Özgür Özel: Reducing tensions is not our duty; the government started this crisis
Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel strongly criticized the Turkish government’s policies in a fiery interview, emphasizing his party’s firm stance and issuing the following warning:
“If our party retreats even an inch from speaking the truth, they will silence this nation forever. If we take one step back, those who want to drag Turkey back a century will grow bolder. We will never back down—otherwise, they will bring the people to their knees. If the government continues like this, the thinnest thread will snap.”
Responding to the recent arrests of CHP mayors, including Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar, Özel stressed:
“The government must immediately abandon its ‘law of the enemy’ policy! When someone responsible for the arrest of our mayors cooperates with the ruling party (AKP), nothing happens. But if they cooperate with the CHP, they are taken away in handcuffs and at gunpoint. This shameful double standard must end.”
Referring to Turkey’s condition after 23 years of Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule, Özel said:
“We are at the bottom of Europe in democracy, rule of law, and justice. Not even an AKP minister could find countries worse than us on the map! But we are number one in Europe in poverty, unemployment, precarious work, workplace deaths, violence against women, and child abuse. This government has turned Turkey into a ‘third-world country.'”
The CHP leader also addressed the unprecedented judicial pressure on opposition figures, adding:
“Even with 40 financial compensation cases and 26 criminal cases gathering dust in parliament, we will never stop speaking the truth and defending the people. We did not start the current tensions—therefore, ‘reducing tensions is not our duty.’ We are only reacting to mistreatment; otherwise, the people will withdraw their support from us.”
In conclusion, Özel called for a fundamental change in the government’s approach:
“They must act like a government that respects the rule of law, not one that attacks opponents with stones, clubs, and axes. If they do so, we will exercise our right to self-defense.”
