Özgür Özel: We are looking for a ground for compromise, we are not involved in the Constitutional debate.

Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel made assessments and answered questions from journalists after Friday prayers at the Kahramankazan Grand Mosque in Ankara.

Responding to a question about the commission to be established in Parliament, Özel said, "This is not a commission that will change the course of history. Parties are represented in proportion to their power. We will not make any mistakes." Özel noted that there should be a commission where everyone can share their concerns, adding, "When we take over the government, we want to spend the people's money not on fighting terrorism, but on minimum wage earners, retirees, and the public."

Özel also reiterated that there would be no constitutional discussions in the commission and that they would not be involved in any potential discussions.

"IF WORKERS ARE NOT GIVEN A RAISE, THE REASON IS ERDOĞAN"

Addressing the negotiations on the Framework Protocol for Public Collective Bargaining Agreements, which concerns approximately 600,000 public workers, Özel responded to a question about the postponement of the workers' strike decision by the Presidential Decree by emphasizing that the promises made to the workers must be kept.

Özel, who stated, "If workers aren't getting a raise, the reason is Erdoğan," continued, "The person to address is Erdoğan; he's the one who doesn't give a raise and who's making retirees suffer." Özel noted the unions' decision to strike as valuable, adding, "If TÜRK-İŞ stands by its promise to strike, we're behind them all the way."

"MURAT KURUM NEEDS TO SAY SOMETHING ASAP"

When asked about allegations that some contractors in earthquake housing were defrauded at the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change building, Özel said the following:

"I saw the news. Of course, it needs to be thoroughly investigated. Murat Kurum needs to say something as soon as possible. The prosecutor's office needs to take action. We're at a point where we have a government that won votes by saying, 'We'll build 650,000 earthquake housing units, and we'll do it within a year.' Two and a half years have passed, and not even 40% of the earthquake housing units are finished. They shamelessly boast, 'We built housing.' Now it turns out that they've placed a selective AKP dice on contractors who will build earthquake housing. Contracts can be won through that gang. Or contractors are being defrauded with promises and commitments that suggest this. This is shameful. But, as you know, in this country, those who don't commit corruption, those who don't steal, are kept in prison for months with empty slander simply because they won elections. There's no evidence. They couldn't write the indictment. But on the other hand, there are gangs that commit corruption and defraud contractors through earthquake housing. They formed, met at the ministry, surrounded the ministry, Murat Kurum said, "We will finish the houses in one year," but despite completing 40% of them in 2.5 years, he continues to talk as if the state has kept its word. He should open his mouth and talk about this."

Özel’s statements are as follows:

"There's something I need to say here. Four or five years ago, when I came to Kahramankazan as Deputy Group Chair, I said we would win with the right candidate. Back then, when I said this, they said it was difficult, they wrote about it. Some even smiled. But today, in Kahramankazan, we have a mayor who received one out of every two votes in the last local elections, and a mayor walking down the street… You've noted it many times. Or we have a mayor who has earned the approval of everyone in the shop, all the headmen (mukhtars), the mosque congregation, everyone thanks him, and who has achieved very high rates in both surveys and satisfaction polls. We are very pleased with this. We have carried the Republican People's Party's clean, principled, and hardworking municipal governance to 65 percent of the Turkish population. The satisfaction polls at the end of a year have reached such a point that, unfortunately, we are facing an operation launched by those in power who are not doing their part against the future government, the Republican People's Party government. The targets are apparently the Republican People's Party mayors. But fundamentally, the will of the people in the local elections and More truthfully, they are staging a coup against the ruling party and the President, who will govern the country in the future. Today, we're not in Istanbul; we're in Kahramankazan, but a large number of our citizens, in front of your microphones, have expressed their outrage at what's been done and their solidarity with us. We are also very pleased with this. The moral superiority lies with the Republican People's Party, the psychological superiority lies with the Republican People's Party. The energy of the majority is behind us. Today, we're going to hold a rally in the largest square in a city like Aksaray, where the Republican People's Party has historically preferred modest squares even for its election rallies. We will leave here. After a meeting with the colleagues we've assigned to the commission at our headquarters, we will continue on to Aksaray. Thank you all. Thank you for your interest. We also thank the people of Kahramankazan for hosting us. We also thank our organization here, our member of parliament, our provincial chairman, and all of Kahramankazan.

"WE WILL NEVER BE INVOLVED IN A CONSTITUTIONAL DEBATE"

The parliamentary committee isn't one that will actually take over Parliament's powers, make laws, or alter the course of history with its decisions. Instead of acting behind closed doors, as the Republican People's Party has been saying for years, by inciting suspicion in the public and asking, "Are there secret negotiations?", this committee is instead saying, "Come and ask for members from all parties in Parliament. Explain the issue. If it needs to be resolved, let it be resolved here. If it needs to be discussed, let it be discussed here." We are seeking a consensus platform that ensures the inclusion of the families of martyrs and veterans, that includes the contribution of civil society, that allows anyone harmed by terrorism and all past processes to express their concerns, seek solutions, and work together to enact legislation. Initially, we didn't receive a clear answer to our expectation of a qualified majority. After the Speaker of Parliament called from Switzerland and explained this, we also submitted our members. There's been some discussion from time to time about the İYİ Party not providing three members at their discretion; they're calculating from 47. It's clear that the calculation will be based on the total number of members, not 50. It's a committee formed by the Speaker of Parliament, at their invitation, and the Speaker has no voting rights. He will chair the committee. However, the parties are represented in proportion to their power. We want full consensus on everything. Even if there isn't, a qualified majority will be sought. We will call the right "right," the wrong "wrong," and we will not be involved in any wrongdoing. Certain concerns are being raised, like the constitutional debates. We will never be involved in the constitutional debate. Nonsensical statements contradicting the fundamental values of the Republic have been made. It's the American Ambassador who went and made a ridiculous statement. Furthermore, Erdoğan's speech at the camp, emphasizing only Turks, Kurds, and Arabs 11 times, has created an unforeseen disturbance. I myself am a descendant of a family of Balkan immigrants, both Turks, Kurds, Laz, and Circassians. We, too, are the founders and guardians of the unshakable values of this Republic, with our immigrants' definition of citizenship bound by the constitution within the national covenant, and with Atatürk's definition of nationalism. We will not allow anyone in the commission to simply cut down the pillars of the Republic, let alone say, "I'll hammer a tiny nail into the pillar of the Republic." As the Republican People's Party, we defend the peace of this country. If Kurds and Turks join arms, as they did 100 years ago, children of both Kurds and Turks will be fed and will find jobs. Together, we will bring this country—Laz, Circassian, Bosnian, and Albanian—into the European Union. This country will prosper, unemployment will end, poverty will end, and bans will end. A ban-free Turkey and visa-free Europe will come for young people. This is what we are working towards. When we assume power, we want to spend the people's money not on the fight against terrorism, but on development, on retirees and minimum wage workers. And Erdoğan, who was searching for other alliances here, said this once. He got his answer. If he still seeks other alliances, that's his own pursuit. As the Republican People's Party, we are, and will continue to be, the alliance of the Turkish Alliance, all of Türkiye's democrats, everyone who defends the ballot box, everyone who opposes the coup, and everyone loyal to Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the glorious flag. I wish the commission success in its work.

"YOU CANNOT BREAK YOUR PROMISE TO THE WORKER"

From what I've seen, Mr. Işıkhan wrote something different on paper, then went and failed to receive the promised money from Mehmet Şimşek, who funded the coup and claimed, "We saved reserves for these days," and reneged on his word. Instead of sitting at the table with those who broke their word, or chasing after the Minister of Finance who reneged on his promises—all of whom were appointed—the primary interlocutor is one person. If a raise isn't being given today, it's Erdoğan. Mr. Atalay didn't meet with Erdoğan; he met with Erdoğan's deputy. Erdoğan is the interlocutor, the one who didn't give the raise, the one who has been keeping retirees struggling for six months on a salary of 14,000 lira, and the one who hasn't raised the minimum wage to their rightful place and is now paying 16,000 lira. He is the one who keeps the minimum wage below the poverty line. Banning TÜRK-İŞ's strike decisions on national security grounds is pure dictatorial behavior. The right to strike belongs to those who will defend the rights of labor. What excuse are they using to do this? It's a ridiculous decision. Furthermore, TÜRK-İŞ's statement, "We will protest and strike in 500 locations," is valuable. If they stand by their words, we stand behind them completely. We stand behind those who demand their rights. We stand against those who violate the rights of this nation. In that respect, the unions' decision and stance are correct. Furthermore, in this land, words are spoken only once. You promise workers the money you'll pay, and then you can't go back on that promise, my friend. A great struggle must be waged to prevent this from happening.