Statement from Özgür Özel on Murat Çalık's health status! 'Our hearts are in our mouths...'

Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel met with TRNC Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Chairwoman Sıla Usar İncirli at his party's headquarters.

CHP leader Özel said in his statement after the meeting, “Dear members of the press, today we hosted the Chairwoman of our sister party in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the CTP, Ms. Sıla, and her esteemed delegation. As you know, in the Presidential elections held in Cyprus, the CTP's then-Chairman and Candidate, Mr. Tufan Erhürman, was elected President with a very high percentage of the vote. After being elected President, his duty in the party was completed. The CTP held its own elections and, in a way that should be an example to all of us, they are continuing their path with a female Chairwoman for the first time in their history.”

Özel stated the following:

“WE WERE ELECTED CHAIRPERSONS ON THE SAME DAY”

“During my visit to Cyprus on December 26, I had gone to their headquarters to congratulate Ms. Sıla and the newly elected administration. We were together there. Today, they honored our headquarters for a return visit as part of their Ankara visits. Furthermore, the congresses of the two sister parties were held on the same day. We were elected Chairpersons on the same day and congratulated each other. With this pleasant coincidence, both parties are continuing their paths in their own countries. We are in solidarity. We are already continuing our solidarity as people who look at politics and the Cyprus issue from the same perspective, who produce solutions with the same point of view regarding people's expectations from politics in the world, and who entered politics with the same intention. Both of us emerged from the last elections we entered with great success. From now on, there are both local and general elections in Cyprus within the next year. We are also Turkey's hope for power in an early election that could be held at any moment. In this sense, both parties are walking arm in arm, in solidarity, for power in their countries. I find this visit very meaningful from this perspective as well. Once again, I both congratulate them and say welcome.”

“WE ARE WAITING FOR MURAT ÇALIK’S RESULTS WITH OUR HEARTS IN OUR MOUTHS”

Responding to journalists' questions after the statement, Chairman Özel said the following regarding the health status of imprisoned Beylikdüzü Mayor Murat Çalık and Gezi case prisoner City Planner Tayfun Kahraman, as well as the statements of former TBMM Speaker Bülent Arınç:

“I had visited both of our friends in the last 15 days. After my visit to Mr. Murat Çalık, a mass was removed in the operation I mentioned. And now, of course, that mass will be examined again. But Murat Çalık's illness, and Tayfun Kahraman's as well, is not an illness to be waited out in prison conditions. Doctors have repeatedly written in reports that good nutrition, a life away from stress, and especially for Tayfun Kahraman, not having movement restrictions, and for Mr. Murat Çalık, the need to be fed regularly and by paying attention to his special diet, are necessary. The report written for Mr. Murat Çalık, the first report, was sufficient for his release, and the entire public was waiting for this. But as you know, as a result of what happened at the forensic medicine institution and the subsequent new referral, and the pressure created on the hospital during that new referral, the second report was not prepared as it should have been. And Mr. Çalık continues to remain in prison. And from that day to this, there were many signs of his illness recurring. There were very justified concerns. And now a new mass has formed and that mass has been removed. Our hearts are in our mouths now as we wait for the results of that laboratory again. There is no one whose heart does not ache when they see yesterday's photograph. There is no one whose heart does not ache when they see the state of Murat Çalık's mother. And in the end, it emerged in the indictment. When you look at the allegations in that indictment, it is clear that Murat Çalık will be acquitted. And he has been in prison for almost a year, for more than 10 months. Today is his 301st day. We think that after a certain point, common sense and conscience must prevail.”

“THE DECISION WAS NOT IMPLEMENTED, TAYFUN KAHRAMAN HAD A NEW ATTACK”

“Again, regarding Tayfun Kahraman, there is a Constitutional Court decision. And for the first time in the history of the Republic of Turkey, a decision made on the merits by the Constitutional Court is not being complied with by the first-instance court, and the constitution is being ignored. In other words, the rejection of the rule of law, the denial of its own existence, the constitutional equivalent of what that first-instance court, the 13th High Criminal Court in Istanbul, is doing, is the crime of abolishing the constitution and disrupting the state order. Because the constitution exists for all of us to obey. Each page describes a different aspect of the state order. The right to property is there, the powers of the President are there, the Parliament is there, the oath we will take is there. And on one page it says, ‘Constitutional Court decisions are binding on everyone. The legislative, executive, and judicial branches shall comply with them immediately after the reasoned decision.’ Those who do not comply with this continue to receive salaries from this state and supposedly continue to distribute justice in the name of the Turkish nation. It is not something that can happen. On the other hand, on top of this, he himself is an MS patient, and here the Chairwoman is a neurology specialist and her main area of interest is MS disease. We are facing such a painful coincidence. It is not right for me to say this next to her, but. He is an MS patient and he needs to be well-fed, to be moving, to have plenty of sunlight, and to be away from stress. When the Constitutional Court decision was not implemented, his family was devastated, but Mr. Kahraman also had a new attack.”

“WHAT DID THESE PEOPLE DO TO BE LEFT SILENT IN THE FACE OF SUCH LACK OF CONSCIENCE”

“Now he is receiving inpatient treatment at Cerrahpaşa University Hospital. A very heavy cortisone loading was done, a cortisone bridge is being tried to be built. Because the medication has to be changed. His doctors made such a decision because the attack recurred despite the old medication. And you know, Cerrahpaşa is in a prefabricated place because of the earthquake. The news I received from his wife yesterday, you might hear it for the first time. They have done the cortisone loading, and they are going to send him to prison for 15 days to make room for other inpatients; he will stay in prison. He will return after 15 days and his treatment will continue. Because all the impossibilities in Turkey are coming together. Whereas, in the meantime, the Constitutional Court had said, ‘Repeat the trial and try him without arrest.’ This decision was not complied with. Now there is a second application before the Constitutional Court. Regarding the non-compliance with the decision. We are following this process, hoping that the Constitutional Court will conclude this unanimously and quickly, as it has in past practices, and send it back to the court for this decision to be complied with, and if they do not comply, the duty will be with the Court of Cassation, as is known. It is impossible not to rebel. I mean, on one hand health, on the other hand court decisions, on the other hand the basic principles of law, on the other hand the responsibility that the obligation to comply with the constitution creates on all of us... But on the other hand, people who are suffering. I mean, I cannot find words to say. If there wasn't a question about health during our sister party's visit, I wouldn't have answered this. I would have said we would stick to this topic. But we are really saying 'have mercy' now. We are saying 'a little bit of conscience.' What evil did those people do to you to commit such evil, to remain silent in the face of such lack of conscience, to pave the way for it? We ask, 'Who is this anger, this hatred for?' They are doing to an elected mayor from an opposition party and to the people they supposedly hold responsible for the Gezi events what they would not do to their enemy.”

“BÜLENT ARINÇ HAS DONE WHAT CONSCIENCE REQUIRES”

“I followed Mr. Bülent Arınç's statements yesterday carefully. Mr. Arınç has done what conscience requires. He is already known as a politician who says what he knows to be true. I explained all of these to Mr. Erdoğan one by one, both at the Justice and Development Party Headquarters and at our headquarters. I gave him the written document. Let me say it once more. Let me say it as I explained it to Mr. Erdoğan. We were all at Gezi. If the friends there are lying in prison, they are lying in prison on behalf of all of us. But the most innocent among us are the ones lying in prison. I say this clearly. Gezi was a protest that started with an extremely justified sensitivity, so that trees would not be cut down. It contained extremely peaceful and extremely democratic demands. It is not right for you to blame all of us, and especially our friends lying inside, for a few exceptional events that occurred in its final days. I gave this to Mr. Erdoğan, saying, 'Look, what did Tayfun Kahraman say?' Tayfun Kahraman met with both Bülent Arınç and Mr. Erdoğan. I know there are six or five days between the two meetings. At the end of both meetings, he made extremely constructive statements. Tayfun Kahraman said, referring to Mr. Erdoğan as 'Our Prime Minister', 'He said that the trees would not be cut down. He said that the court decision would be awaited. He said that even if the court decision was not in our favor but against us, he would put a referendum ballot box. He said that they would ask the public whether to build the Artillery Barracks in Istanbul unless it came out of the referendum. After this time, I submit to the discretion of the Gezi residents to vacate Gezi.' I gave this printout to him, the video recordings of this are available. I was there. When Tayfun made this statement, he was booed by some groups. As I learned last week, he was also subjected to physical assault. 'How can you ask us to vacate Gezi, you collaborator?'”

“WILL YOU BE AT EASE ONLY WHEN HE DIES?”

“If Tayfun's word had been listened to, none of those events that occurred in the last days, which Mr. Erdoğan calls 'Gezi is a coup attempt. They attacked our police', would have happened. Because Tayfun's word was not listened to, Tayfun is in prison, friends. It is that clear. I am saying it here once again to Mr. Erdoğan. Tayfun Kahraman is innocent, but we were all in the Gezi events, and the most innocent of us is Tayfun Kahraman. He went and sentenced him to 18 years in prison. He took Tayfun and sentenced Tayfun, that is. Tayfun expressed a sensitivity regarding the city as the President of the Chamber of City Planners there. He has always been behind peaceful protests and has been against violence. You are keeping Tayfun Kahraman inside and you are keeping him inside to his death. I mean, will you be at ease only when he dies? Whereas, you are blaming the FETÖ members for Gezi, but it was the instructions of those who govern the state that started the violence. They are the ones who burned the tents, they are the ones who attacked, they are the ones who used the gas canister like a weapon, they are the ones who fired by aiming, they are the ones who blinded 20 people, they are the ones who killed eight people. And because of them, things got out of hand. Now Mr. Erdoğan has washed his hands with FETÖ soap, saying, 'The police chief who gave the instructions that started the violence was a FETÖ member, the governor was a FETÖ member, the municipal police were FETÖ members, the police were FETÖ members.' Okay, the FETÖ members provoked it, and what happened, happened. Tayfun Kahraman, who said, 'Stop friends, let there be no violence', is inside. I say a little bit of mercy, a little bit of conscience. I say nothing else.”

News Source: 12punto