Turkish citizens saved dignity of democracy during 2016 coup attempt, Erdoğan says
ANKARA
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has once again praised the Turkish nation for what he called heroically stopping coup soldiers on July 15, 2016, noting that the struggle has set an example for other nations.
“Our mighty nation, who ignored the guns directed at them and resisted the traitors, won a great and unprecedented victory with its courage on the night of July 15,” Erdoğan wrote in a letter published by daily Hürriyet on July 15, the second anniversary of the heinous coup attempt.
“Turkey has not just thwarted a coup on July 15 with its resistance, it also saved the dignity and reputation of democracy in the entire world,” Erdoğan stated.
“This nation did not allow Turkey to be aligned, managed and become a satellite of colonialists at the hands of FETÖ [Fethullahist Terrorist Organization]. Turkish people rejected to be a mandate of some other forces just like it did in Gallipoli and the Independence War. July 15 is the clearest answer to not just all putschists but all coup enthusiasts, terror organizations and the forces behind them,” he said.
Quoting from the Quran, Erdoğan wrote “some malicious events may lead to benevolence,” and “July 15 conduced to benevolence for our country, nation and future in terms of its results.”
“The sinister attempt that aimed to take the national will at its hostage has paved a way for Turkish democracy to clear its way up, to get stronger,” he said, referring to the executive presidential system that officially started with Erdoğan’s inauguration for a second term on July 9.
“The presidential governmental system is an insurance that July 15 and similar attempts for tutelage will be buried to history once for all. With Allah’s permission, no illegitimate power will have the courage to lay a hand on the nation’s will. With the help of the new executive system, Turkey will continue to its journey to exceed the level of contemporary civilizations with more velocity,” he added.
Speaking at a special event marking the second anniversary on July 15, Erdoğan vowed to continue the fight against FETÖ, widely believed to have masterminded the coup attempt.
“We will find all their cells and destroy them. There will not be any stop, we will continue the road. We will act with more determination to protect our country, and lay claim on our state,” the president said while addressing the families of victims killed and injured on the night of the coup attempt.
“We are determined not to jeopardize what we have won by the struggle of the millions, bloods of the martyrs and sacrifice of our veterans on the table,” he added.
Erdoğan stated that Turkey will continue to pursue its international relations with this understanding, stating that “we are trying to form the widest collaboration possible with the emerging powers in all geographies like Russia, China, Africa and Asia.”
“We are carrying out our relations with international organizations from the EU to NATO with this motto,” he said.
“We respond to every step taken on the ground of mutual benefit, not of obligation,” he said.
The coup attempt has still not fully been clarified after two years
