Özgür Özel reacts to Lütfü Savaş: 'He is a pawn in this dirty game'

Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel met with Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) Chairman Erkan Baş in Istanbul. Making a statement after the meeting, Özel emphasized Turkey's current problems and the necessity of early elections.

Stating that the opposition is being intimidated through the judiciary, Özel said, "We will show that our party is ready in every aspect for the early election ballot box to arrive as soon as possible." He also reminded that the CHP will hold a primary election on February 23 to determine its presidential candidate.

Announcing that he will visit Can Atalay, who is imprisoned in Silivri Prison, Özel gave a message of solidarity against the pressures on the opposition.

Touching upon the CHP's presidential candidacy process, Özel stated that the process must proceed fairly and transparently, adding that Ekrem İmamoğlu has reached three times the required number of signatures.

Finally, addressing President Erdoğan's poetry polemic during his group meeting, Özel stated, "The democracy train will continue on its way," expressing that the struggle against the government will continue.

Here are the highlights from CHP leader Özel's statements: 

“WE WILL SHOW THAT WE ARE READY FOR THE ELECTION IN EVERY ASPECT”

“In this process where the entire opposition is being tried to be intimidated with the stick of the judiciary and judicial harassment, and in a process where our party has exhausted all conventional opposition methods against this in the past, as a result of the evaluations made by its elected bodies, we are in the process of showing that we are ready for this election in every aspect so that the early election ballot box arrives as soon as possible, and that we are in the process of determining the party's candidate, which is a must for an election, and that we will determine this with a primary election we will hold on the 23rd, where everyone who has been a member of the CHP until the end of February will vote, and we have provided the necessary information from within the CHP to the valuable delegation of the TİP regarding our subsequent process. We had the opportunity to listen to their suggestions and evaluations.”

“EITHER ALL TOGETHER, OR NONE OF US”

“I will visit dear Can Atalay in Silivri Prison this afternoon. I will visit our imprisoned mayors and our friends who are imprisoned on behalf of all of us in the Gezi case separately. As stated a moment ago, the government is trying everything by attacking the opposition separately, sometimes by setting very strategic targets and trying to divide the opposition through those targets, and even by interfering in the internal affairs of a political party, and as I have stated before, by attempting a political operation and coup attempt against the CHP through the judiciary, by trying to organize a coup alliance to the extent of trying to cancel a congress that ended 1.5 years ago, at a place where there are six months left to the ordinary congress process. The only thing that can be done against this is for the opposition to be together. It is for a strong objection and a strong resistance to be organized together as a whole, and in the end, to be together at the ballot box against this government. By being together, we are not talking about alliances, but about the opposition fighting by giving strength to each other and drawing strength from each other against this government. As our Chairman expressed, with the symbolic words of being together and fighting together in politics, which we have heard in the labor struggle for many years, we also say, ‘There is no salvation alone, either all together or none of us.’”

“MY EXPECTATION IS THAT IT PROCEEDS FAIRLY AND TRANSPARENTLY FOR ALL CANDIDATES”

When asked about his views on the fact that the Republican People's Party's presidential candidacy application will end tomorrow and the process reached, Özel said the following:

“My expectation as the Chairman of the Republican People's Party is that this process proceeds in a fair and transparent manner for all candidates. According to the information we received from our friends in the group, Mr. Ekrem İmamoğlu had already completed nearly three times the number of signatures required to be a candidate at the end of the first day or within 24 hours. 24 hours after the first signature was signed on Tuesday, he reached the required number of signatures in minutes and reached three times that in one day. I don't know the latest figure right now, my friends will announce it from Ankara. Other than that, there are various applications to our group, or they are reflected in the press. We are approaching all applications equally and fairly, with all applicants going and conveying their demands to our deputies in a process where our deputies are already in Ankara. By 17:00 tomorrow evening, we will notify our Headquarters of the candidates who have exceeded 20 signatures, and those candidates will complete their own applications along with their other documents. The process is interesting and exciting because it is being experienced for the first time in the Republican People's Party, both in the parliamentary leg, which is of course a process where deputies sign. But we see that the real great excitement is being experienced in 81 provinces and 973 districts, and especially among voters between the ages of 18-25 through online memberships, in terms of registering with the Republican People's Party. Beyond the favor and orientation towards this party, it is the longing for the construction of a Turkey where the candidate who will enter the next presidential race against Erdoğan is determined and actually Erdoğan is replaced, this order is changed, bans are lifted, freedoms come, and the only thing that is forbidden is bans, an objection to poverty, an objection to unemployment, an objection to all kinds of obstacles and aggression against organization, freedom of the press

trying to divide the opposition, and even by interfering in the internal affairs of a political party, and as I have stated before, by attempting a political operation and coup attempt against the CHP through the judiciary, by trying to organize a coup alliance to the extent of trying to cancel a congress that ended 1.5 years ago, at a place where there are six months left to the ordinary congress process. The only thing that can be done against this is for the opposition to be together. It is for a strong objection and a strong resistance to be organized together as a whole, and in the end, to be together at the ballot box against this government. By being together, we are not talking about alliances, but about the opposition fighting by giving strength to each other and drawing strength from each other against this government. As our Chairman expressed, with the symbolic words of being together and fighting together in politics, which we have heard in the labor struggle for many years, we also say, ‘There is no salvation alone, either all together or none of us.’”

“MY EXPECTATION IS THAT IT PROCEEDS FAIRLY AND TRANSPARENTLY FOR ALL CANDIDATES”

When asked about his views on the fact that the Republican People's Party's presidential candidacy application will end tomorrow and the process reached, Özel said the following:

“My expectation as the Chairman of the Republican People's Party is that this process proceeds in a fair and transparent manner for all candidates. According to the information we received from our friends in the group, Mr. Ekrem İmamoğlu had already completed nearly three times the number of signatures required to be a candidate at the end of the first day or within 24 hours. 24 hours after the first signature was signed on Tuesday, he reached the required number of signatures in minutes and reached three times that in one day. I don't know the latest figure right now, my friends will announce it from Ankara. Other than that, there are various applications to our group, or they are reflected in the press. We are approaching all applications equally and fairly, with all applicants going and conveying their demands to our deputies in a process where our deputies are already in Ankara. By 17:00 tomorrow evening, we will notify our Headquarters of the candidates who have exceeded 20 signatures, and those candidates will complete their own applications along with their other documents. The process is interesting and exciting because it is being experienced for the first time in the Republican People's Party, both in the parliamentary leg, which is of course a process where deputies sign. But we see that the real great excitement is being experienced in 81 provinces and 973 districts, and especially among voters between the ages of 18-25 through online memberships, in terms of registering with the Republican People's Party. Beyond the favor and orientation towards this party, it is the longing for the construction of a Turkey where the candidate who will enter the next presidential race against Erdoğan is determined and actually Erdoğan is replaced, this order is changed, bans are lifted, freedoms come, and the only thing that is forbidden is bans, an objection to poverty, an objection to unemployment, an objection to all kinds of obstacles and aggression against organization, freedom of the press

“THE DEMOCRACY TRAIN WILL CONTINUE ON ITS WAY”

“Let my last word be this, my last expression, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan prefers to continue a poetry polemic in his own favor in his group speech yesterday. When a finger points to a place, truly intelligent people look at where the finger is pointing. But those who look at the tip of the finger instead of looking at where the finger is pointing are actually those who are slaves to their emotions instead of their minds and are doomed to lose. I remind Erdoğan of this. You read a poem, it wasn't something that would be a crime. But this was in Siirt. You read a poem in Siirt, you became banned. Then a constitutional amendment was made with the CHP, no one should be politically banned due to the obstruction of freedom of expression. You were at the head of the party, but it was said, ‘He cannot even be a mukhtar.’ The path to being a deputy was closed. The constitution changed and he became a deputy and prime minister for the first time with the elections held in Siirt. Siirt, which once voted for Erdoğan and opened his political path, elects a mayor with 60 percent of the vote and you appoint a trustee to him. This Siirt trilogy is the summary of Erdoğan's and the AK Party's democracy journey. When he once said, ‘Democracy is a train, we get off when necessary,’ he was the Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Now he has gotten off the train. The station he got off at is authoritarianism, despotism, which we as the CHP call a black stain in history, and an authoritarian system where no one in Turkey has freedom of property, goods, ideas, or expression from now on. This is the station they wanted to reach, they got off. But the democracy train will continue on its way. History will write those who got off, and those who resisted.”

News Source: 12punto