President Erdoğan asked CHP leader Özel about the flag hung on Aleppo Castle.

President and AK Party Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at his party's 8th Ordinary Provincial Congress in Denizli at the Hasan Güngör Sports Hall.

Highlights from Erdoğan's statements;

"I am very pleased to be in Denizli, the heart of industry, exports, production, tourism, and agriculture. I express my gratitude to my Denizli brothers and sisters who passionately, excitedly, and lovingly support their party and cause.

"WE WILL COMPENSATE FOR THE ROAD ACCIDENT"

After this congress, the AK Party will become even stronger in Denizli and will contribute more to brotherhood. Hand in hand, heart to heart, we will restore the AK Party to its glorious days in Denizli. We will compensate for the road accident we experienced in the March 31 elections at the first opportunity. We set out 24 years ago. We embarked on our goal by saying 'We came to build hearts,' inspired by Yunus Emre. Since 2001, we have been walking patiently on this blessed path. Our direction was determined by our nation. We have never deviated from the route drawn by the people. Our spirit of service has never diminished or aged. We have worked day and night to not let our nation down.

"FROM WHERE TO WHERE..."

We are experiencing the joy of bringing the greatest achievements and works in the history of the Republic to Turkey. There are enormous differences in every field between Turkey 22 years ago and today's Turkey. In the economy, exports, production, employment, and tourism, you will encounter magnificent and tremendous successes compared to 22 years ago.

We inherited the Central Bank's reserves at 27.5 billion dollars when we came to office. In December, our bank's reserves broke a record at 163.5 billion dollars. From where to where... Those who do not know how to count do not understand this. We inherited our national income from 236 billion dollars. It rose to 1 trillion 130 billion dollars in 2023. From where to where... By the end of 2024, we expect this figure to rise to 1 trillion 331 billion dollars, and our per capita income to 15 thousand 551 dollars.

Every individual of this nation wants the development and progress of their country, regardless of who is in power. When we say everything for Denizli, everything for Turkey, we do not say this as a slogan or an election promise. We express it because we believe it with all our hearts. We will continue on our path by renewing ourselves, refreshing ourselves, and expanding our goals and scales.

"THEY ARE LAZY, NOT WORKING"

Turkey has achieved all these successes despite the chronic opposition. They have not held the end of any work that benefits the nation and the country. If the opposition had not hindered us, we would have signed very significant success stories. We used the time we could have worked to remove the barriers they placed in front of us. We struggled to fend off the opposition's sabotage with the energy we would have used to serve.

Even though the names in the opposition change, the mentality, hostility towards service and investment does not change. Even though the names sitting in the chair of the CHP's chairmanship change, hostility towards service does not change. They do not like to work. They are lazy. Instead of swallowing construction dust on the road of serving the nation, they prefer to clink glasses at a meze table.

"THE OPPOSITION HAS CONQUERED DAMASCUS AGAIN"

They are in such a state of mind that they say let the AK Party and the People's Alliance wear out, whatever happens to Turkey. They cannot be happy with Turkey's diplomatic, economic, military, and political gains. The latest example of this is the Syrian crisis. After 13 years of bloody massacres in Syria, the Assad regime was overthrown. The Baath dictatorship collapsed, and the opposition conquered Damascus again. We, as Turkey, were also pleased with the end of the 13 years of oppression by the opposition.

We were the country that felt the negative impact of the conflicts in Syria, with which we share a 911 km border, the most. We paid serious costs in many areas. The terrorist organizations PKK and ISIS fed off the instability in this country. They sent thousands of truckloads of weapons and ammunition to the separatist organization under the pretext of ISIS. The cruel Assad had turned Syria into a massive drug production farm. I do not even mention the death and torture centers in prisons and extrajudicial executions here.

"THERE IS A MOURNFUL ATMOSPHERE IN CHP"

A great popular revolution took place in Syria. There is a mournful atmosphere in the CHP. They could not digest the fall of the Baath regime, with which they have ideological ties. We know the grudge of their former chairman. Beyond that love for the Baath regime and Assad, there are different reasons. We all wonder why the new administration is uncomfortable.

I ask Mr. Özel; why does the red flag hanging on Aleppo Castle bother the CHP? Why do the prayers made for Turkey in the mosques of Hama and Homs create discomfort for you? What is the reason for the CHP's reaction to the prayer held in the Umayyad Mosque? What is your issue with the Syrian people who have lost 1 million of their children? You love to talk about rights and law, why do you not raise your voice against the lawlessness of your mayors?

When it comes to words, they say we are the party founded by Atatürk. They do not fight the struggle that Gazi fought in the Middle East and North Africa. They could not free themselves from the orientalist codes of single-party fascism. Despite such a mentality, we have brought Turkey to these levels.

"MOST HAVE GONE, A FEW REMAIN"

These are just the beginning; we will be in much better places. We will not allow anyone to come between us and our goals. We will definitely build the Century of Turkey. For the realization of our vision of a great and strong Turkey, most have gone, a few remain. We have taken on a historic responsibility. In a period when the cards are being reshuffled in the world, we are facing a heavy responsibility. We will not just strengthen Turkey; we will turn our century-old dreams into reality. We have no luxury of falling into complacency on this journey. I expect you to work harder, saying today is the day."