It
has been a year since we thwarted the bloodiest terrorist attack in the history
of the Republic of Turkey. Turkey has proven its resilience, ability to recover
and strength in the course of last year. It is essential to make an evaluation
of the past year and look forward.
First
of all, we should remember what we have been through. What happened that night
was an attack on the Turkish state by traitors, who infiltrated the Turkish
military, who are loyal to a deranged man who sees himself as the “imam of the
universe.” We were confronted with murderers, who bombed their own national
Parliament, destroyed the headquarters of police special forces that fight at
the forefront against terrorist organizations, driven tanks over unarmed
civilians, fired from fighter jets and attack helicopters. We have never before
been through such brutality in our history. This terrorist network killed 250
of our citizens and left more than 2,000 injured.
Going
back, two sources of pride emerged from this bitter experience. The first one
is the courage and determination of the Turkish people. Our citizens from all
backgrounds and political views took to the streets against the putschists. Our
television channels continued broadcasting despite the threats and raids by
coup plotters. The Turkish nation became one.
Second,
the Turkish nation showed the entire world that it defended democracy and will
continue to do so. My people demonstrated that only the governments taking
office through democratic processes and the will of the people would rule
Turkey, not the armed groups. The strongest legitimacy is the democratic one.
We passed this tough democracy test as a country.
But
the question that my grandchild asked me with all her naivety that night will
never fade away from my mind or anyone else’s: “Grandpa, aren’t these our
soldiers?” Indeed, what kind of mindset would drive a person to attack his own
people, institutions, symbols and leaders in such a brutal manner?
The
answer underlies the nature of the treachery network we are facing. That night,
we were confronted with a crime network, blindly following the orders of
ringleader Fetullah Gülen via a professor of theology. We are talking about a
treacherous gang that failed to grasp the notion of the glorious millennial
history of Turkish soldiers, saluting the manager of a company owned by the
Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ) and the ostensible owner of a school
operated by the same organization, at the military base they used as their
headquarters.
As
a matter of fact, my government had actually unmasked Fetullah Gülen and taken
action accordingly. We had already been exerting efforts to unveil the
existence of this structure inside the state and had made significant progress
to this end. However, the July 15 coup attempt bitterly revealed that the
threat we are facing is beyond our estimation, that it is much deeper and more
vital. The magnitude of the plot masterminded by Fetullah Gülen for the past 40
years to seize control of the Turkish state was exposed. FETÖ members,
following the orders of Fetullah Gülen, had acted unnoticed inside the
capillaries of the system and reached almost all power centers like an
infection caused by a virus that gradually takes over the vital organs of a
body. Comprehensive administrative, criminal and legal investigations have been
conducted throughout the year since July 15, 2016. Extensive evidence has been
reached on this structure that masterminded and implemented the coup attempt.
The
evidence has demonstrated that we are facing a heretical, esoteric belief
system built by Fetullah Gülen. The schools and dorms of the organization
operated as brainwashing and recruitment centers. Members of the organization
indoctrinated in these intuitions and loyal to their mastermind, whom they
believe to be “the Messiah,” were enabled to infiltrate the state apparatus.
This way, the followers, ready to resort to all sorts of illegal and immoral
acts without any questioning, were promoted to key positions. These people
hatched plots such as cheating in public service entrance tests, illegal
wiretappings, blackmailing and sham trials. The organization had been financed
through so-called charities and foundations. Billion dollars worth of money
transactions have been laundered via large companies and banks. The
organization’s media branch functioned as a propaganda tool. Is it conceivable
for an “education movement” to operate in cell structures, recognize members
with code names, develop encrypted applications to communicate among
themselves, teach its members techniques of counter-intelligence and tactics to
mask their affiliation? This new generation of terrorist organization has
resorted to every possible method to eliminate those who are not with them and
tried to control not only the political power but also the state of the
Republic of Turkey in line with their own heretical ambitions. It is this
heretical and dangerous ambition the Turkish nation thwarted on July 15.
I
can say that we have destroyed the backbone of the organization in Turkey with
the measures we have taken. However, the threat is not limited to Turkey. The
organization has similar structures in many countries. Currently, they continue
to plant treacherous seeds in other states. This time, they are more actively
seeking global economic and political influence for their survival. I hereby
would like to alert our friends once again.
The
Turkish nation proved to the world that democracy is not a cheap victory but is
precious enough to die for its sake. Our primary duty is to take necessary
measures to prevent it from happening again. We are making efforts to manage
this challenging process within the constitutional order. Eventually, Turkish
democracy was targeted and our democracy won. So our aim and endeavors will be
to take the necessary steps in time to crown our democracy.
Authored
by Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey H.E. Binali Yildirim
