENTRUSTED TO THE NATION!

They have been slandering our friends for 175 days. We are waiting for them to write. We are waiting for those indictments for cases that we, not them, will judge. If you have the courage, write it. They took the young people and arrested them. Sir, what is it, they took them for opposing 2911. The sentence has no prison time. But just to tell their parents 'Take care of your child'. Just to intimidate their friends. We didn't leave them alone for a single day. Now let's do something for the youth all together. They are cutting off the scholarships of the youth. They are kicking them out of dormitories. There is a book for all the victims of March 19, for which I wrote the foreword and President Ekrem wrote the afterword, but which you wrote in the squares. Its name is 'Entrusted to the Nation'! Yavuz Oğhan compiled the text. We will also protect this book for the young people who were victimized during this coup process. We invite everyone who values my word to protect our youth through this book, not from wealthy segments."

"WE WILL BURY THE CONSPIRATORS, AND WE WILL BURY THEIR COLLABORATORS!"

The essence of the matter is this; what is the attack on the Istanbul Provincial Presidency this week? There is a 'Grey Taurus' gang within the judiciary. They have established an IMM Stock Exchange. Against this cruelty, those who threatened our lives in prison attacked our home. The Republican People's Party is not a majesty's opposition party, and it will not be! They want to create a rift in the CHP with the manipulation of the Grey Taurus gang. There was competition half-and-half in the congress where President Özgür was elected. After the attack on the party today, all the delegates ran to the notary and supported President Özgür. We have 1,300 delegates in Turkey. We made a call when they wanted to appoint a trustee to the party. They gave me all the valid votes.

Last week, delegate friends whose signatures could convene a congress within 1.5 days requested a congress. Those who want to pit us against each other and think 'We will crack the CHP, we will continue the Palace order' are fooling themselves. On one hand, they gave the names of 30 people we removed from the party as if they were CHP members to the Istanbul Police. There are also those who defraud the poor by saying 'I will get you a job'. We have solved how this evil was prepared step by step, the Palace's conspiracy. We will bury the conspirators, and we will bury their collaborators!

Do not mention their names and give them an importance they do not deserve. One of them came to our provincial presidency in Bahçelievler from Kayseri with a kilo of tea and sugar to show solidarity. These are what keep us standing. We did not place the September 9 wreath with 5 thousand police, we placed it with 7 thousand people with Özgür Çelik on September 9. Bless those who filled the square with a single tweet so that Özgür Özel and Özgür Çelik would not be left alone, because each of them knew that Taksim Square is the nation's square. We will take that square back.

You are the ones hoping for the streets to be in turmoil. But this crowd has neither the state to be afraid of you nor the state to fall for your game. We see those who come to the street when necessary. We trust the street against these coup plotters, but we never engage in violence. They cannot draw us into violence, but they cannot send us home either.

President Ekrem has a serious crime. His crime is defeating Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He didn't learn his lesson, he will commit the same crime again. That's why President Ekrem is inside, he has no other crime. President Özgür has a crime, he did not bow to Erdoğan, he will not bow. I sent this poem to President Ekrem:

'wait, wheat grain under the snow

you will green again with its waters

your tears are no remedy, don't cry, grow

if you can keep your head high, you will sprout

fear is of no use to one who has set out on the path once

you are in a love, you will live

what does it matter if insects surround you on all four sides

cling tightly to the soil, you will succeed

all around you, red and purple

roses bloom in various ways

this storm was evident from yesterday

you will cope!'

"THE CHP THAT DID NOT GIVE UP MUSA IN KANAPİÇE"

I am proud of you. I am a child who grew up with a boarding scholarship. You can scare and intimidate that Özgür, but you cannot make CHP Chairman Özgür bow. They say 'Leave Ekrem, look at your own path.' They put a soldier in the Kanapiçe bay. Soldier Musa warned the British boat. They belittled him, but he did his duty. He didn't let them set foot. England gave a note to Turkey. Then, under our observation, they said judge and hang Musa. Gazi Mustafa Kemal said, 'If we give up Musa, who did this for us, we will have given away the title deed of the country.' That is why the CHP, which did not give up Musa in Kanapiçe, will neither give up Ekrem nor sacrifice a single friend!"

***

Former CHP Chairman Hikmet Çetin was also among those who supported the rally. Çetin greeted the citizens gathered in Kadıköy.

ÖZGÜR ÇELİK: THERE ARE A FEW PEOPLE WHO HAVE SURRENDERED TO THE TYRANNICAL GOVERNMENT

CHP İstanbul Provincial President Özgür Çelik spoke about the trustee appointed in his place. Without naming names, Özgür Çelik said, "There is no infighting in the CHP. On one side, there are a few people who have surrendered to the tyrannical government. On the other side, there are those who resist this tyrannical system."

"Istanbul knows us from our protection of the ballot boxes on March 31. Istanbul knows us from increasing the number of municipalities from 14 to 26 with our President Ekrem. Istanbul knows us well. Istanbul knows us from our democracy and freedom resistance that we have been giving arm in arm, shoulder to shoulder for 300 days. What we have done is the guarantee of what we will do. We became Turkey's 1st party. We are marching to power all together.

Dear Istanbulites, let everyone know this well. There is no infighting in the CHP. On one side, there are a few people who have surrendered to the tyrannical government. On the other side, there are those who resist this tyrannical system. The real CHP members are here. Our friends are here. We are one, we are together, we are united. We are marching to power all together. There are those in Turkey who are trying to make the ballot box symbolic. This struggle is the struggle of the nation against a handful of oligarchs. Long live the republic, long live justice, long live a fully independent Turkey!"

***

EKREM İMAMOĞLU'S LETTER WAS READ

Çelik read the letter of the imprisoned Ekrem İmamoğlu. In his letter, İmamoğlu sent the message, "Those who come with elections will go with elections. They will go." The crowd echoed in the field with the slogan "They will go."

İmamoğlu's letter is as follows:

“Together with our elected mayors, bureaucrats, and dozens of colleagues who represent the great will of our nation, we have been deprived of our freedom for months without even knowing what we are accused of. Those who try to show us as a criminal organization by keeping us in dungeons unlawfully continue to usurp the will of the nation. Everyone who is an opponent is experiencing the biggest political operation in Turkish history. This evil mind, which tries to stain our Istanbul provincial congress and our party's congress, which took place in complete transparency, is using the judiciary and our security forces for its political calculations.”

“WE WILL CERTAINLY NOT REMAIN SPECTATORS TO THE ATTEMPT TO HAND OVER OUR ISTANBUL PROVINCIAL PRESIDENCY TO A TRUSTEE BY POLICE FORCE”

“We will certainly not remain spectators to the attempt to hand over our Istanbul Provincial Presidency to a trustee by police force, based on a politically written decision that has no legal legitimacy. We will resist under all conditions, using every opportunity. We will protect the will of our party members and our nation to the end. The Republic of Turkey was founded so that the nation's word would be heard, administrators could not go outside the law, and those who come with elections would go with elections. We will not leave our Republic to a handful of people who think they are the absolute masters of the country and dream of becoming a dynasty. The nation's word will be heard. Administrators will not be able to go outside the law. Those who come with elections will go with elections; THEY-WILL-GO.”

“THEY REALIZED THEY WOULD NEVER WIN AN ELECTION AGAIN”

“The Republican People's Party, which celebrated its 102nd anniversary yesterday and is a legacy from Atatürk, is the party of those who wholeheartedly believe in the ideals of equality, justice, and freedom that the republic has placed before us. We do not recognize any political power above the will of the nation. Just as the will that founded the Republic could not be captured 100 years ago, it will not be captured today either. Those who mobilize all the power and means of the state to protect their own seats have clearly revealed their intentions. They realized they would never win an election again. That is why they are trying to come to power again not through free and fair elections, but through the judiciary and law enforcement.”

CALL TO ALL POLITICAL PARTIES AND NGOS FOR THE ‘ELECTION SECURITY AND DEMOCRACY PLATFORM’

“There is a very large and very serious attempt directed at our Republic, our democracy, and our nation. Against this dark attempt, everyone who wants democracy, justice, and freedom is obliged to come together urgently and act with common sense and common strength. I invite all our political parties, professional organizations, unions, and non-governmental organizations to form an ‘Election Security and Democracy Platform’ and protect our multi-party democracy together. We must eliminate this great threat to election security and democracy through democratic means and force the government to act within the law. This is a much bigger and more urgent issue than which party will get how many votes in the next election or who will be elected to which position.”

“TODAY IS THE DAY OF UNITY AND INTEGRATION FOR THOSE WHO WANT JUSTICE AND FREEDOM FOR EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE”

“Today is the day! Today is the day to show the power of the nation to those who see the state as their own deeded property. Today is the day! Today is the day to bring those who are drunk on power and strength, who see democracy as a tram they can get on and off whenever they want, to their senses with a fundamental democracy slap. Today is the day! Today is the day of unity and integration for those who want justice and freedom for everyone, everywhere. We will unite, we will integrate, and we will sign a victory together that makes everyone happy, where everyone wins except for a handful of people. I love you all very much. Everything will be very beautiful. Ekrem İmamoğlu. Silivri Dungeon.”

CHP İstanbul PROVINCIAL PRESIDENT ÖZGÜR ÇELİK SPOKE

When CHP İstanbul Provincial President Özgür Çelik went up to the rally vehicle to give a speech, there was great enthusiasm in the field. Çelik's words were frequently interrupted by chants of "President Özgür."

Stating that the Istanbul Provincial organization's building is under blockade, Çelik thanked the Deputy Chairmen and deputies for their vigil.

News Source: 12punto