Mr. President,
As a former head of the youth branch of the Republican People's Party, my aim in writing this letter is not to generate polemics, but to make an open accounting about the direction of our party. Because everyone who has worked for this party has a responsibility to speak.
On February 6, you may remember the message I addressed to you on social media. At the end of a series of tweets, I expressed my criticism against you for the language you used in the Reza Akpolat issue by saying “Look, sir...” I see that you addressed the President with the same expression at the Bakırköy rally. I won't get angry at this; in fact, let me make a small joke: You stole a role, Mr. President. I wish this language was part of a rivalry that steals roles from each other in projects, not in polemics.
It is not a question of words, it is a question of direction.
The office of the chairmanship is not the office of raising the level of debate, it is the office of raising the level of debate. Today, however, a situation has emerged where people who think differently are rendered invisible by using party power. People who do not think the same as you cannot find a screen, cannot find a place on the pages of newspapers, cannot appear on television. They cannot appear on Halk TV, they cannot write in Sözcü, they cannot speak in media close to the party.
The only thing left is social media.
Those who speak there are labeled as “traitors” or “talking to the other neighborhood”. Politics does not grow with this method, Mr. President. This method only tightens the neighborhood.
So let us ask: Is this perception the way to power?
Getting 30 percent may be an achievement, but it is not power. How will you get 50+1 percent? With which project? With which economic vision? With which social contract?
Politics is not just about rallies.
Politics is not only about defense.
Politics is not just a reflex to protect a name.
Society cannot be mobilized with a constant agenda of “saving someone”. A politics that constantly remains on the defense line does not give hope to the country. It consolidates its own neighborhood but cannot convince the society.
Our criticism is not personal. We do not accuse any person on trial in advance. The rule of law requires this. However, if there are serious suspicions, it is necessary to distance ourselves. This is not a betrayal but a corporate responsibility.
The Republican People's Party is not an institution that anyone can shield themselves from.
Nobody, and I mean nobody.
This is where the biggest problem lies today. Criticism is considered hostility. Distance is considered treason. Asking questions is considered a crime.
Moreover, because we say these things, you confront us and our companions with disciplinary processes. Suspension from the party, threats of expulsion, making us invisible... These methods are politically questionable and legally unacceptable.
Mr. President,
The office of the chairmanship is the office of building trust, not protecting power. Unity is not built by suppressing different voices. Unity is built with a sense of justice.
The question society is asking today is this:
What will CHP establish?
Let them discipline us.
Expel him from the party.
It doesn't matter.
Let the disciplinary committees of our party be Karbala for us.
But remember: History remembers the oppressed in Karbala, not the executioners.
It remembers the resisters, not the oppressors.
Yours sincerely.