Juan David Latorre
Last Friday, the Turkish Embassy celebrated Democracy and National Unity Day by commemorating the seventh anniversary of the failed coup attempt that took place on the night of 15-16 July 2016.
Chargé d’Affaires a.i. and First Counsellor of the Turkish Embassy, Ayşe Zeybek, greeted the guests and remarked in her speech that “the coup attempt was defeated thanks to the honourable resistance of our heroic nation and the leadership of our President, H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Our nation achieved a great victory of democracy against the Fetullah Gülen Terrorist Organisation (FETÖ) with unprecedented courage and proved once again to the world its power.”
“In three months we will celebrate the centenary of the proclamation of our Republic,” continued Ayşe Zeybek. As the Embassy in Madrid, we are looking forward to celebrating this momentous occasion with our citizens residing in Spain, with our Spanish friends and with the esteemed members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited in Spain. We are therefore continuing our preparations to that end. We want the new centenary to be full of achievements of our nation and our Republic. It should be remembered that the foundations of Turkey have been strengthened thanks to the struggle of our citizens for the sake of the homeland and the nation on the night of July 15, and this new centenary of Turkey will be built thanks to this heroic struggle and determination.”
The Chargé d’Affaires of the Turkish Embassy recalled that “on the night of 15 July, all sectors of society, regardless of their differences, became one body around a single purpose: to protect their country, their flag and their democracy. The 15 July epic is also a victory of democracy against the attempted coup d’état of the FETÖ terrorist organisation. This organisation has gained influence in different parts of the world by hiding behind concepts such as humanitarian aid, education and trade. FETÖ poses a threat not only to Turkey, but also to all the countries in which it operates. Recognising this threat, many states have put an end to the activities of FETÖ-affiliated schools and NGOs in their countries.”
Ayşe Zeybek remarked that “it is imperative to fight the FETÖ threat from within the framework of international cooperation. We know that Spain has also suffered from terrorism and we have a very close cooperation in the fight against this threat”.
The event was attended by various representatives of diplomatic delegations, together with the Ambassador of Uzbekistan, Jakhongir Ganiev.
