The co-chair who met with Özgür Özel said, "The CHP can solve the Kurdish issue."

Özgür Özel met with DEM Party Co-Chairs Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan at his party's headquarters. After a closed-door meeting that lasted about an hour and a half, Özel stated in a joint press conference that the DEM Party, which had previously visited opposition parties, had also requested a meeting with the CHP, but the visit was postponed to today due to his attendance at a funeral.

Özel noted that they evaluated the country's agenda during the meeting and thanked his guests for the visit. Reminding that he visited Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer in prison after 28 days, Özel said:

"He is facing an unjust detention and has had a trustee appointed to his position. We all know that this is a practice that has persisted since the state of emergency period. It is being justified by a Decree Law issued under the state of emergency powers taken with the claim of fighting against the Fethullah Terrorist Organization. Between 2019-2024, trustees were appointed to 49 municipalities with the authority taken from here. In 2024, trustees have been appointed to 7 municipalities. We won the election in Esenyurt with 51% of the votes, and now we are against the trustee with 82%. Even those who voted for the AK Party say that an injustice has been done to Ahmet Özer. The situation is no different anywhere where a trustee has been appointed. We are all evaluating that the sentiment from the early days has changed significantly, and in the subsequent survey evaluations, the trustee practice has been condemned in the conscience of the citizens across Turkey and is not welcomed."

"WE CONSIDER IT EXTREMELY VALUABLE"

Özel stated that last week, 10 opposition parties took a historic step in the parliament by proposing a law to abolish the trustee regulation, expressing that MHP Deputy Chairman Feti Yıldız said, "a legal regulation against trustees should be made by this Parliament," and added, "This is also very valuable. There are times when we think very differently from Mr. Feti Yıldız, but we find it extremely valuable that he has expressed the institutional stance of the MHP on behalf of Mr. Devlet Bahçeli, as someone who makes legal evaluations regarding the will expressed by these 10 opposition parties."

Özel stated that the trustee practice has no place in the conscience of the nation and continued his remarks:

"We believe that the work to legally correct the current situation should start on the 9th, and before the Parliament enters the budget marathon, this can be done quickly. This is a one-day job; for the first time, all parties can come together, pass this in the committee in one day, and if there is already consensus among all parties, the Internal Regulations allow for discussions to start the next day. The AK Party has repeatedly violated this alone. However, with the consensus of all parties, we can correct this article together in the committee one day and in the Parliament the next day. No matter what anyone says about anything in the upcoming period, taking a step to unanimously eliminate such an undemocratic practice in this Parliament will be a confidence-building measure in every aspect and will show self-confidence for the National Assembly, providing hope for Turkey. Therefore, we reiterate our call to the President of the Justice and Development Party and the group leaders from here. I highly value the approach that the MHP showed yesterday to the step that the opposition took together last week. We expect the AK Party to take a positive step on this matter."

Özel stated that the group vice presidents of his party will quickly meet with the AK Party's group management regarding the trustee issue and expressed that they expect a step that does not separate from the AK Party and MHP for the resolution of this issue.

Özel said, "Those whose judicial process has been completed will be elected from the municipal council as it used to be. For those whose process is not completed, if there is no detention measure applied, the trial continues on one side, but such steps should not be taken. This would be a perfect step towards democratization. It would also be a very confidence-building step for these days."

"THERE IS NOTHING CHANGED IN OUR INITIAL ATTITUDE"

After MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli's "agenda-setting" statements at the Parliament podium, Özel stated that he also defined his party's stance, saying, "We believe that a transparent, sincere process based on social consensus should be operated, and that the place where this process will be operated must absolutely be the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, and it should not exclude any party or any segment of society."

Özel emphasized that the most vulnerable segments of society should be taken into account in building a social consensus and stated:

"From our perspective, there will be no process that the families of martyrs and veterans say 'No' to, and I have said that they must also participate in the process. In all the visits we made to them, they said, 'If necessary, we will bear the burden in our hearts, we will take all responsibilities to prevent more martyrs and to end terrorism. But if this is politicized and turned into political interests, we will not forgive.' This framework is extremely valuable and very responsible. I attach great importance to this approach within this framework. I want to emphasize this once again. If acted with sincerity and transparency, Turkey can transform a process that has caused it to lose a lot and has brought us all much pain for 40 years into a social consensus and a process of social peace. This will benefit everyone in Turkey. It will also save Turkey from many risks in its international relations and in the region and geography it is in. At this point, there is nothing changed in our initial attitude. We want a country where everyone living in this country feels equal, sees themselves as equal, and lives equally for this equality. We are ready to take all the steps we need to take for this."

"CHP CAN PLAY A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE IN SOLVING THE KURDISH ISSUE"

DEM Party Co-Chair Bakırhan also stated that they visited the CHP today as part of their visits to opposition parties.

Bakırhan noted that the CHP has a very deep-rooted heritage as the founding party of Turkey, stating that great struggles were fought with the alliance formed by Turks, Kurds, and other peoples in the establishment of Turkey.

Bakırhan said, "The CHP can play a very important role in solving the Kurdish issue with its past and experience, not just as a party that speaks and contributes, and we are confident that it will."

Evaluating the appointments made to municipalities, Bakırhan stated, "Turkey's democracy will be freed from this trustee curse and stain through legal regulations. I hope we can all together save this country from this shame."

Stating that "Turkey belongs to all of us. The values of Turkey belong to all of us. All values are meaningful and important to us," Bakırhan added:

"We have a common history and a common past with its pain and joy. Those who have a common history also have a common voice and common solution proposals. In the upcoming period, I hope there will be good efforts for the democratic development of Turkey and the resolution of the Kurdish issue through dialogue and negotiation, especially among opposition parties, and that we can expand this ground."