15th July Commemoration

There are important turning points in the histories of nations and states. July 15 is such a date for the Turkish Nation and the Republic of Turkey.

On the evening of 15 July 2016, a treacherous faction in the Turkish Armed Forces attempted to stage a coup in Turkey. From the very beginning, the command chain and the vast majority of the Turkish Armed Forces and Turkish Police Forces stand up against the coup attempt.

Above all, Turkish Nation as a whole stood up against this plot and heroically defended Turkish democracy against the plotters. They stood bravely in front of the tanks and reclaimed their democratic rights. In fact, it was the people of Turkey from all backgrounds and political views who thwarted the plot. They displayed a historic solidarity and defended their democracy.

What I am saying, is not an exaggeration. I witnessed all these incidents and heroic resistance as an ordinary citizen. On that night, 240 Turkish people sacrificed their lives and more than 2000 people wounded in the defence of the Turkish democracy. At the end it came to light that this coup attempt was a terrorist campaign to overthrow the democratically elected government, the President and the constitutional order of Turkey. The perpetrators of this hideous undertaking consisted of the disciples of Fetullah Gülen, the man who calls himself “Imam of the Universe”. They are the part of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, called as FETÖ. It is a new generation terrorist organization based on hypocrisy, concealment and secrecy.

15 July was the most brutal attack of FETO against the Turkish nation and state. In fact, their history is loaded with many other crimes. To judge the deeds of this man and his organization only with what transpired on July 15th would be a mistake.

They abused their positions and power in the state to destroy anyone who would stand in their way. Their deeds include cheating at the public examinations, racketeering, extortion, blackmail, wiretapping, orchestrating sham trials, fabricating evidence, and even murder. Most of us got our share from their very dirty tactics.

FETÖ threatened the integrity of the Turkish state and the Turkish democracy with the very sophisticated concealment methods. Whereas other terrorists strike at the state from the outside, FETÖ penetrated the state from the inside and aimed at taking control of military, police, the judiciary, revenue agencies, and even the Foreign Ministry, among others. It should be noted that thirty percent of the career officers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expelled from the Ministry in the last two years.

If we look back to its growing up in the Turkish society and entrenchment in the state system, we see that their activities were started under the guise of a charitable education effort. The kids were put through school with academic and financial help and mainly a heavy hand in indoctrination. By the time most of them unfortunately turned into unquestioning foot soldiers of Fetullah Gülen.

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They were provided with the answers to entrance exams for prestigious government jobs. As civil servants or military personnel, their loyalty was not to the nation or to the state they served.

They did not care about upholding the constitution or the legal system of the country.

As the organization grew stronger and became more affluent, it started meddling in business transactions. Financing was taken care of by holding companies and donations from business people.

The organization established media houses to shape the public opinion. These media houses became focal point of actions taken against journalists, academicians, bureaucrats and military officers who opposed them, or tried to expose them. They were lynched and purged.

FETÖ established itself in around 160 countries, with thousands of schools and businesses. In fact, their actions in Turkey should be considered as a wake-up call for other countries. We are pleased to note ever increasing awareness on part of our partners regarding the security threat posed by FETÖ.

Two years long investigations and judicial process on the events of 15 July have produced countless crucial evidences concerning their mischievous activities.

At the beginning, I mentioned that Turkish people heroically defended Turkish democracy. At this point, I want to very briefly remind the history and tradition of democracy in Turkey. Turkish democracy goes long way back to the Ottoman Empire period. Declaration of the Constitution and the opening of Parliament date back to 1876. Republic of Turkey founded in 1923 by the Turkish Grand National Assembly which was representing the Turkish Nation.

For us, the will of the people is above everything. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s proverb of “sovereignty rests unconditionally and unrestrictedly with the Nation” is in fact symbolizes the consciousness of democracy in Turkey.

In the light of all these, 15

th of July is designated as one of the national memorial days of Turkey under the name of “Democracy and National Unity Day”. Today we commemorate this national day. We commemorate our beloved martyrs who sacrificed their lives for Turkish democracy and the constitutional order of Turkey. We will never forget our martyrs.

Now I invite you all for a moment of silence for our martyrs. May God rest their souls in peace.

Thank you.