The
Turkish Ambassador to The Gambia, Ergin Soner, yesterday called a press
conference at the embassy in Brufut to share with the local media the situation
in Turkey, following the attempted coup on 15 July 2016.
The
ambassador commended The Gambian government for demonstrating “the needed
solidarity with Turkey” since the early hours of the coup attempt.
Here
is an excerpt from Ambassador Ergin Soner’s statement:
“As
you may recall, on Friday, July 15, at around 9pm, despicable terrorists of the
Fethullah terrorist organisation – FETO (Gulen group) targeted the legitimate
government, the country’s elected president, the constitutional order as well
as the civilian people and the democracy the Turkish nation cherish was at
stake.
“Since
then Turkey has been fighting the enemies of democracy with democracy. And the
Turkish nation and her leadership expects solidarity from its allies and
friends after the failed coup attempt.
“Before
I go further, I would love to note that the Gambian leadership has demonstrated
this needed solidarity with Turkey since the early hours of the events, and we
commend H.E. President Jammeh for that.
“It
is apparent that the gulen feto terror network has over the past decades infiltrated
into all state and non-state institutions. The movement’s infiltration into
Turkish state dates back to late 1980s. For example, this coup attempt was
staged by a clique inside the Turkish armed forces linked with the Fethullah Gulen
Terrorist Organisation.
“The
perpetrators of the coup were the military officers who had risen to critical
positions which were vacated by the sham sledgehammer trial. Operation
sledgehammer is the name of an alleged Turkish military coup plan dating back
to 2003.
“The
accusation that the coup attempt was led by Gulenist generals is not based on
simple force of assertion.
The
claim is backed by statements of those under arrest and information from
multiple agencies.
“One
of Fethullah Gulen’s sermons which was included in the indictment of 1999 epitomizes the gulen’s believe in secretive and incremental takeover from within and that the change should come from the bottom up: ‘you must move in the arteries of the system without anyone noticing your existence until you reach all the power centers… until the conditions are ripe, they (the followers) must continue like this…
you must wait for the time when you are complete and conditions are ripe, until we can shoulder the entire world and carry it… you must wait until such time as
you have gotten all the state power, until you have brought to your side all
the power of the constitutional institutions in Turkey… until that time, any
step taken would be too early – like breaking an egg without waiting the full
40 days for it to hatch. It would be like killing the chick inside.’
“The
Gulen Movement is embraced by the western media and politicians as a promoter
of peace and interfaith dialogue – which is absolutely false picture of gulen
and his movement.
“Fethullah
Gulen actually left Turkey subsequent to a trial that charged him with toppling
the secular state in 1999.
“The
rogue officers, with their strong appetite for huge destruction, went on to
attack the presidency, attempted to assassinate the President, fire at police
stations with fighter jets, killing dozens of police officers tasked with
protecting the order.
“The
heartless terrorists dropped bombs on the Turkish parliament while the
legislature was still in session.
“High-profile security personnel were kidnapped by their own personal security details and attacks on all facets of democratic institutions took place nearly simultaneously.
“Tragically,
246 Turkish citizens lost their lives during this violent terror campaign – of
those, regrettably, 179 Innocent civilians who just stood bravely in front of
the thanks and reclaimed their democratic rights. The number of wounded
citizens went up to over 2,000.
“I
am proud to state that the coup attempt failed not only because of the ever
determined Turkish armed forces, but also due to the obvious fact that it was
not embraced by the Turkish nation.
“Turkish
democracy won a battle that night. Yet, there is also the war to win to fully
finish this painful episode of our life.
“The
process of trying the arrested suspects is ongoing in various competent Turkish
courts.
“I
have the conviction that all suspects will have a fair trial because turkey is
a bastion of democratic universal values and norms along with human rights and
the rule of law.
“The
AK party, since coming to power in 2002, has been reckoned with upholding the
rule of law by promoting and protecting human rights.
“Due
to the severity of the situation as unfolded on July 15, the Turkish state had
to take required measures for its public order and security. And this has been
done as prescribed by the constitution and relevant laws and in full observance
of our international obligations.
“In
this regard, the declaration of the state of emergency, by H.E. President
Erdogan on July 20, is nether to restrict fundamental rights and freedoms of
our citizens, nor to compromise democracy or the rule of law. It serves to act in the most speedy and effective manner in the fight against the FETO terrorist
organisation and return to normalcy as soon as possible.
“Although
the state of emergency has been declared for 90 days, we aim to end it as soon
as the fight against the feto terrorist organisation is successfully attained.
“Naturally,
during the state of emergency, Judaical remedies are available, against these
measures including the right of individual application to the constitutional
court, not to mention the European court of human rights (ECHR).
“It is worth to note that the Turkish people coming from all segments of life,
regardless of who they support politically, continue to gather in cities’
squares to show their attachment to democracy.
“The
political parties in the parliament do the same in defending together our
democratic values and our constitutional order, consolidating the democratic
cohabitation against the waves of polarization in political circles. This gives
us further hope and confidence in our fight against the enemies of our
democracy.
