The Unprecedented Civilian Victory of Democracy 

By Egemen BAGIS

Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to the Czech Republic

Democracy and freedom are the most important values that unite Turkiye and Czechia. Both nations bore great sacrifices in the pursuit of ensuring these shared values for their people.

Turkiye is home to one of the most vibrant and resilient democracies in the world. On May 14th and 28th of 2023, the citizens of Turkiye demonstrated this once again with a record level voter turnout in a hard-fought two round election, which produced a diverse Parliament. Turkiye’s journey toward obtaining democracy and freedom has never been easy. We weren’t given these rights, we fought for and earned them. Our nation’s century-long pursuit of freedom and democracy has never wavered or faltered.

This July 15th marks the 7th anniversary of our citizens’ gallantry against the Gulenist terrorist organization (FETO). A FETO junta tried to overthrow the democratically elected government through a violent coup attempt that killed more than 250 citizens and left thousands injured. That night, the world witnessed Turks from different political views and lifestyles unite to defend their democracy, stability and freedom.

Fetullah Gulen, a self-exiled cult leader living in Pennsylvania, is the ringleader of FETO and the mastermind behind the 2016 coup attempt. His cult has an unprecedented global reach and evident willingness to shed civilian blood. Gulen’s followers are indoctrinated with the belief that their leader has divine powers and their cult’s interests are sacrosanct. FETO manipulates pious believers around the world through a cult system that purely seeks political power.

His followers within our armed forces did not shy away from using lethal force that night against innocent civilians. They attempted to assassinate the President of our country, attacked the Prime Minister’s motorcade and bombed the Turkish Parliament in our capital Ankara with F-16 fighter jets. The Presidential Complex, the buildings of the National Intelligence Organization, and the Turkish National Police Headquarters were also attacked. The Police Special Operations Center which is the crucial counter-terrorism operational body of Turkiye in Ankara, was bombed killing 55 police officers and injuring hundreds on the spot.

More than 250 civilians protesting the coup attempt in Ankara and Istanbul were shot and killed. The FETO coup plotters also targeted public and private communication outlets and TV stations.

Following the events, all the evidence, investigations, and court trials demonstrated that the bloodiest terrorist attack in the history of Turkiye was orchestrated by FETO under the direct instructions of Fethullah Gulen. All key figures involved in the putsch were proven to be Gulen associates. All legal proceedings were completed in compliance with the principles of rule of law and due process.

On the night of July 15, 2016, many new heroes were born and in one of its darkest hours Turkiye saw which countries stood together with our people. In this regard, I express my gratitude to our ally Czechia for standing by Turkiye and our shared values. We are deeply grateful to our Czech allies for volunteering and fixing the Czech crystal chandeliers of the Turkish Parliament, which were damaged as a result of the F-16 bombings of the putschists.

The values of FETO are fundamentally incompatible with Western and Turkish principles, and I encourage Czech authorities to take necessary actions against Gulen affiliates within Czechia.

Recently, FETO has undergone a significant transformation. The organization, whose presence in Turkiye has been decimated, is now trying to survive through its structures abroad. FETO affiliated schools in 38 countries have been either closed down or taken over by the relevant home countries. FETO deliberately uses charter schools and affordable education to better its image, but it is an indisputable fact that FETO uses these schools as recruitment centers. Their radical ideology is a national security threat to any country that hosts FETO schools, including Czechia.

On this special anniversary, we commemorate the unprecedented civilian victory over the coup attempt as the tanks and fighter jets of tyranny were defeated by our citizens who were armed solely with a desire to protect democracy and freedom.

We salute all people throughout the world who risk their lives for democracy and freedom.