From Özgür Özel to Erdoğan: “The best I can do is be a dove of peace and bring brotherhood to this country”
At the rally held with the participation of CHP Chairman Özgür Özel and Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mustafa Bozbey, the message of the arrested Ekrem İmamoğlu was read. Özel addressed Erdoğan, saying, “Those I have vouched for are in the square today with their foreheads white and their heads held high. Zekeriya Öz, whom you vouched for, fled to America like a rat.”
The "People Stand Up for Their Will" rally was held in Bursa with the participation of CHP Chairman Özgür Özel. The rally was attended by a large number of citizens. Participants chanted the slogans "AKP will be held accountable to the people" and "Rights, law, justice".
Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mustafa Bozbey made the first speech at the rally. Bozbey said, “Our President Ekrem, who won Istanbul three times with the votes of the people, is being illegally silenced today. However, we know that Ekrem İmamoğlu is not only the hope of Istanbul, but of Türkiye.”
Following Bozbey's statements, a message from Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is being held in the Marmara Prison in Silivri, was read. In his message, İmamoğlu described Silivri as "a photograph of injustice and lawlessness."
İmamoğlu said, “This is the X-ray of the judicial mechanism that has been rotten and tried to be killed by cooperation. Whichever door you open, a story of usurpation of rights comes out.” Stating that they have been defending the will of the people in the squares since March 19, İmamoğlu said, “Our nation knows very well the reason for all these actions and the intentions of those who do them.”
İmamoğlu continued his emphasis on justice and made the following assessments:
“Our nation believes that justice is the foundation of the state. It believes that the state can only rise on justice. Justice can only stand with equity, competence and conscience.”
İmamoğlu, who placed special emphasis on Bursa, said, “Once the scales of justice are shaken, the rest will fall apart. Bursa does not accept this injustice either. This city walks with its conscience. It is time to establish a Turkey that is free for all, fair for all, and prosperous for all.”
Following Ekrem İmamoğlu's message, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel made statements. Özel said, "The ruling party acted as if it owned Bursa for years. They said 'Bursa is the castle of the AK Party'. On March 31, the nation said 'let's wait and see'."
Özel, reminding that Bursa has been governed by the leaders of right-wing parties for 47 years, said, “There are no such fortresses anymore. Fortress politics, polarization politics are left behind. Now there is a politics of embracing. Bursa is no longer the fortress of Tayyip Erdoğan or the AK Party, Bursa is now the fortress of the people.”
Özgür Özel criticized the operations that began on March 19 and made the following assessments: “They are after eliminating democratic elections, that is, the ballot box, and establishing a tutelage regime. March 19 is a blow to your right to vote.”
Özel stated that he did not see the developments on March 19 as a blow only to the local election results, and said , “It is a blow to our presidential candidate for the next general election and, if our nation so wishes, to our next president, Ekrem İmamoğlu.”
Responding to AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s words, Özel said, “Today, Erdoğan is talking about the arms of an octopus that only he can see and whose existence he cannot convince anyone of.”
In response to Erdoğan’s question, “Is Özgür Özel a carrier pigeon of the crime organization?” Özel replied, “Look, Tayyip Erdoğan, at best Özgür Özel would be a dove of peace, would bring brotherhood to this country, and would eventually grab our presidential candidate by the arm and bring him to Bursa.”
Özel called out to Erdoğan and said , “If you trust the slanders of this prosecutor, I trust the innocence of my friends. Come, let's make the nation the referee. Let's give TRT live broadcast authority. Let's hold all trials on TRT. Let the slander be heard and the answers given.”
Özel, reminding that he had previously vouched for İlker Başbuğ, Mehmet Haberal and Mustafa Balbay, said, “Those I vouched for are standing in the square today with their foreheads clear and their heads held high. Zekeriya Öz, whom you vouched for, fled to America like a rat.”
Özgür Özel, emphasizing that an interim increase in the minimum wage is necessary, said, “July is coming. I will visit all labor organizations and employer organizations. We will develop and announce a formula that both favors the worker and does not put the employer in a difficult position.”
Özel pledged, “We are starting a great struggle to obtain the workers’ right to an interim increase in the minimum wage in July.”
Özel, who made evaluations about the new process in which the PKK announced its dissolution decision, said, “They ask, ‘What do you say about a Türkiye without terrorism?’ Let the blood not be shed, the tears stop, the weapons be buried, let terrorism end. I support it wholeheartedly.”
Özel concluded his speech with the words, “We want a Türkiye without terrorism, we want a Turkey without bans for the youth, we want a Europe without visas for the youth. We want democracy, equality, and brotherhood for every citizen, both Kurds and Turks.”
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