Ekrem İmamoğlu reacts to dawn raids: 'One way or another, you will come to terms with it'

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu made a statement regarding the deputy mayors of Kartal and Ataşehir and 7 district council members who were detained in a dawn raid.

Drawing attention to the timing of the operations, İmamoğlu stated, "These people, who were doing their routine work and continuing their normal lives until the elections, are for some reason suddenly declared 'terrorists' after the elections. Just like our Esenyurt Mayor Prof. Dr. Ahmet Özer, who was declared a 'terrorist' at the age of 65," he said.

''YOU WILL COME TO TERMS WITH OUR SUCCESS''

Reminding of the CHP's electoral success in Istanbul, İmamoğlu said, "You will come to terms with the success of our party, which won 12 district municipalities from the AK Party in the March 31 elections, won 26 district mayoralties in Istanbul, and beat its rival by 1 million votes in the Metropolitan Municipality election. One way or another, you will come to terms with it," he said.

Accusing the government of using the judiciary as a tool for political operations, İmamoğlu said, "We did not allow you to pull the wool over this nation's eyes yesterday with your political operations wrapped in various guises by using the judiciary as a tool for your political depressions, and we will not allow it today either," he said.

'WE WANT EARLY ELECTIONS'

Touching upon Turkey's economic and social problems, İmamoğlu said, "We are paying with the high cost of living, we are paying with the struggle to make ends meet, and we are paying with political and social decay."

Calling for early elections to solve these problems, İmamoğlu said, "We set out to clean the rotten apples of this rotten order and to bring our Turkey to the democracy and prosperity it deserves. That ballot box will come early. The ballot box comes when the nation wants it, not when you want it," he said.

The full text of Ekrem İmamoğlu's statements is as follows:

A dawn raid was carried out again this morning on some of our CHP district municipalities in Istanbul. 2 of our deputy mayors and 7 of our district council members were detained. These people, who were doing their routine work and continuing their normal lives until the elections, are for some reason suddenly declared 'terrorists' after the elections.

Just like our Esenyurt Mayor Prof. Dr. Ahmet Özer, who was declared a 'terrorist' at the age of 65.

You will come to terms with the success of our party, which won 12 district municipalities from the AK Party in the March 31 elections, won 26 district mayoralties in Istanbul, and beat its rival by 1 million votes in the Metropolitan Municipality election. One way or another, you will come to terms with it. We did not allow you to pull the wool over this nation's eyes yesterday with your political operations wrapped in various guises by using the judiciary as a tool for your political depressions, and we will not allow it today either.

Neither the seat of power nor the office of the Presidency is a legacy from anyone's father. It is not anyone's deeded property either. It is only the property of the nation. We are paying the price for subjecting the country to the whims of 1 person who sees himself above the national will and thinks he is the master of the nation.

We are paying with the high cost of living

We are paying with the struggle to make ends meet

We are paying with social decay.

We are paying with political decay

We set out to clean the rotten apples of this rotten order and to bring our Turkey to the democracy and prosperity it deserves, we want early elections. That ballot box will come early. The ballot box comes when the nation wants it, not when you want it.

The ballot box will come. 1 person will go, everything will change!

İstanbul’daki bazı CHP ilçe belediyelerimize bu sabah yine şafak operasyonu düzenlendi. 2 belediye başkan yardımcımız ve 7 ilçe meclis üyemiz gözaltına alındı. Seçimlere kadar rutin işlerini yapan, normal hayatlarına devam eden bu insanlar, seçimlerden sonra her nedense aniden…

— Ekrem İmamoğlu (@ekrem_imamoglu) February 11, 2025

WHAT HAD HAPPENED?

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched a new operation targeting CHP municipalities. Within the scope of the operation called "City Consensus" (Kent Uzlaşısı), deputy mayors of Kartal and Ataşehir were detained, while detention warrants were issued for 7 municipal council members serving in different municipalities. It was learned that searches are ongoing in the municipal buildings.

On the other hand, an indictment was prepared against 21 people, including Kartal Mayor Gökhan Yüksel, on charges of "misconduct in office." In the indictment prepared by the Special Investigation Bureau of the Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it is alleged that 44 properties belonging to the municipality were rented out in violation of the State Tender Law between 2019 and 2021. It was stated that the investigation is ongoing in this context.

Among those detained are Kartal Deputy Mayor C.Y., Ataşehir Deputy Mayor L.G., Üsküdar Municipal Council Member B.K., Sancaktepe Municipal Council Member E.G., Fatih Municipal Council Member G.A., Tuzla Municipal Council Member H.Ö., Adalar Municipal Council Member N.A., Şişli Municipal Council Member S.G., and Beyoğlu Municipal Council Member T.Ş.

The statement made by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the subject is as follows:

"Within the scope of the investigation carried out by our Chief Public Prosecutor's Office together with the Istanbul Police Department Anti-Terrorism Branch Directorate;

In the position paper published in December 2023, which was determined by the DEM Party as a local election strategy; it was determined that within the scope of the strategy outlined under the name of 'City Consensus', a search for dialogue/alliance grounds with different segments in the western provinces of Turkey was entered into, and in this context, within the framework of the 'City Consensus' formula, practices such as not nominating candidates in the provinces/districts where an agreement was reached through meetings/negotiations, nominating one's own candidate under different parties, and obtaining quotas in municipal councils were resorted to,

When looking at the statements made by the PKK/KCK leadership regarding the subject and reflected in open sources;

-KCK Co-Chair Bese Hozat, codenamed Hülya ORAN, stated in her speech on 05/11/2024 on Medya Haber Television, which broadcasts in parallel with the organization; that 'the name of the unity, common struggle, and alliance of Kurds and Turks is City Consensus, and that City Consensus is the common unity stance/consensus of Turks and Kurds',

-In the article written by PKK/KCK Executive Council Member Cuma, codenamed Cemil BAYIK, and included in Serxwebun Magazine, which broadcasts in parallel with the organization, before the 31/03/2024 elections;

'The strategy expressed as city consensus is a correct decision, and with this method, the Kurdish people can increase their political weight by ensuring that their own candidates are elected and successful in (so-called) Kurdistan and in Turkish cities where they are densely populated, while ensuring the victory of candidates who are democratic, libertarian, approach the Kurdish issue democratically, see the Kurdish people as friends, and find the Kurdish people's cause just and have a stance of solidarity in other Turkish cities, and that this will be an important step taken for the development of the freedom struggle and the democratic political solution of the Kurdish issue',

-In the interview of PKK/KCK Executive Council member Hüseyin Avareş, codenamed Mustafa KARASU, published on 04/04/2024 in the ANF News Agency, which is sympathetic to the organization; it was stated that 'the DEM Party is not in a general alliance and consensus in Turkey in this election, but it is following a policy of making the government lose together with all democratic forces with the 'city consensus' policy in very strategic areas of Turkey, and that this situation should be seen as an attitude of making democracy forces win, not a party, and that it would be beneficial for the opposition to understand it in this way',

As a result, when the above-mentioned issues are evaluated together with the information and documents obtained within the scope of the investigations carried out against the terrorist organization, especially the HDK Structure;

It has been understood that the theory of the city consensus formula was made by the terrorist organization's leadership, that it is a formula to be applied in some areas in the democratic autonomy system, that it was created within the framework of the planning of establishing an autonomy system by winning local governments in the eastern provinces and including the Kurdish population in local governments with a system similar to the autonomy system in the western provinces, and that it was named 'City Consensus', that with the City Consensus formula, it was aimed that Kurds in western provinces and districts, even if they could not win the municipalities, would have a say in municipal council decisions, take part in local governments, and be a political balance as a result of obtaining quotas in certain numbers in municipal councils in exchange for the candidate to be agreed upon and supported, that the Autonomy System and City Consensus formula is an organizational system above the DEM Party, and that the formations within the organization (DBP, HDK) that carry out work especially on organization are the main institutions that develop and manage the organization's grassroots (people) organization system.

According to the reports prepared by the Anti-Terrorism Department regarding the Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK); it has been determined that it is a continuation of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), which was accepted as an element of the PKK/KCK terrorist organization and also as a terrorist organization with the decision of the 16th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation dated 02/12/2019 and numbered 2018/4589 Basis - 2019/7385 Decision, that HDK is a front structure with a legal appearance and an alternative parliament to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, that its components are the legal extensions of the terrorist organizations on the HBDH front, that its councils show identity with the KCK contract, that it organizes the social sphere by organizing legal-looking protest marches, press releases, rallies, etc. in line with the instructions of the PKK/KCK terrorist organization, that it tried to make the Democratic Autonomy strategy accepted by channeling into the masses in society by organizing the social sphere during the October 6-7-8 Kobani incidents, Democratic Autonomy declarations, and Trench-Barricade incidents, that it sent personnel to the rural areas of terrorist organizations, and that it took place as the umbrella structure of the political field organization under the KCK/TDÖ fragment organization, which is the so-called Turkey Executive of the PKK/KCK terrorist organization hierarchically. When the main investigation document carried out by our Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the members of the HDK Umbrella Structure of the terrorist organization operating in Istanbul is examined, according to the organizational archive seized, it has been determined that those who are HDK members (in organizational terms, so-called Labor Council member, District Council Member, Women's Council Member, General Council Member, Culture and Art Commission Member, Delegate Member, etc.) in the parallel parliament structure of the terrorist organization are;

1-Suspect C.Y. as Kartal Deputy Mayor,

2-Suspect L.G. as Ataşehir Deputy Mayor,

3-Suspect B.K. as Üsküdar Municipal Council Member,

4-Suspect E.G. as Sancaktepe Municipal Council Member,

5-Suspect G.A. as Fatih Municipal Council Member,

6-Suspect H.Ö. as Tuzla Municipal Council Member,

7-Suspect N.A. as Adalar Municipal Council Member,

8-Suspect S.G. as Şişli Municipal Council Member,

9-Suspect T.Ş. as Beyoğlu Municipal Council Member,

that they started to serve after the 31/03/2024 local elections by being elected within the scope of the 'City Consensus' activity with the instruction given by the terrorist organization and that they are still on duty, and considering that the autonomy system and city consensus formula is an organizational system above the DEM Party, and that the formations within the organization (DBP, HDK) that carry out work especially on organization are the main institutions that develop and manage the organization's grassroots (people) organization system, it has been understood that the mentioned suspects are members of the organization who carry out activities within the scope of the terrorist organization's City Consensus activity; and

A total of (10) suspects, including the suspects mentioned above and Suspect I.P. (a civilian individual connected to Beyoğlu Municipality), who was also determined to be an HDK member, were caught and detained as of 06.00 on 11/02/2025 within the scope of the simultaneous operation to capture and detain them and to perform search and seizure procedures to seize organizational documents and other criminal evidence, and all of the suspects have been caught and detained, and search procedures are continuing by the TEM Branch Directorate teams in the residences, workplaces, and the special rooms in the Municipalities where suspects C.Y. and L.G. serve.

Information will be provided later regarding developments.

Our investigations will continue to be deepened in order to expose the City Consensus activity, which aims to increase the effectiveness of the terrorist organization in metropolitan provinces, with all its elements and members."

OPERATION ALSO ON KARTAL MAYOR

An indictment had also been prepared for 21 defendants, including Kartal Mayor Gökhan Yüksel, for "misconduct in office" on the grounds that 44 properties belonging to the municipality were rented out irregularly.

In the indictment prepared by the Special Investigation Bureau of the Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, an investigation was launched upon the allegation that the suspects committed misconduct in office by renting out 44 properties belonging to the municipality between 2019 and 2021 in violation of the provisions of Article 51 of the State Tender Law.

News Source: 12punto