On July 9, 2017, the 25th day of the “Justice March,” CHP Chairman Kemal KILIÇDAROĞLU issued an important “CALL” to the millions of people gathered at Maltepe Square in Istanbul and watching on television.
The opening line of his speech was, “LET NO ONE THINK THAT THIS MARCH IS THE END; THIS MARCH IS OUR FIRST STEP.”.
Toward the end of his speech, he concluded with another powerful statement: “OUR MARCH CONTINUES, AND WE ARE HERE!”
With these two sentences, he essentially summed up the “Justice March” and, through this speech, delivered his message to all 86 million people—from those in power to those who merely appear to be in the opposition.
However, describing this march merely as a “March for Justice”—or, more precisely, a “Quest for Justice”—would be an inadequate characterization.
This march is not only a quest for justice and a call for justice; it is also an appeal to our consciences and a rebellion against institutionalized corruption.
Kemal KILIÇDAROĞLU, who has sought to find a place in people’s consciences and moral standards, has urged people to act with conscience, called on them not to tolerate immorality, and appealed for a return to the values that form the foundation of our society.
For this reason, we should define this march not only as the “March for Justice,” but also as the “March for Justice, Morality, and Conscience.” We should be able to call this march the “March for Justice, Morality, Conscience, and Virtue.”.
If you listen closely to the statements he made during the breaks taken along the 25-day march that began in Ankara’s Güvenpark and continued all the way to Istanbul’s Maltepe, you will notice that Mr. KILIÇDAROĞLU frequently uses concepts such as “morality, conscience, virtue…” and that he seeks to draw attention to these areas. Just as he has done throughout his 24-year political career and 78-year personal life.
We—that is, “those who have heard Kemal KILIÇDAROĞLU fall silent and seen him swallow his words”—understand the reason for this all too well. With Kemal KILIÇDAROĞLU under what amounts to a siege from both within and without, the only and most appropriate thing for him to do was to appeal to people’s conscience, morality, and virtue rather than resorting to political rhetoric. He demonstrated this most powerfully during the “Justice March.”.
This was the right choice, and it becomes even clearer when we look at where the CHP and the country stand nine years later.
Because, unfortunately, we are living in an era where the truth is relentlessly blacked out with “permanent” markers, and lies are underlined just as thickly with those same “permanent” markers.
We’ve moved past the point where brazen thieves simply outmaneuver the homeowner; we’re now living in an era where these thieves are trying to label the homeowner as the thief. We’re living in an era where, armed with money and media power, they’re essentially treating the public like fools.
And Mr. KILIÇDAROĞLU is walking a little further each day on the “Justice March” he launched on June 15, 2017, and which he has described as the “FIRST STEP.” Although the fact that the CHP headquarters was occupied by a gang for 928 days—a brief hiatus and a severe blow to our march—as Mr. KILIÇDAROĞLU said:
“Our march continues, and we are here.”
And the first and most essential step we will take on this journey will be “PURIFICATION.”.
Because we know that the most important factors defining the concept of justice are morality and conscience. Where morality and conscience are absent, it is impossible to speak of justice. If there is morality, if there is conscience, if there is virtue, then justice exists; if these are absent, then justice does not exist either.
For these reasons, we celebrate the 9th anniversary of the “March for Justice”—also known as the “March for Justice, Morality, Conscience, and Virtue.”.
Our march continues, and here we are!
And no matter the cost, “WE WILL BE PURIFIED.”
The revision addressed only spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors; the political content and style of presentation remained unchanged.