Özgür Özel: The greatest invisible ally of Israel is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, speaking at his party's candidate introduction meeting at the Kurtdereli Sports Hall in Balıkesir, said that they vouch for those who applied for candidacy but could not be nominated just as much as they trust everyone they have assigned duties to and nominated.

"FINE WHILE IN OFFICE, RESIGN WHEN NOT NOMINATED..."

Expressing that he clearly puts forward this guarantee as the chairman of the CHP, Özel noted the following:

"You hear the rebellion and objections of a few people on some television channels and newspapers. They are fine while in office, but when they are not, they resign, go to another party, and fire shots at their own party from there. Honestly, it doesn't matter if 3 or 5 people make the headlines of newspapers close to the government. There were 16 thousand 500 candidate applicants in this party. 3 or 5 of them act like that, but we have candidate applicants who get up earlier than the nominee in the morning, call the nominee and say 'Aren't we going to work?', who bring the budget they set aside for themselves to the district chairman, and who allocate the vehicle they wrapped for themselves to my mayoral candidate. These friends are the headlines in our hearts."

Reminding that the CHP had more than 52 percent of the vote on June 28, 2023, Özel said, "If everyone who voted for our very valuable former chairman, our presidential candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, whom we met at the ballot box together last May, casts the same vote 10 months later, I swear Balıkesir will be saved, I swear Balıkesir will be saved."

Reminding that Ahmet Akın was nominated as the candidate of the Nation Alliance in the last elections, Özel said, "Ahmet Akın was winning that election as the candidate of the Nation Alliance, he was ending this nightmare. During that process, they said, 'Withdraw your candidate, we want this place.' Ahmet said, 'If our headquarters has decided, so be it.' His eyes were tearful. He withdrew, crying, but saying that since it is an alliance, it must be done. They wanted this place like that, it was given to İsmail Ok. And İsmail Ok took the trust and gave it to the AK Party with both hands. Did he get his reward? He did, now the AK Party has made him a member of parliament again. What is there? There is theft of the national will. What is there? There is the theft of Balıkesir's will."

"SHAME ON THOSE WHO HAD THAT BANNER REMOVED WHILE WE DEFEND PALESTINE"

Reminding that he attended the Socialist International meeting in Madrid, the capital of Spain, last week, Özel said, "We are working and will continue to work together with left-wing, social democratic, and socialist parties in the world to strengthen solidarity and to get the wind behind the left all over the world."

Özgür Özel stated that at this meeting, he called on political leaders, including Spanish Prime Minister Petros Sanchez, who is also the President of the Socialist International, that remaining silent against the cruel attacks launched by the State of Israel does not suit leftists and social democrats, and that this issue should be intervened in together. He also mentioned that he would go to Palestine in April and that he conveyed that Palestine is a major issue for the Turkish left, for Bülent Ecevit, and for Deniz Gezmiş and his friends.

Explaining that he told social democrats and socialists in bilateral contacts in Madrid that they must stop the bloodshed and that they should fight for peace in accordance with Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's motto of "Peace at home, peace in the world," Özel continued as follows:

"While I was telling the world's important leaders at those hours to stop the cruelty in Palestine, that gentleman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was in Sakarya. While he was speaking in Sakarya, a banner was opened in the square. The banner says, 'End the shameful trade with Israel.' Those who opened that banner are those who went to the AK Party rally, those who opened that banner are those who have said they are Milli Görüş supporters since the past, and the one who had that banner collected by the Turkish police, the one who said 'I have taken off my Milli Görüş jacket and shirt,' the co-chair of the Greater Middle East Project, the greatest invisible ally of Israel is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Shame on those who had that banner removed while we defend Palestine."

"DO NOT LET THE PERPETRATOR OF THE ILIÇ DISASTER BECOME THE DISASTER OF ISTANBUL"

Touching upon the mining accident in the İliç district of Erzincan, Özel said, "Those who stacked the waste like a mountain, those who did not hear the cries of the miners in İliç just as they did not hear those who drew attention to the danger in Soma, those who did not listen to those who said 'This mine is heating up, it will be a trouble for us' and 'This mountain has risen too much, there are cracks. One day it will take us all in front of it,' and who chased after money, caused the İliç disaster. The signature that caused that disaster to happen there is the signature on the Environmental Impact Assessment report. The then Minister of Environment, Murat Kurum, has his signature under it. The signature he said 'What does it have to do with me' is the signature that led our children to disaster by saying 'There is no landslide risk.' From now on, it is our request and our warning to our citizens. Do not let the perpetrator of the İliç disaster become the disaster of Istanbul. Prevent the disaster of Istanbul."

CHP Chairman Özel claimed that the AK Party government has been trying to render the Court of Accounts (Sayıştay) audit dysfunctional for 23 years, and continued his words as follows:

"It removes those who write effective reports. It narrows the scope of the reports. It hides the annexes of the booklets from the parliament so that what they have done is not revealed. It appoints its own close associates to the head of the Court of Accounts. It pressures the departments in the Court of Accounts with them. Even the Court of Accounts, under such pressure, could not ignore the major corruption in the Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality. It wrote, 'It has turned into a city of tenders,' it said. 'Tender legislation has been riddled with holes,' it said. It wrote, 'The tenders here are not for the public interest, but tenders sent to someone's address,' it said. And it filed a criminal complaint. 'Let a lawsuit be filed,' it said, but the then Minister of Interior did not give permission for the investigation. So what happens in such a situation? Normally, nothing happens in such a situation. An application was made to the Council of State (Danıştay). Whose hands is the Council of State in? In the hands of the person in question. But the allegations are so great that even the Council of State lifted the 'no need for investigation' decision and an investigation was opened.

We are at a point where tenders worse than ever seen in a local government in Turkey have been made, where supporters are favored in a way that can never be accepted, and where the assets of Balıkesir have been handed over to someone. I say this for this reason: with this filth, with these experiences of filth, the judiciary sometimes makes such small exits, but those who maintain their courage in small numbers cannot succeed, they immediately take and throw them away. They punish a few inspectors. Or they give token punishments. Honestly, neither the Judiciary nor the Court of Accounts nor the Council of State can cope with this filth. But one person can stop this. That one person is Balıkesir itself, the people of Balıkesir themselves. We leave it to our fellow citizens in Balıkesir to hold them accountable on March 31."

Explaining the Turkey Alliance they established, Özel said, "If you ask who is in this alliance, whoever rejoices when the national team scores a goal, they are in our alliance."

CHP Balıkesir Metropolitan Mayoral candidate Ahmet Akın also gave a speech at the program and explained his projects.

After the speeches, the introduction of CHP's district mayoral candidates in Balıkesir was held. Özel took photos with the candidates.

CANDIDATES

Hakan Şehirli in Altıeylül, Mesut Ergin in Ayvalık, Orhan Gaga in Balya, Dursun Mirza in Bandırma, Zafer Göksel in Bigadiç, Ali Kemal Deveciler in Burhaniye, Mehmet Ertaş in Edremit, Burhan Karışık in Erdek, Melih Bağcı in Gömeç, İbrahim Palaz in Gönen, Levent Gökalp in Havran, Mesut Akbıyık in Karesi, Oğuz Aslan in Kepsut, Ahmet Duru in Manyas, Aydın Dinçer in Marmara, Ali Koyuncu in Savaştepe, Serkan Sak in Sındırgı, and Hakan Yıldırım Semizel in Susurluk were nominated.

News Source: AA