27.06.2026 11:06
CHP Group Chair Özgür Özel, who visited Diyarbakır, answered questions from young people. Özel said, “In our party, where a trustee was appointed through nullity, Diyarbakır has suffered greatly from trustees; we walk its streets and ask for directions. If we cannot find a path, we believe in the necessity of creating one. We want to continue the march to power in CHP. But if the trustee appointed to CHP says, ‘Leave the march to power, come wrestle with me,’ I would leave them there and continue marching to power.”
CHP Group Chair Özgür Özel answered questions from young people in his last program in Diyarbakır today.
In response to questions from young people about his promises, Özel collectively answered:
“The real survival issue is that young people in this country dream of a future in other countries. The main reason for this is anxiety about the future, both economically, in terms of freedoms, and in terms of social life. If you ask what our most important promise as CHP is to young people... Of course, I answer this as the elected leader before the nullity debates and as the elected chair of the party. In the future we envision, we first need to correctly identify the current problem. Over the past 23 years, they have gradually restricted freedoms, taken steps back from democracy, established a one-man regime, then blurred the line between state and party, using all captured opportunities solely to maintain power and never transfer it—this is a slide into autocracy, a slide into a one-man regime. Even worse, using public power and pressure on the judiciary, along with some judicial apparatus, to avoid leaving power is coup-ism.”
THE PURPOSE OF MARCH 19 AND MAY 21
Özel summarized the processes leading to March 19, 2025 and May 21, 2026, saying what was attempted was:
“One, making the party candidate-less. Two, institutionalizing its dismantling. Now, with their attacks, they intend to implement a process of making the party leaderless. So here we are, standing firm together, giving this struggle. And to those asking ‘what do you promise young people in one sentence,’ I have always said, and I will say: We promise young people a Turkey without bans, a visa-free Europe, even a valuable passport so you can easily go anywhere in the world, travel in Europe with your ID card, receive the education you want, take the vacation you want, but also return to your country and work if you wish—we promise to let young people dream in Turkey, not in another country.
Atatürk pointed the direction to the West, you see. They think it’s just a direction. It’s not a direction. It’s a definition. He says, ‘Catch up with contemporary civilizations and surpass them.’ The richest countries in the world are those where the rule of law is supreme, where governance is most democratic, where parliament, judiciary, and government check each other without one dominating—they become wealthy. So first, we need to bring democracy back to the country, ensure the rule of law, the independence of courts, that no one can order the courts, and that those who go to court do not doubt justice. And to do that, we need to do what contemporary civilizations have done.
SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL DECISION ON ÖZGÜR ÖZEL
Socialist International made a decision. They said, ‘If there is nullity, we do not recognize it. We recognize Özgür Özel in Turkey. His removal from duty changes nothing. He continues as vice president here.’ I received signatures from 86 parties in 78 countries. They say, ‘When CHP comes to power, we will unconditionally support full membership of the European Union (EU).’ What does this mean? In two, three, four years, meeting all EU standards, removing borders, achieving EU-level salaries, taking important steps in workers' rights, freedoms, youth rights, and education, reaching that point.”
Listing his party's promises on education, Özel continued:
“The university entrance exam should not be like preparing for a horse race. But there needs to be a very large roundtable on how it should be. The education system in a country should not be something one party decides and another comes and dismantles. At the table, there should be students, parents, unions organized in the health field, parent-teacher associations, academics, and a correct education and exam system for Turkey, a national consensus should be reached. And for 40 years, only revisions will be made. With proper planning, the engineers, nurses, doctors, and teachers who cannot be appointed will also be planned accordingly.”
KILIÇDAROĞLU’S “I AM NOT SORRY” STATEMENT
When asked about CHP Leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s statement on a TV program regarding his support for lifting the immunity of arrested former HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş, saying “I am not sorry,” Özel said:
“When he said ‘I am not sorry at all’ on a TV program, it caused great trauma again, rightly so, among Kurdish citizens and in Diyarbakır regarding Selahattin President. Knowing I would come here today, he called his lawyer last night. Then through his lawyer, he told someone he was sure would see me here, ‘Greetings to President Özgür. Welcome to Diyarbakır, to our Amed,’ said Selahattin President. We take this on behalf of the entire city with great honor. Thank you very much. You already know I was opposed to the immunity issue in the past; it has been written and discussed. We fought within the party. But after being elected leader, I said it was wrong and apologized from the group meeting podium, as the current chair, for that former stance. So those words insisting on the wrong position have no value. CHP’s basic stance is our stance. That day's stance was wrong, and we now see that the process of lifting immunities back then—convincing 20 out of 130 friends to avoid a referendum—was extremely wrong, shameful, and problematic. I state this once again.
THE KURDISH ISSUE
Özel answered the question about the process as follows:
“Our approach as CHP to the Kurdish issue is this: We want there to be no weapons. We want no weapons in this city. We want no tears. No color can match the color of a mother's tears. We want both Kurds' and Turks' mothers' tears to dry. For this, a law must be passed quickly, weapons must be laid down, whatever needs to be done on both sides must be done rapidly, the PKK must lay down its arms, and the necessary legal steps here must be taken without delay. We are the party that believes this issue should be resolved in the parliamentary ground. We have said this for years.”We've been saying it for decades. That's why we joined the commission that was established. We tried to provide constructive contributions. On the other hand, we believe that this Kurdish issue can be resolved not only through disarmament but also through democratization. In other words, there is a need for a ground where freedoms increase, individuals can express themselves politically, participate in politics, exist, speak without fear, and seek their rights. This government cannot provide this, but we still say that these issues should be resolved by addressing the sixth and seventh articles of the commission not consecutively but intertwined; that Gezi prisoners should be freed through Constitutional Court decisions, and Selahattin Demirtaş, Figen Yüksekdağ, political prisoners through European Court of Human Rights decisions, and also political prisoners in this regard should regain their freedoms through regulations to be made. We believe that regardless of the party, trusteeship practices must be ended, and we strongly advocate this together.”
WHAT IS THE LEGAL SITUATION IN THE ABSOLUTE NULLITY DECISION?
Özel responded to questions about the absolute nullity decision as follows:
“We suffered the greatest injustice in history, yes we did. Is society with us? Yes, it is. Those expecting a split in the party, whether it would be 50-50, 60-40, 30-70; it turned out to be 1-99. So there is not a division but a unification in the party. There is great excitement. At this point, we are pursuing something on four fronts. For the legal processes—my lawyer colleagues know—so that our dismissed friends who were unfairly expelled can return, we are pursuing cases in the civil courts of peace; even though we submitted the signatures, no congress decision was made by the end of Friday, so for the congress to be held, we are awaiting the civil court of first instance to appoint a call committee that within 40 days will only pay salaries, not buy or sell property, and do nothing else but take the party to congress. On the other hand, we await the outcome of our request to the Supreme Court Chief Public Prosecutor's Office that our party's Executive Board, which has 60 members and drops to the 20s even when filled with substitutes, must be swiftly taken to congress by law, and that this should be notified by warning. Additionally, we continue our struggle in the nullity case to be heard in the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court for the lifting of the precautionary measure and, when considered on the merits, for the appeal court's decision to be overturned.
NEW PARTY DEBATE
All these struggles continue. Meanwhile, since we were thrown from the 12th floor, we have visited 12 cities, and we are now in the 13th city. We see Diyarbakır as a city as important as Ankara and Istanbul. Especially in our party, where a trustee was appointed through nullity, having suffered greatly from trustees, we walk the streets of Diyarbakır asking for directions. We say, 'Where should we go, what should we do?' Sometimes it's not just about showing the way; asking the way is also good. We find eye-to-eye, eye-level communication very valuable. We find the interest and support we see today in Diyarbakır very valuable. We are thinking about CHP's re-administration through legal means. If this happens, fine. If not, if we can't find a way, we believe in the necessity of opening a way. At this point, its name is as mentioned earlier: We work meticulously for all options without excluding any, and we make our legal and technical preparations for all. Let me say just one important thing: If CHP does not hold a congress by July 26, it may not be able to enter the elections. Is that correct? There is such a risk. Whoever takes that risk, we don't. We are taking our precautions. 'Let's pull CHP into a pit. Let the cases continue. Let us announce schedules…' Let me leave these aside and wrestle with the nullity supporters. They want to draw me there and stop the party's march to power. We want to continue the march to power with CHP. But if the trustee appointed to CHP says, 'Abandon the march to power, come wrestle with me,' I leave them there and continue marching to power. Because there is no other way.”