President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye would not lower its guard against FETÖ, terror organization responsible for the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, warning that it continued to pose a threat a decade later.
Speaking at a ceremony in parliament on July 15, Erdoğan commemorated the 253 people killed while resisting the coup and praised lawmakers for standing against the plot even as the assembly was bombed.
“We must not forget that we are dealing with an organization that used the opportunities offered by democracy to gain strength and then turned its guns on its own people,” Erdoğan said.
“If we forget, we will face the same problems again. We will remain vigilant and will not lower our guard in the fight against the organization.”
Erdoğan said the death of Fethullah Gülen, the U.S.-based cleric who led the movement, had weakened the group’s morale but had not ended the threat.
He accused members of the network abroad of continuing lobbying and disinformation campaigns against Türkiye, saying they were still seeking opportunities to pursue their aims.
Erdoğan described the coup attempt as an “attempted occupation” and said measures introduced afterward had accelerated efforts to dismantle the group’s presence in state institutions.
He also defended the transition to the presidential system, saying it ended divided authority in government and strengthened political stability.
Erdoğan said he expected parliament to maintain full solidarity against any future threat to democracy and the national will.
