CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Cemal Canpolat: Preparation for operations in five provinces

CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Cemal Canpolat made an announcement concerning the removal from office of Ataşehir Mayor Battal İlgezdi. Canpolat said, “We are not opposed to the conducting of administrative investigations. We will not say ‘no’ to investigations to be conducted within the rules of law. If there is corruption at one of our municipalities, we will do what is called for.”
             
Canpolat commented, “We know there are preparations to stage operations at many municipalities in Aydın, Adana, Ankara, Izmir and Istanbul. These operations are political operations. You cannot cow us.” Canpolat said, “Our colleagues may well decide on certain actions at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality assembly.”
 
CHP Provincial Chair Canpolat, speaking at the CHP Parliamentary Group, said the following:
 
“We have in recent days come up against a political assault from the wings of the ruling party, and especially from the Interior Ministry, targeting our party in the desire to cloak the success of CHP municipalities, over which public debate is stoked up every day. The AK Party is still pretty sore over the price, especially in the referendum, for the success of our mayors in Istanbul, a high “no” vote emerging in sub-provinces where we have mayors and the vote also being low in AK Party municipalities, in short nearly five million “no” votes emerging in Istanbul. We know they are undertaking intense efforts to make CHP municipalities pay this price.
 
WE ARE NOT OPPOSED TO THE CONDUCTING OF ADMINISTRATIVE INVESTIGATIONS
 
We are in no way opposed to CHP municipalities being subjected to investigation and administrative investigation. On the day on which you remove your hands from prosecutors and judges and abandon investigations under instruction, we will be behind you in administrative investigations of all kinds you conduct relating to our municipalities. The rule of law applies in the Republic of Turkey. We will not say ‘no’ to investigations conducted within the rules of law. But, unfortunately, we know that this is not the way things are.
 
THERE IS A WISH TO RENDER CHP MUNICIPALITIES INEFFECTIVE
 
I said a full three months ago that the AKP had twenty FETOist mayors in Istanbul. They were unable to say “No” and were unable to launch proceedings. They have removed some of them from office. They are struggling behind the scenes to make the others ineffective and make them passive. On the other hand, the CHP municipalities have shown themselves through the work they have done to be municipalities that are at one with their own people where there is freedom, happiness and an environment of love. They have embarked on the quest to render this success ineffective. They have implemented this at our Ataşehir Municipality. Of the six grounds they cited, acquittals have been issued in respect of four and the Interior Ministry itself denied authorisation for investigation into two of them, and inspectorate reports have been compiled on each occasion.
 
IF THERE IS CORRUPTION WE WILL HOLD IT TO ACCOUNT
 
Despite all this, which document have you requested from our mayor and our mayor did not supply you with it? Which inspector did you send and he was prevented from working? Just at Ataşehir? We encounter inspectors every day at all fourteen of our fourteen municipalities. Just yesterday, there were 23 inspectors at our Kartal Municipality. We encounter dozens of inspectors every day at one of our municipalities. We are going through a period in which we encounter more inspectors than municipal staff. Under veritable intimidation and oppression and the ruling party’s cudgel, our municipalities both provide service to the people and, on the other hand, try to prevent the success of our municipalities from being cloaked. Do not labour in vain. There is nothing we cannot give account for. If there is something negative or corruption at one of our municipalities, we will do what is called for. We are a party that is up for this.
 
THERE ARE 18,000 UNLICENSED CONSTRUCTIONS IN ESENYURT ALONE
 
You look at your own municipalities. Why did you remove the Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor from office? Give account to the people for this. Give account for the dozens of buildings under demolition orders. They themselves know that in Esenyurt alone there are 18,000 unlicensed constructions. Reports exist. What action have you taken? Despite a court ruling in Zeytinburnu, what action have you taken over a building that spoils Istanbul’s silhouette?
 
If you think you will retake Istanbul by intimidating the CHP and its mayors and removing them from office and discussing a mayor every day in your own pro-regime media as if an investigation has been launched, you are mistaken. The CHP is firmly on its feet in the face of your fascistic methods and in the face of your vile assaults directed at CHP mayors and their staff and particularly our General Chair. We will continue to wage this fight.
 
OPERATIONS ARE BEING PREPARED IN AYDIN, ADANA, ANKARA, IZMIR AND ISTANBUL
 
Can you conceive of it? The Interior Minister, who represents a nation’s state, is threatening the leader and mayors of the main opposition party. In the run-up to this referendum, we wanted the president to be impartial. Our country is besieged by international capital from the outside. In a period in which it is wished to bring our country to its knees, it is the state that will ensure this country’s future and integrity. The state is headed by a president. With the president being a political party’s general chair, how is he to be a unifier? How is to unify and integrate? To conceal their own corruption, we know there are preparations to stage operations at many municipalities in Aydın, Adana, Ankara, Izmir and Istanbul. These operations are political operations. You cannot cow us. We will fight your corruption.
 
HINT AT ACTION FROM THE ISTANBUL METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY GROUP
 
In the coming days, our metropolitan group will disclose your corruption item by item. Our colleagues may well decide on certain actions at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality assembly. We will discuss this at our closed group meeting. As of tomorrow, our party members and voters will stand up for the mayors they themselves have elected at the places where we have our fourteen municipalities. We will continue to stand up for them. We will not let the AKP take down our mayors.”