20.01.2025 14:03
The leader of the CHP, Özgür Özel, reiterated the call for elections against the government. Stating that "Our candidate is ready," Özel said, "If you want to confront us, if you’re not afraid, bring the ballot box and get your answer from the people. Whatever the people say should be the outcome. Bring it on. My party is ready, I am ready, our candidates, our candidate is ready. Step up to me and you will get your answer."
Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel made statements at the panel on Modern Law and the Politicization of Justice organized by the Country Policies Foundation.
"WE ARE NOT TIRED, WE ARE NOT AFRAID, WE DO NOT SUBMIT"
Özel commented on the detention of CHP Youth Branch President Cem Aydın due to a tweet he posted about Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek. Emphasizing that they will stand tall, Özel said, "We are not tired, we are not afraid, we do not submit."
Özel noted that the AK Party initially concealed its true intentions, and during that time, investments came to the country. He stated, "Unfortunately, the cause of today's impoverishment is the incompetent ones, who at that time seemed capable, talented, and skillful. The loans they took for housing allowed them to cling to the power they came to after a major crisis, to strengthen themselves, and to utilize certain opportunities."
"THEY ARE DOING EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE JUDICIARY"
Özel stated that the first thing the AK Party government did was to take control of the judiciary. He said, "To put Anadolu Agency, which has a beautiful logo here and was established to inform us from the battlefields, under the command of a party, to turn TRT, which should be doing public broadcasting with all our taxes, into their own trumpet, to close these areas to the opposition, to censor the news at its source from Anadolu Agency, which should provide the most accurate news at the most difficult times, and to do everything they can to take control of the judiciary with the public power they have." Özel expressed that the AK Party's then-contractor would later be referred to as the "terrorist organization" FETÖ.
INVESTIGATION INTO CEM AYDIN
Continuing to address the investigation launched against Cem Aydın, Özel reacted by saying, "This morning, 8 police officers went to his door because of a post made yesterday from the official CHP Youth Branch account, which edited my words and video regarding this process."
Özel continued: "Is there a detention order? No, but they are applying a de facto detention. They went, a statement was taken. A defense was made, it was referred to the judge, they are requesting judicial control, but they say there is no detention order. We called for a statement. If you called for a statement, how are you taking him with 8 police officers in 2 police cars? This is not a procedural error, it is a police state mentality."
ELECTION CALL
In the final part of his speech, Özel made an election call to AK Party President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Stating that "Our candidate is ready," Özel said, "To the one who is trying to directly destroy and collapse the country, I say this: Remove the intermediary. Pull Akın out, we are here. If you want to settle accounts, if you are not afraid, bring the ballot box and get your answer from the nation. Whatever the nation says, let it be. Bring it on. My party is ready, I am ready, our candidates, our candidate is ready. Let him come out against me, and he will get his answer."