CHP's Kadıköy rally | Özgür Özel: "No one should have the desire to escape this dark order on their own."

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel addressed thousands at the 53rd "The Nation Stands Up for Its Will" rally held in Kadıköy's İskele Square. Özel stated that the day salaries were paid, the hunger threshold remained below the national average, and called for an early election.

The 53rd of the CHP's "National Will Stands Up for Its Will" rallies, held every Wednesday in Istanbul, took place in Kadıköy's Iskele Square. The rally, the latest in a series of protests that began following Ekrem İmamoğlu's arrest, marked the first major gathering since the appointment of a trustee to the CHP Istanbul Provincial Headquarters.

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel announced the number of participants as 125,000. Özel said, "This square is where all democrats stand shoulder to shoulder to secure democracy." Citizens gathered at the rally site from the early hours and chanted the slogan, "There is no salvation alone. It's either all together or none of us."

The letter from the detained Ekrem İmamoğlu was read first. İmamoğlu's message in his letter was, "Those who come through elections will leave through elections. They will." İmamoğlu, who included the statement, "We will certainly not stand idly by while the attempt to hand over our Istanbul Provincial Directorate to a trustee by police force," proposed an "Election Security and Democracy Platform" for all political parties.

İmamoğlu said, “They have realized they will never win another election. That is why they are trying to regain power not through free and fair elections, but through the judiciary and law enforcement.” In his letter, İmamoğlu recalled the 102nd anniversary of the CHP, a legacy of Atatürk, and conveyed the message, “Just as the will that founded the Republic could not be captured 100 years ago, it will not be captured today either.”

CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik addressed internal party debates in his speech. Çelik said, “There is no conflict within the CHP. On one side, there are a few people who have surrendered to the tyrannical government. On the other, there are those who resist this tyrannical system.” Çelik noted that the Istanbul Provincial Headquarters building was under siege and thanked the Deputy Chairs and members of parliament for their vigil.

Çelik, recalling our local election success, said, "Istanbul knows us from our victory at the ballot boxes on March 31st. Istanbul knows us from our increase from 14 to 26 municipalities under Mayor Ekrem." Emphasizing that the CHP is Türkiye's leading party, Çelik said, "We are all marching to power together."

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel harshly criticized the economic management in his speech. Özel summarized the current situation by saying, "On the day salaries are paid, we are below the hunger threshold." Özel stated that official figures consider those earning less than 88,000 lira to be poor, and claimed that minimum wage earners and retirees are being devastated.

Criticizing the government's inaccurate inflation forecasts, Özel said, "Last year, they predicted 7.9 percent inflation in 2026. Today, they're saying 16 percent inflation in 2026. Such a deviation wouldn't happen anywhere else in the world." Özel argued that this situation has led to a loss of international confidence.

Özgür Özel addressed the government, saying, "If Aleppo is there, the throne is here. Bring the ballot box, don't run; let the people decide." Claiming that they were breaking records with every protest, Özel claimed that the government was unable to take to the streets.

Özel, emphasizing that multi-party politics in Türkiye is under threat, said, "Don't stay silent; the longer you remain silent, the more your turn will come." Özel, stating that no one, from police officers to youth, from youth to prison guards, can survive alone, called for social solidarity:

Multi-party politics in Türkiye is under threat. Some artists are risking everything and speaking out. Some unions are resisting, but some have surrendered. We are addressing those who failed to grasp the issue before it was their turn. No one should aspire to escape this dark system alone. Young people cannot be saved unless the police are saved, and guards cannot be saved unless the young people are saved.

Özel signaled his desire for a broad democratic front by stating that he would visit the DEM Party's former provincial headquarters and that if it were in Ankara, the Victory Party would attend. "Now is the time to fight shoulder to shoulder from the far right to the far left," Özel said, citing the Saraçhane rally as an example.

At the rally, which was also attended by the DİSK Chairman, Özel declared his support for unions, saying, "Greetings to the entire organized working class of Turkey." Özel's speech was accompanied by slogans such as "Shoulder to shoulder against fascism."

Özel said that his friends have been slandered for 175 days and continued:

We're waiting for them to write. We're waiting for those indictments for the cases we, not theirs, will prosecute. Write them if you dare. They took young people and arrested them. Well, they took them for opposing 2911. There's no punishment. But it's just to tell parents, 'Take care of your children.' Just to intimidate their friends. And we haven't left them alone for a single day. Now, let's all do something for young people. They're cutting young people's scholarships. They're kicking them out of dormitories. There's a book I wrote for all the victims of March 19th, with President Ekrem's final words, but you wrote it in the public squares. It's called 'Entrusted to the Nation'! Yavuz Oğhan compiled the article. We will defend this book for the young people who were victimized during this coup. We invite everyone who values ​​my words through this book, not just from the wealthy segments, to support our young people.

Referring to the extraordinary congress decision, Özel said :

They're trying to sow discord within the CHP through the manipulation of the AK Toroslar gang. There was a 50/50 competition at the convention where Özgür President was elected. After today's attack on the party, all the delegates rushed to the notary and stood up for Özgür President. We have 1,300 delegates in Türkiye. When they wanted to appoint a trustee to the party, we called. They gave me all the valid votes. Last week, our delegate friends, whose signatures could have been used to convene a convention within a day and a half, demanded one. Those who want to pit us against each other, who think they'll 'fracture the CHP and maintain the Palace system,' are doing their job. On the other hand, they gave the names of 30 people we expelled from the party to the Istanbul Police Department, pretending they were CHP members. There are also those who took money from poor people and defrauded them, claiming to get them involved. We've uncovered how this evil was orchestrated step by step, and we've uncovered the Palace's conspiracy. We will bury the conspirators, and we will bury their collaborators!