First comment from CHP leader Özel on the animal massacre in Gebze: 'We will never, ever let this go'

'I HAD GIVEN MY WORD IN YIRCA'

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel attended the Yırca Olive Festival held in the Soma district of Manisa.

Speaking there, Özel said, "Today, I am experiencing a day that I have rarely experienced in my political life, and one that I hope to experience much more in the future. Our political life, the past Manisa deputies of the CHP, and all deputies in Turkey have spent their time standing with the victims, the oppressed, the environment, nature, and animal lovers through struggles and resistance. Sometimes we succeeded, sometimes we failed. Sometimes we won while losing. Some lost while winning. I had given a promise in Yırca: 'You will see. One day we will take Soma. We will take the Manisa Metropolitan Municipality. We will come to Yırca and hold an olive festival here.' Well, that day is today, my friends," he said.

'IT IS VERY SIGNIFICANT THAT SOMEONE WHO COMES FROM THE STRUGGLE OF THE YIRCA CASE IS THE MAYOR'

Continuing his remarks, Özel said the following:

"Of course, we said this a lot, I hope it happens. For example, I said when they let the culprits go in the Soma case and almost declared the deceased as the guilty ones, 'One day we will be in power. This case will be reopened. The culprits will pay the price. Justice will come for Soma. We will fight until that day. I swear.' That day has not come yet. But today has come. I am very happy. Of course, it has a beautiful side. In that struggle back then, Kolin thought I would win. We resisted for 60 days and 60 nights. With their saws and bulldozers in hand, as we resisted, they waited in the corner, and unfortunately, the gendarmerie was not doing its duty like it is today. Because those in charge back then had given the gendarmerie the task of protecting Kolin against us, not protecting the villagers and the olives against Kolin. We were keeping watch to protect the olives until 01:00 at night. Then the guards would stay here. I would go to Manisa to sleep at home. A piece of news would come, they attacked. Cem is here, our advisor. Cem would get me here from Manisa in 55 minutes. But by the time we arrived, 60 had been cut down. When I stood in front of the bulldozer, they would stop because we had immunity. They handcuffed my sisters and mothers and threw them to the ground. They tried to detain them. A great struggle was waged. Of course, Sercan Okur, for example, comes from that struggle. Having such a mayor in Soma, someone who comes from the struggle of the Soma case and the Yırca case, is very, very significant. It is an issue that will be an example to all of us."

'IF YOU STAND TOGETHER, NO OBSTACLE CAN STAND IN YOUR WAY'

Seeing Emine sister, Münire sister, Elvan sister, Nazmiye sister, Firdevs sister, Cevriye, Zeynep, Nurdan, Münevver, Gülşen, Hatice sister, and Kadriye sister here again in such good health... Seeing my mayor at the head of the village again is very precious. He tells me this. He says he is our child. Afterwards, we came and went as deputies to pray at the mosque in Yırca. But I had missed them a lot during the 3-4 years of intense struggle. How did this resistance start? This didn't happen just with us once. We must not forget Deniz Hanım, the lawyer at Greenpeace. If she hadn't obtained the stay of execution, there would be another one of these power plants here today. Video activist Kazım, pharmacist Kazım, came and stayed with us in Yırca for days. Before the Social Rights Association was founded, they waged a great struggle. The components of today's Social Rights Association were there with us. The Republican People's Party was there. Apart from this, the olives in the area we are in were cut down one by one within two months. The day after they finished the part they first planned, a stay of execution decision was taken. It remained in this state. Then the case was won. The thermal power plant moved 10 kilometers further, beyond Kozalıören, to the other side of the mountain. If it weren't for that, there would be another one in this area. That it didn't happen is very important for Soma, Akhisar, and especially Yırca Village. In place of the olives cut down that day, 6,000 olive trees were provided by various associations and our municipalities and planted; today we will harvest them for the first time. Of course, it has been 6-7 years since they were planted. We couldn't plant them that day. But if you ask how this resistance started, it started like this. I was sitting in the village coffeehouse with my headman. He had gathered everyone. He said they wanted to resist this, but people were afraid of bad examples. There was a handkerchief. There was sand in front of the door. I took a handful of that sand. Everyone remembers. I said if you stand separately, you will scatter in this glass like this sand. The sand poured into the glass. Then my headman had a brown and white handkerchief. We opened it. We put the sand inside. I squeezed the sand like this. It became a ball. I said, should I throw this at this glass? The headman said don't throw it, it will break. I said if you stand together, no obstacle can stand in your way. Not separate grains of sand. We will fight all together. We decided to resist that day. Today, on the 10th anniversary of the success of the resistance, we will harvest olives. A cooperative was established. Soap Cooperative. In that regard, CHP municipalities and our Metropolitan Municipality will take the initiative. They will ensure that these are utilized much more.

'WE SHOWED TURKEY THAT THOSE WHO FIGHT WIN AND SUCCEED'

I learned it here, but our Soma and Metropolitan Mayors are looking at it warmly. After getting the necessary permission from the highways, we have a place here. We will open a breakfast salon there. Yırca women and young people will work. Many people will come, and I will come from time to time. I hope I will promote it. So don't worry at all. We showed Turkey that those who fight win and succeed. From now on, we will succeed by fighting all together. We will be in power in Turkey. Whoever is left with tears in their eyes, starting from Soma, from the train disaster to the station massacre, from the arsenal explosions in Afyon to the fireworks accident in Hendek, whoever has not been able to get their rights, or whoever seems to have lost for now in the environmental struggle, we will all see together that those who seem to have won will lose, and the villagers and environmentalists will win."

'THE ANIMAL MASSACRE IN GEBZE'

This government is a government that loves the rich, companies, and smoke. We are the ones who love the people, nature, the environment, water, and greenery. We are waging a great struggle to establish a government of people like us. Look, this government tried to change the law regarding olives seven times, the first on July 3, 2009, and the last on December 12, 2022. We defeated them all. We either made them withdraw it through struggle or we had it annulled by the Constitutional Court. It passed the commission, but it didn't pass the Parliament. It passed the Parliament, but it didn't pass the court. In the end, they issued a regulation. The Farmers' Union (Çiftçi Sen) applied for that too. They had the regulation canceled. There are nearly 200 million olive trees in the country. The district with the most olive trees in Turkey is Akhisar. Our Mayor Besim Bey is here. Our deputy Vehbi Bey is here. It is said that there are nearly 16 million olive trees. One out of every 25 olives in Turkey is in Akhisar. The rest, a significant amount, are in our other districts. We are obliged to continue to protect the olives and the environment. Of course, those who draw strength from this government, perhaps realizing that this government is getting closer to its end every day, are becoming even tougher. They are becoming even more ruthless. For example, we all fought a great struggle for months on the animal rights law. They couldn't do exactly what they wanted. If they had, they brought a law saying, 'Collect the animals, take them, put them in a shelter. Wait two months. If they are not adopted, kill them.' There was a huge rebellion against this. There was a huge objection. We were at the forefront of that struggle, both in the Parliament and in the field. We were in it. That law passed with the culling clause covered up and some parts softened. But the main logic of the law is this. It says collect them; there used to be a 'vaccinate and release' policy. You cannot release them. Build a shelter, but build it by 2028. It doesn't even give money for the shelter. There was an Animal Rights Fund that all parties in the Parliament agreed on and proposed. They didn't do that either. What happens? Take the animal, hold it, it doesn't fit. You can't release it. There is a penalty. It says what to do without writing it. It says get rid of that animal. As CHP municipalities, we said that we would not implement this law, that we would do the right thing, that we would not touch the animals, that we would increase the number of shelters, and that we would resist as much as possible within our means. Reports come in sometimes. I personally deal with them as the chairman. Sir, animals were taken in such and such municipality, they disappeared. I call personally to ask what happened. Thank God, our mayors are fighting this issue with superhuman effort. But what happened yesterday? Yesterday in Gebze, 50 animals, 50 lives, were poisoned to death. Why? Because this law secretly whispers this to them. That was the initial intent. Take it, kill it after 60 days. Because you, we, and conscientious people oppose this, they killed them and covered it up. But because the mayor who is not aware of the consciousness of our CHP mayors did not take the necessary precautions, unfortunately, we are facing a great massacre. We will never, ever let this go.

'THE GOVERNMENT AND THE OPPOSITION MUST JOIN HANDS'

There is the shame of Hayırsızada in 1910 in Turkey. A shame where all the dogs in Istanbul were collected, eating each other out of hunger, continuing in howls and moans, with the smell continuing around for years. Those who came to Turkey during the Ottoman period tell foreign journalists, storytellers, and writers about the respect for stray animals in the Ottoman Empire. We come from such a culture. We are facing the shame of 1910, but I want to say this to everyone in Turkey: there is a stray animal problem in Turkey. This problem is also somewhat of a class problem. Those who are well-off, those in secure gated communities, those whose children go to private school by shuttle, those who drop their children and spouses off at work by car, have a stray animal problem that they don't see much. There is a problem experienced by those who go to the shuttle in the morning, those who go to the mosque early, students without shuttles, women walking to the shuttle, and young workers. This must be fought rationally. The resources for this must be found together. The government and the opposition must join hands. But one must never, ever take a life. I am reminding you of this once again from here. I am making a call once again.

'NO IMPORTANT INFORMATION WAS GIVEN'

I want to explain to all of Turkey from Yırca something that this government has done and attempted, and reveal their true intentions. Because this is an issue as important as the olive struggle and the nature struggle. The issue is this: the chairman of the ruling party came to the Parliament on October 1st. He said a sentence in his opening speech. 'Israel's next target is Turkey,' he said. This is not a statement made in vain. It is not a statement to be left alone. I went out. I said in front of the door, let's immediately call the Parliament to a closed session, let him come and explain this to us. Why closed? When it's open, he says, 'Am I going to give state secrets on live broadcast?' He says, 'There are things I know, I can't tell.' He is playing on this. He said, 'The next target is us.' We called for a closed session. The minutes of the closed session cannot be disclosed for 10 years. But we said, if there is really information, documents, and evidence regarding such a threat that Israel will attack Turkey, tell us. We are with you. Otherwise, it is forbidden to tell what is told. But I will expose what you don't tell, I will complain about you to the nation. Two ministers came, he didn't come himself. He should have come, he didn't. Two ministers, one for 40 minutes and one for 36 minutes, so to speak, beat around the bush. What can they do? They have nothing to do. He made a statement and sent them to fill in the blanks. After all, no one will hear it for 10 years. There is not a single word of important information that you don't know and that is not talked about on television. In fact, I can't tell you what they told here, but he himself says that Turkey is not among the countries they consider under Israel's threat. The minister said this that day, it was secret. The ruling party's group chairman also said it yesterday. But there is a trick. What is there? With the President's mouth, he says to all of us, 'Friends, you are hungry, you are poor, you are unemployed, you are insecure, I know, but the danger is great, you must support me. Israel might attack us, a third world war might break out...' Since that day, on television, 'Sir, how many tanks do we have? How many tanks does Israel have? How many frigates do we have, how many does he have? He has F35s. How many F16s do we have?' In other words, let's look at the juggler. Let's forget our own troubles. If Turkey has a security problem, I was in Çanakkale yesterday; when there is a security problem, the grandfathers and grandmothers of the 83 million living in Turkey today lie side by side without shrouds in Çanakkale. When such a danger arises, no one lags behind anyone in protecting the homeland and the nation. But the point is that while Israel is attacking its surroundings, it is an understanding that wants poverty not to be discussed by saying, 'Sir, the next target is us,' and bringing the agenda to security concerns. It is an understanding that says, 'Let unemployment not be discussed, let it not be said that the village children are unemployed, let jobs be found for them.' Look, what is being tried to be done in this country now, there is no harm in an analogy, 80 years ago Hitler was doing this to the Germans. He was saying, 'German children don't need butter, they need the grease of German tanks. Don't say we are poor.' They were showing weak children, weak. Like kittens. Against those photos, Hitler was saying, 'Those children don't need butter, they need the grease of our tanks. If there are no tanks, these children cannot live.' He dragged both his country and the world into disaster. That is why we must live and govern this country in peace, unity, and prosperity.

'THEY WILL CUT MONEY FROM ALL OF US'

Look, the proof of why Tayyip Erdoğan is doing this has emerged. Last week, if we hadn't said 'come to a closed session,' if war movies continued to play on those televisions. They couldn't provide any information in the closed session. Don't be afraid, there is no war. If we hadn't said, 'Get out of that agenda, return to the real agenda of this country: unemployment, poverty, insecurity,' their job would have been easier. Now, they submitted a legislative proposal yesterday. Defense Industry Support Fund, they are going to cut money from all of us for this fund. Abdullah Güler, the Chairman of the AKP Group who submitted this legislative proposal, says, 'This law was submitted to strengthen our national security against the threat of Israel attacking Turkey.' What are we going to do? We pay taxes every day, my headman, according to the type of tax returns we give, we will all pay additional tax to the Defense Industry Support Fund between 308 liras and 604 liras. You know, a declaration is given to the Social Security Institution; if someone works next to you, they give it. We will pay 228 liras per declaration, we will pay tax every time we give it. 624 liras will be paid for declarations given to customs administrations. Those who have credit cards will pay 750 liras in tax if they are above a certain limit. You buy real estate, you buy a house in this village. You will pay 750 liras in additional tax. Those who buy zero-kilometer cars, 3,000 liras. Those who buy second-hand cars, 1,500 liras. For every type of tax declaration, customs declaration, and declaration given to the SGK, there will be as much stamp duty as the stamp duty amount. They will also take additional tax from those who buy wristwatches. In the same proposal, there is a regulation on motor vehicle tax. You know, there was no MTV for motorcycles under 100 cubic centimeters and motorcycles with 6 kW engine power. For the smallest ones. Motor vehicle tax has come for these. Besides this, 20 percent of these taxes will also be transferred to the defense industry. So what is it? Last week they threw out the word 'Israel will attack.' They have embarked on such a discourse to collect 70 billion in taxes from all of us, from those who buy houses, those who buy cars, those who pay taxes, those who employ insured workers, and from every kind of declaration.

'IF A WAR BREAKS OUT, WE WILL PROTECT THIS COUNTRY'

Well, is there no money in this defense industry? It seems there was, but it's gone. It wants 70 billion from us, there was 3 billion liras of money here just recently. They transferred that money, 3 billion liras, to the Wealth Fund free of charge in February 2017. They said there is no need for money in the defense industry, they sent it to the fund they manage themselves. Now they want money from us there with new taxes. We are saying it clearly from here. There is a livelihood problem for retirees in this country. They are trying to make ends meet with 12,500 liras. This money is a starvation wage. They didn't raise the minimum wage. People cannot make ends meet with 17,000 liras. We held an agriculture rally recently. Manisa's grapes, cotton, wheat, corn, olives, melons... Those who produce these are not making money. The state does not provide the support it should. For years, we started with Vehbi President in Ballıca. Let there be a premium for olives. So that the premium for olive oil increases, as of today, they have been giving 100 kuruş, 1 lira for olive oil, and 20 kuruş for years for table olives as a premium. These need to increase tenfold. In other words, 10 liras per liter for olive oil. A premium of 2 liras per kilogram should be given for table olives. Instead of giving these, now they are trying to get their hands on your pockets and your hard-earned money by claiming the danger is great and that Israel is coming. That is why I am calling out to all of Turkey from here. This country has a strong army. When that army is needed, each of us is a soldier of that army. This country came out of difficult days together. But this government, which manages the country poorly and has ruined the economy because of this poor management, cannot solve unemployment, has increased inflation from single digits to 80 percent, and has increased it to 85 percent with its own wrong policies while it was falling with the policies of the late Ecevit, whom it criticizes as the wreckage it inherited, and today cannot pull the 50 percent inflation down further, and crushes us all with the cost of living, now says, 'A war will break out, don't make a sound.' Do not believe them.

If a war breaks out, we will protect this country. There will be no war or anything. You fight against poverty, fight against unemployment, fight against the cost of living. Tayyip Erdoğan, who wants the real problems of the country not to be discussed for fear that a war will break out, is lying to the people in this country, he is deceiving them. He is trying to cover up poverty by distorting, exaggerating, and saying what is not true about the information he obtained by virtue of his authority and position, which he says he possesses. We will fight for this. We will be together for this, and in the end, we will condemn poverty, unemployment, favoritism, and this understanding that loves the rich and crushes the poor. We believe in you. We believe in the spirit of Yırca, our villagers, our farmers, our workers. We believe in the Turkish people, in everyone living in Turkey. We are right. We will succeed, we will win. I greet you all with respect. Thank you, long live."

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel visited the stands set up in the festival area after his speech. Özel also planted an olive sapling and harvested olives.

News Source: 12punto