President Erdoğan: The octopus's arms are being deciphered one by one.

25.05.2025 15:40

President Erdoğan said, "The way Istanbul's resources have been plundered is being revealed, and the tentacles of the octopus extending from Istanbul to Turkey and abroad are being uncovered one by one."

```html

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the 'Istanbul Program with Every Neighborhood' held at the Istanbul Congress Center. Stating that "a new corruption, a fraud of the criminal organization emerges every day," Erdoğan said, "It is revealed how the resources of Istanbul are being plundered. The tentacles of the octopus reaching abroad are being uncovered one by one. It is both sad and thought-provoking that the CHP Chairman Özel acts like the leader of Turkey's main opposition party instead of behaving like a messenger of the criminal organization."

"WE HAVE PRIORITIZED LOYALTY SINCE THE FIRST DAY"

Highlights from President Erdoğan's statements are as follows: "Today, we are with the soldiers of the AK Party Istanbul organization, along with the veterans from all corners of our city. First of all, I would like to thank our provincial chairman and management who brought our hearts together in this beautiful atmosphere. I must emphasize a primary issue here. We are a movement that has been on the political stage under the name of the AK Party since August 14, 2001.

Throughout our political life and under the roof of the AK Party, we have taken the late Mehmet Akif İnan's words as our guide: 'It is a place where we can tear our clothes, just give us the garments of loyalty.' From the very first day, we prioritized loyalty and have been loyal.

I gratefully remember all my brothers who have served in the AK Party Istanbul organizations, working for the people of Istanbul, expecting their only reward from God. We will always remember every comrade who has laid a stone on this cause with gratitude. We will never neglect loyalty, brotherhood, and the law of comradeship; we will never push them to the background. We are a team that makes a journey and shares a destiny not just until the ballot box, but until our last breath.

As AK Party cadres, we will hopefully carry the flag we inherited from our predecessors higher by working harder, running more, and showing more effort.

"WE ARE A PARTY THAT PRODUCES ACTION AND PROJECTS"

Today, while strengthening our brotherhood, we are also expressing our love for Istanbul. In every meeting I have with my friends, I frequently draw attention to this reality. As the AK Party, we are a political movement at the service of the nation. We are a party that produces action, creates projects, and only engages in service and works politics. We are a team that pays our debt of loyalty to our nation by running day and night with love. This is who we are. We are a movement of hearts. We are dedicated cadres whose hearts beat with love for the nation and the homeland. We are not only the hope of 16 million Istanbulites but also of 86 million citizens and hundreds of millions of oppressed and wronged people who have turned their eyes and direction towards our country.

"WE DID NOT EMBARK ON THIS PATH FOR SEATS OR POSITIONS"

We are a movement that has embarked on this path to be the voice of the voiceless. We did not embark on this path for seats or positions. We opened up to politics to hold the hand of the poor, to caress the head of the orphan, and to be a remedy for the troubles of the needy. We started this struggle to stand in solidarity with those who shed tears because their doors were not knocked on.

"WE PRODUCED WORK, NOT JUST WORDS OR THREATS LIKE OTHERS"

We have faced many betrayals, disrupted many plots, and have not stopped serving the nation by tearing up the dirty and bloody scenarios. We did not fall into lethargy, pessimism, or despair. Unlike others, we produced work, not just words; we produced service, not just provocation or threats. What matters to us is the consent of the nation. What matters to us is the good prayers of the nation. We will not allow greed or personal conflicts to come near us. We will never disrespect our esteemed nation, which has stood by us like a mountain for 23 years. Sincerity and humility will be our guide.

We will demonstrate our difference with our vision. The AK Party is not a party that divides, separates, or sows seeds of discord; it is a party that unites and elevates brotherhood and the law of brotherhood. We do politics not for ourselves or our future, but for the nation. We do it for the prosperous future of the nation. We have pursued winning hearts through genuine, sincere efforts, not by increasing ratings through PR activities. Today and tomorrow, we will continue on this path in the same way.

"THERE IS NO PLACE FOR DIVISIVE POLITICS IN OUR BOOK"

There is no place for divisive politics in our book. There is absolutely no place for the language of hatred in our political vocabulary. Glorifying violence and burning and destroying the streets is not a political style we can consider reasonable or legitimate. We reject doing politics by speaking in street slang, insulting the left and right, or threatening someone in front of every microphone that is extended. The understanding of politics of those who seek help from foreign media organizations from the West may be like that. We will not confine ourselves to such a language or such a lack of decency. Politics is done to serve the nation. Politics is done to strengthen democracy.

"THEY HAVE NO TOLERANCE FOR ANYONE EXCEPT THEMSELVES"

We all know what a state the rent-seekers and the bandits have fallen into, especially how they have brought Istanbul to its knees. We are following the vandalism staged in the streets to cover up the corruption, the terror unleashed in the squares, and the fascist impositions directed at the press, politics, and the art world. Fascism has reached such a level that they have no tolerance for anyone except themselves. They try to intimidate everyone who does not behave like them, even if they are members of the opposition party, with bullying. They lynch anyone who does not support the corrupt. I believe that our nation, just like 16 million Istanbulites, sees how intolerantly they attack the slightest criticism or the simplest dissenting voice.

"THE TENTACLES OF THE OCTOPUS REACHING ABROAD ARE BEING UNCOVERED ONE BY ONE"

Every day, a new corruption, a fraud of the criminal organization emerges. It is revealed how the resources of Istanbul are being plundered. The tentacles of the octopus reaching abroad are being uncovered one by one. It is being confessed by their own friends whom the organization has bribed. They talk about the money transported in suitcases and the mafia order established in Istanbul. Instead of apologizing to Istanbul, which they have betrayed, they shamelessly threaten prosecutors, judges, police, and media members who are doing their jobs every day. They declare their friends, whom they could not praise enough until yesterday, as traitors and corrupt because they confessed their crimes. It is both sad and thought-provoking that the CHP Chairman Özel acts like the leader of Turkey's main opposition party instead of behaving like a messenger of the criminal organization.

"YOU CANNOT AVOID ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE JUDICIARY"

We do not find it right for the CHP to be reduced to such a situation in defense of the interests of a handful of self-serving individuals. I see it as my duty to remind those who drag Turkish politics down of this fact. You cannot erase the stain of corruption by shouting. You cannot avoid accountability to the judiciary.

We will definitely do what is required of us. During our 23 years in power, we have never let down the trust of the nation. When necessary, we paid the price ourselves, endured hardships, and made sacrifices; we never made our esteemed nation pay the price.

From now on, we will manage all these processes with the same sensitivity, the same awareness, the same dedication, the same determination, and the same courage.

"THE STORY OF ISTANBUL IS OUR STORY"

Every district, neighborhood, street, and resident of Istanbul is a trust for us. We have a memory in every neighborhood of Istanbul. We have a brother. We have a work. In every neighborhood of Istanbul, in every house, in every heart, there is a trace of the AK Party and a prayer.

Our neighborhood presidents are the essence of this organization, the cornerstone, and the unbreakable fortress. This movement has been sustained by neighborhood organizations. You will be the pioneers of our never-ending heart mobilization in Istanbul. The story of Istanbul is our story.

We will strive to embrace everyone without alienating anyone, reaching out to all Istanbulites. I trust the Istanbul organization. I congratulate all organization members with our three-tier management boards, our three-tier district presidents, and our three-tier neighborhood presidents, and I wish them success.