CHP Leader Özel spoke at the Socialist International Meeting in Spain: ‘We Must Stand by Our People Exploited by Neoliberal Order’

‘I DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THE HUMANITARIAN DRAMA IN GAZA’

Özgür Özel, Chairperson of the Republican People's Party, said at the Socialist International Council Meeting: ‘Our duty as leftists, socialists and social democrats is to put the public interest at the centre of politics and order. One of the most important steps that our parties, institutions and the Socialist International can take in the fight against the rise of the extreme right and increasing populism is to stand by our people exploited by the neoliberal economic order.’ Özel said, ‘I would like to visit Palestine next April and draw attention to the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza. I think that we should discuss together an important call for an immediate permanent ceasefire in Gaza and to allow the passage of humanitarian aid.’

Republican People's Party Leader Özgür Özel spoke at the 1st Session of the Socialist International Council Meeting titled ‘Reforming Global Governance to Ensure Sustainable Development for All’ in Madrid, the capital of Spain. Özel said, ‘As you all know, last year on 6 February 2023, we experienced one of the most painful days in the history of the Republic. We lost 50 thousand 783 citizens in the earthquakes that affected 11 provinces. While we were experiencing this pain, I would like to express my thanks once again on behalf of my country and all our citizens to Spain, which was one of the first countries to rush to help, who was with us within 24 hours, who contributed to search and rescue efforts in 10 cities, who was in Turkey with 500 heroic sailors and 2 military ships, and who established a field hospital in Hatay province and stood by our citizens.’ Özel said, ‘Of course, in addition to my thanks to Spain as the host country, I would like to express my gratitude to the representatives of all the countries present in this hall who shared our pain, contributed to the search and rescue efforts, came and visited us, and all our sister parties for the solidarity they showed at that time. I wish once again that such great sufferings will not be experienced both in our country and in any geography of the world. I would also like to thank the esteemed chairman, executives and valuable workers of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party for hosting us today. I would like to express that we welcome our joint decision to open an office of the Socialist International in Madrid, which we have just voted in favour of, and to carry out its work here in a more institutional way.’

‘CHP IS THE ONLY REPRESENTATIVE OF SOCIAL DEMOCRACY’

‘My party, the Republican People's Party, celebrated its 100th anniversary last year along with the Republic of Turkey. As the leader of a party that founded the Republic, I stand before you as the representative of a deep-rooted tradition and an important mission,’ said Özel, ’The goal of this mission is to create a modern society, an advanced and just economic order. The goal of this mission is to make reason and science dominant in governance and to become one of the leading countries of the world with a respectable, peaceful and non-adventurous foreign policy. A member of the Socialist International for 47 years, CHP is the most important defender and the only political representative of social democracy in Turkey. With its 100 years of history, it is one of the most established parties in the world. 4 months ago, from the moment I was elected as the President of the CHP, I focused on the local elections to be held on 31 March. The mayors of our party manage very important cities in Turkey, including Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Antalya, Antalya, Muğla, Aydın and Hatay, which you all know closely, and cities where almost 60 per cent of our population is located. Our municipalities have mitigated the effects of economic difficulties on our people with social democratic services and solidarity policies. Our aim is to increase our achievements in local governments and to make the social democratic municipalism approach dominant throughout our country.’ Özel continued his speech as follows:

IMPORTANT WARNING TO LEADERS

‘Dear comrades, our world is going through a process of change and transformation. The problems we face and the difficulties we face are not problems that can be solved only within national borders and with national means, as in previous centuries. On the contrary, the most important problems of our age are global problems that transcend borders and whose solution requires all of us to work together. In addition to problems such as war, geopolitics, geoeconomic competition, epidemic threats such as the Covid pandemic, food security, drought, climate crisis, irregular migration, rising far-right movements create new risks in every region. This series of deeply interconnected problems threatens the economic and social conditions of our people and our democracies. We observe that far-right ideologies, which are trying to attract the masses who cannot get what they deserve from this economic order we object to, who feel left behind, who experience income injustice, with radical discourses, are gaining strength in many regions of the world. These rising far-right movements and authoritarian tendencies resurface harmful ideologies that we have buried in the pages of history and cause great harm to the internationalist perspective. We must therefore strengthen democratic politics and increase solidarity between our parties against rising authoritarianism. It is of course understandable that in countries where our political relatives are in power, the foreign policies of these countries and their own priorities are on the agenda. However, at the point where their political interlocutors are ruling as right-wing, shallow, oppressive, democracy-suspending regimes in the country they are dealing with, the reflections of good relations between the leaders in the relations established by our political relatives with them are left, To observe that social democratic and socialist ideology is harmed in other geographies and to analyse this network of relations correctly, to pay attention to the situation in which personal affinities put our political relatives in the country of interlocutors is an important reminder that I must make to all the valuable left and socialist leaders of their countries, each of whom we are proud of separately. ‘

‘THE NEED FOR A NEW ORDER’

‘Those who believe in democracy and have the will to establish a new economic order must join forces. What we are experiencing today is a clash between social policies based on the public interest and right-wing politics based on personal interests. We, the left, socialists and social democrats, must put the common good at the centre of politics and order. One of the most important steps that our parties, our organisations and the Socialist International can take in the fight against the rise of the far right and increasing populism is to stand with the people exploited by the neoliberal economic order. To offer them solutions that are more realistic, more achievable and, most importantly, more convincing than those offered by the extreme right-wing currents. At this point, the goal of sustainable development for all, which is the subject of our council meeting, is of utmost importance. In order to achieve this goal, the neoliberal economic order, which is a necessity, needs to be replaced by a real, new order and a participatory, democratic, equal representation-based understanding of governance. In the global and national arena, income justice has not been achieved, on the contrary, in every crisis, the share of workers in income has shrunk and income distribution has deteriorated considerably.’

‘I WILL GO TO PALESTINE IN APRIL TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THE HUMAN TRAGEDY’

‘As I come to the end of my remarks, the last few years have unfortunately shown us that war and conflict are still one of the most important risks for humanity. With the Ukraine-Russia war, which is now in its second year, we have witnessed such a war on the European continent for the first time since 1945. Moreover, the risks of escalation and spread of this destructive war, which is still ongoing, threaten the whole world. On 7 October 2023, I would like to remind you that more than 30 thousand people have lost their lives in Israel's operations in Gaza following the attack by Hamas, a significant number of whom are women and children. Last November, I called for international peace on this issue and wrote a letter to the leaders of the leftist and social democratic parties in the countries represented in the Socialist International. I would like to draw attention to the human tragedy in Gaza by paying a visit to Palestine next April and I would like to express my satisfaction that we have made significant progress in this regard. After my visit in April next year, I think that we should discuss together an important call for an immediate permanent ceasefire in Gaza and to allow the passage of humanitarian aid. I would like to emphasise that the permanent solution of the problem requires a two-state formation to be achieved through the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders of the United Nations, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Wherever the blood is shed, whether in Ukraine, Gaza, Yemen, Yemen or Africa, wherever in the world, we will continue to stand against the powerful and oppression and stand in solidarity with the oppressed peoples. Dear comrades, I greet you all once again with respect on behalf of my party and my country, I hope that the amendments to the statutes made today will contribute to the Socialist International and I extend my love and respect to you all.’