On the night of 15 July 2016, the militants of FETÖ attempted to overthrow the democratically elected Turkish Government. Their agents, who have been infiltrating to the bureaucracy and military for the last 30 years, exploited their positions to reach their sinister goals. They tried to take over the control of critical state institutions and news agencies, bombed the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye and even attempted to assassinate the President of the Republic. Against this existential threat, President Erdoğan called the Turkish nation to stand up the plotters and our people swiftly and fearlessly acted along in order to protect their will, freedom, future and democracy. For this cause, more than 250 people have lost their lives, whereas more than 2000 people were wounded.Thanks to the sacrifice of the heroes of the Turkish nation, our country has prevailed in carrying her democratic elements and qualities to the next century.
Despite the fact that the coup had failed that day, the menace caused by FETÖ still is alive. The said organization extended its reach to more than 160 countries around the world since 1990s under the guise of educational institutions, health centers, business and media outfits. The members of FETÖ use several tools to gain political influence at the countries they have a foothold, including brainwashing children they educate, bribing politicians and inciting black propaganda against interest groups which do not cooperate with them. Especially, they abuse the religious sentiments of the Muslim communities in these countries. Therefore, they undermine and corrupt the democracy and the state of their host countries.
Türkiye continues her efforts to eradicate FETÖ structures in third countries. So far, FETÖ affiliated schools over 50 countries have been closed upon Türkiye’s request, most of these schools are taken over by the Maarif Foundation, the sole entity authorized by the Turkish Government to provide educational services abroad. Turkish official institutions and NGOs are actively engaging with the foreign counterparts and the public with the aim of providing them correct and comprehensive information about FETÖ’s ill-omened agenda. It can be expected that Türkiye’s fight with FETÖ in global scene will stay on in the long-term.
In this context, we urge all the nations to collaborate with us against the said terrorist organization. The Indian Government has a special importance at this fight. We appreciate India’s solidarity during the coup attempt. Being the largest democracy in the world, India stood with Türkiye when her democracy was threatened by FETÖ. India’s approach was also a demonstration to the rest of the world that defending democracies requires more than paying lip service during untroubled times. On the contrary, democracies have to actually support each other at their challenging situations.
The moral of Türkiye’s story against the coup attempt at its seventh anniversary retains its validity. Democracy is a goal that can only be achieved by societies that make many sacrifices for this cause. Turkish and Indian people, have fought against great odds in order to achieve this goal. Thus, they understand the critical importance of keeping their democratic values against current threats and challenges. In this respect, it is only natural to expect these two countries to fight side by side to protect their democracies in the future.