Letter from İmamoğlu to Malatya: We are in times when we need courage as much as bread and water.

The CHP held the 35th "National Will" rally in Malatya, which it initiated after the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor and presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu on March 23.

CHP Malatya Provincial Chairman Barış Yıldız read the message sent by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor and Presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu from Silivri.

İmamoğlu used the following expressions in his message:

"Brave people of Malatya, grandchildren of Battalgazi, hello!

Greetings to the worker who continues to keep his hearth burning every morning. Greetings to the young people who, despite everything, have not fled this land but clung to it with hope. Greetings to those who follow in Battalgazi's footsteps. Just as he served these lands with his courage, wisdom, and justice, you too stand in this square today with the same determination to stand against injustice, unfairness, and oppression.

What we've been experiencing since March 19th is no ordinary judicial process; it's an attempt to strangle politics by wrapping it in legal garb. None of this is the work of an independent and impartial judiciary. This is a siege by the government, wielding the judicial stick against politics. The government is attempting to avenge its defeat at the ballot box by hiding it behind the law. But no matter what they do, we will not bow to this vile system.

Because we know this nation never forgets injustice. This nation will be held accountable at the ballot box. Dear people of Malatya, I know that across the country, Malatya's youth are struggling to find jobs, women are being excluded from production, and fields are losing productivity. Tradespeople are struggling with debt. Migration is increasing. The city is becoming isolated and aging. But we are determined to break this cycle. We will make Malatya a pioneering city of a new development model, honorable labor, and a just future. We will fill the void created by the earthquake in both your hearts and your city with service.

The bazaar, your market, and the courtyard of the Taze Mosque will once again be filled with crowds. This ancient city can once again become Anatolia's production hub. We will integrate organized industries with the technology and agricultural ecosystem. We will build a Malatya where women and young people have an equal voice in education, employment, and politics. For a Malatya that thrives not through construction but through science, not through plunder but through planning, and not through profiteering but through rights, we will both expand the social state and strengthen the rule of law. We will wage this struggle not just for one city, but for the entire country.

Our duty is to walk tall, tirelessly and relentlessly. This is Battalgazi's legacy: to stand with the oppressed and against the oppressor. Therefore, from here, from behind these walls, I extend my deepest greetings and a call to you: Let us stand shoulder to shoulder. Let us lean on one another. Let us not surrender to this injustice, these lies, or this oppression.

We are in times when we need courage and determination as much as bread and water. Most of all, we need each other. The future of this country is in our hands. And once those hands are united, no power can hold them back. We will never bow down. Together, we will change this dark order. And we will definitely, definitely win. Then everything will be perfect. Stay well.

Source: News Center