President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the "15 July in its 10th Anniversary: The Will is Ours, the Victory is Ours" Program held at the Capital National Garden.
Erdoğan said the following in his speech here:
"On the 10th anniversary of the July 15 bloody coup attempt, we are together with you to commemorate the heroes who fell to the ground right next to us 10 years ago.
I send my greetings and love to our 86 million citizens in our 81 provinces and to our Turkish brothers who love our country and flag and follow us on different platforms. At the very beginning of my words, I remember with mercy each of our 253 martyrs who met the black earth as if they were entering a rose garden for the sake of our independence and future on that bloody night of betrayal.
On behalf of myself and my nation, I would like to express my gratitude to 2 thousand 737 veterans who were injured while resisting the coup plotters. I wish God's abundant mercy to our 72 veterans who passed away.
They went through everything from mother to child to keep our state alive. But they won despite the rain of bullets and bombs dropped from helicopters and F-16s. "We are responsible for the expedition, victory is from Allah." they said. They did not bow down to the scoundrels who sold their souls for 1 dollar.
I would like to thank our heroic security forces who protect their honorable uniforms, and every member of my beloved nation who loves Türkiye with flags in their hands and prayers on their tongues.
That night, we declared to the whole world that no power could stand in the way of our nation, which rose to the top in the struggle for independence. Against the Assassin gang, just like a century ago; "I have lived freely since time immemorial, I live freely; which madman would chain me? I would be surprised! I am like a roaring flood, I will trample and overflow. I will tear mountains, I cannot fit into the deep, I will overflow."
I congratulate our beloved nation once again and express once again that I am honored and proud to be a member of this great nation.
Dear guests, please do not forget this: Betrayal is an insidious virus that spreads to every cell of the body. This virus knows no boundaries in the name of morality or humanity. Everything in the name of morality, conscience, honour, honor and bravery is erased in one fell swoop.
When you look at those who betrayed this nation and this state throughout history, you see a herd of soulless and dishonorable creatures. You won't see any sense of shame in these. There is not an iota of modesty in them. There is no trace of homeland consciousness or national consciousness in them. In their eyes, national and spiritual values have no value. These are the fierce enemies of the nation and the country. These are sold-out characters who stab their state and nation in the back for the sake of their worldly interests.
Now look, my dear brothers; 10 years ago, FETO members targeted our Gazi Parliament, Presidential Complex, General Staff, Special Operations Directorate, Aviation Department, MIT Directorate, TRT and TÜRKSAT in Ankara.
They treacherously martyred the children of the nation in Istanbul and Marmaris. They attacked not only our nation, but also their own comrades-in-arms, with the tanks, planes, weapons and armored vehicles that they entrusted to the honor of the nation. On the night of July 15, we martyred 149 of our brothers in Ankara alone. One thousand 508 of our brothers were honored with veteran status. Our Ankara Provincial Police Department building, right across from us, became the target of tanks, helicopters and F-16s. As a nation, we have witnessed all kinds of treachery, cruelty and cruelty.
That night, the traitor on the radio said to the terrorists in pilot uniforms, "Shoot the police building." he commanded. During these attacks, a total of 13 heroes, seven of whom were police officers and six of whom were civilians, marched to martyrdom in front of the Ankara Police Department. Dozens of our citizens gathered here became veterans.
Each of our martyrs has a different story. Every son of the country who was honored with martyrdom and veteran status that night has a different story. I would like to share a few of these stories with you, especially for our youth, who are the guarantee of our future.
Dear young people, look; One of the sons of our country who was martyred here that night was our brother police officer Varol Tosun. Varol Tosun was a police officer who was devoted to his state and nation. His wife sometimes asked him: "Aren't you afraid of anything?" Our martyr, like our Prophet Hamza, answered his wife as follows: "I am not afraid of anything that my eyes see."
Another martyr of ours was our brother Ömer İpek. As she left home that night, she said to her sister, "I want to leave a beautiful country to my children." he said. He asked his mother, "Are we going to leave the state to these marauders?" he said. He said to his father, "I am going to be a martyr, my children are entrusted to you." He said and ran out of the house. On the way, "Where are you going?" To those who asked, "My side is clear. I am on the side of the truth. I am going to protect my honor." he said.
I call out to those who reap life for us and those who reap a shroud for us. A person dies once, but he dies like a man. The brave die one day, the cowards die every day. Everyone should know that we are a nation whose national anthem begins with "Don't be afraid".
Our nation, young and old, men and women, wrote a magnificent epic on the night of July 15. From Gaza to Lebanon, from Somalia to Syria, from Arakan to Sudan, wherever there is an oppressed or a victim in tears, we will continue to support them.
Just as we saved this country from the clutches of captivity with brotherhood 10 years ago, I hope we will carry it to the future together in unity of heart.
The oppressed and victimized look to Türkiye with great hope. We will not leave the square to those who use all kinds of dirty scenarios to extinguish this hope. Just as this beloved nation does not forget its martyrs, it will also not forget and forgive the terrorist leaders who breathed their last stateless abroad.
Those who heroically resisted the coup, those who exonerated the coup plotters, and those who tried to acquit the coup plotters will never be forgotten. Even though FETO's guard is down and hope is gone after the death of the leader of the terrorist organization, we do not have the luxury of complacency in the fight against this insidious network.
As long as there is FETO, there will be a fight against FETO. We will continue the fight against FETO patiently on legal grounds until the danger is completely over. We will be careful, prudent and attentive, especially the crypto elements of the organization, without falling into the traps that FETO wants to pull us into.
At this point, everyone should see that the sea is now exhausted for terrorist organizations. "There is no point that can be reached through hostility towards Türkiye."