New wave of operations: First reactions to detentions against CHP municipalities

NEWS CENTER

Reactions continue to the detention of 10 people this morning, including the CHP Adana, Antalya and Adıyaman Metropolitan Municipality mayors.

Political figures who reacted to the detentions and operations targeting CHP municipalities emphasized law, justice and intervention.

Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş stated in his statement on his social media account that they will not bow to lawlessness and injustice.

Yavaş’s full statement is as follows:

"Our Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar , our Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Muhittin Böcek and our Adıyaman Mayor Abdurrahman Tutdere were detained due to Aziz İhsan Aktaş 's slanders. This situation has unfortunately shown once again how the law works and against whom. Since Aziz İhsan Aktaş distributed money to everyone, will this dirty system only target opposition leaders? Where are the AK Party members who were given money? Why is the same determination not shown for them? In a system where the law is bent and twisted according to politics, where justice is applied for one segment and ignored for another, no one should expect us to trust the rule of law or believe in justice. We are calling out from here: Law either exists for everyone or it doesn't exist for anyone. We will not bow to injustice, unlawfulness or political operations."

CHP Group Deputy Chairman Murat Emir participated in the Halk TV broadcast and evaluated the detentions:

We all know that these operations have been carried out politically from the very beginning,” said Emir, and continued as follows:

"Because these are our mayors who are known by everyone, who have received the votes of millions, who have been serving for years. These are our comrades who go whenever they are called, whose addresses are known, whose places of work are known, who serve millions. If they are called, they will easily go and give their statements. But taking them into custody in the early hours of the morning as if a terrorist organization is being dismantled, first of all, it actually turns into an executioner of honor, a perception operation from the beginning. First of all, we never accept the way they are being taken into custody.

THESE ARE INTENDED TO CREATE A PERCEPTION FOR SOCIETY

As we always say, there is no account that every Republican People's Party member and Republican Party mayor, public official, member of parliament cannot give. Every issue can be investigated, examined. Their statements can be taken on every issue. Our friends are used to this, but detaining them is the wrong procedure for this. They are being carried out with such perception operations in the early hours of the morning. We do not want it at all, but we have seen examples of it before. They handcuff them behind their backs, sometimes they grab their arms, sometimes they line them up, take images, sometimes when they are being taken to the courthouse, the lighting is adjusted, the image is adjusted, where it will come from is determined by the directors, as if they were shooting a commercial with a police camera. In fact, when they cannot find the image they are looking for, they take them through the same place two or three times. All of these are actually aimed at creating a perception in society.

They have not been able to fill in the file so far. They cannot support it with concrete evidence. However, there is a process that is being carried out through slanders and the claims of the slanderers, through detentions. Let's detain 30, 40, 50 people, if we catch a crime, let's put them back in prison and wait for them to confess or let's make them slander with threats. Unfortunately, this is what has been done so far. We do not accept this. We demand the right to an independent and fair trial for everyone. Of course, they can be tried, but it is very important that they are tried in accordance with the trial procedures and without being detained."

"YOU CANNOT GET THE PEOPLE TO SURRENDER LIKE THIS"

İYİ Party Chairman Müsavat Dervişoğlu, in a post he shared on his social media account, said, "I do not have the information and data to make a political assessment, but I can say this: It is obvious and understood that the boss has gone crazy."

CHP Deputy Chairman Gökhan Günaydın made a statement regarding the detentions, saying, "Our Adana and Adıyaman mayors are under detention. One is a Mayor like Adana, the other is the hero of the "forgotten Adıyaman" in the February 6 earthquake. I wish you were as concerned about justice as you are about the stock market. You cannot and will not be able to take a nation into submission like this."

"THEY ARE TRYING TO COLLAPSE THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE"

CHP Deputy Chair Gül Çiftci reacted to the detention of the Mayors of Manavgat, Adıyaman, Adana, Antalya Metropolitan Municipalities and the Deputy Mayor of Büyükçekmece in a statement she made on her social media account, saying, "Those who could not leave the ballot box are ambushing the right to vote. Those who turned the state into a mafia are now trying to crush the will of the people. But they will not succeed."

CHP Deputy Chairman Suat Özçağdaş reacted to the detentions and said, "This picture shows that the law has now become a weapon in the hands of the government. If justice is distributed according to one's party and opinion, it cannot be called a state governed by the rule of law. No one should expect us to see this order as legitimate."

Özçağdaş made the following statement in his statement:

"Our Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar, Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Muhittin Böcek and Adıyaman Mayor Abdurrahman Tutdere, Büyükçekmece Deputy Mayor Ahmet Şahin were detained as a result of Aziz İhsan Aktaş's dirty slanders. This is an open political operation. Are only opposition mayors involved in the alleged money traffic? Why are AKP members not touched? 'Preparations' are being made with the passwords given from the podiums and media courts set up on the screens. This picture shows that the law has now become a weapon in the hands of the government. If justice is distributed according to one's party and opinion, it cannot be called a state governed by the rule of law. No one should expect us to see this order as legitimate. We will stand tall against every hand that reaches out to the will of the people. We will not surrender, we will not be silent, we will not step back."

CHP Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Vahap Seçer said, "Our democracy is under serious threat. The will of the people, the presumption of innocence, the rule of law and the culture of living together are being irreparably damaged. A return to democracy and law must be made from these unbecoming decisions as soon as possible."

Vahap Seçer said the following in his statement on his social media accounts:

“Our Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar, Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Muhittin Böcek and Adıyaman Mayor Abdurrahman Tutdere, who serve the people they voted for; each of whom act with a passion for serving their cities and country, were detained. If the operations are only targeting CHP municipalities, there is no law but a political calculation. While the municipalities in power remain untouched, the scales of justice have long since been disrupted. Our democracy is under serious threat. The will of the people, the presumption of innocence, the rule of law and the culture of living together are being irreparably damaged. A return to democracy and law must be made from these unbecoming decisions as soon as possible.”

FIRST REACTION FROM THE DEM PARTY

DEM Party Co-Chairs Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan made a statement regarding the detentions on their social media accounts.

Hatimoğulları, in his post on his social media account, noted the following:

"This torment against elected officials and the people of Türkiye must be abandoned. These operations are not a solution, they are blocking the path to a democratic Türkiye. We call once again for democratic politics to be opened."

Tuncer Bakırhan, in his post on his social media account, used the following expressions:

"I condemn and reject these practices. This wave of attacks and detentions targeting local governments deepens lawlessness and inflicts the greatest damage on the hope for social peace."

In a post shared by the X account of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Congress President Marc Cools said, "I strongly condemn what I see as a purge of opposition mayors in Türkiye with this new wave of detentions. I demand the immediate release of all detained mayors and local council members."

To be updated...