New 'opening' process message from Numan Kurtulmuş: 'Entering a new era in the fight against terrorism...'

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş attended the 4th Martyr Mustafa Cambaz Photography Competition Award Ceremony held at the Rami Library in Istanbul.

In his speech at the ceremony, Kurtulmuş made assessments regarding the July 15 coup attempt and the country's agenda.

'JULY 15 IS NOT JUST A MEMORY...'

Arguing that July 15 is one of the most important turning points in Turkey's history, the history of the Republic, and perhaps even since the final periods of the Ottoman Empire, Kurtulmuş described July 15 as an extremely dark and treacherous coup attempt, planned over years, with international connections, and where every corner had been secured in advance.

'A STRONG TURKEY MEANS A STRONG REGION'

Stating that Turkey's unity and solidarity, and Turkey being strong and powerful, is a matter that concerns not only its 86 million citizens but the entire region, Kurtulmuş noted the following:

"A strong Turkey means a strong region. Therefore, we have entered a process to end the 50-year period of terrorism—which has occupied more than half of our century-long republican history, which we see as one of the most important elements of setting aside differences in Turkey—and to completely rid ourselves of this terrorism that has shackled this nation and made it vulnerable to external interventions at every opportunity.

The children of this country will no longer hear the sound of bullets in the mountains; they will hear folk dances, songs of unity and solidarity, and anthems of brotherhood. The children of this country will be together in every city of this land, walking along a bright horizon toward the future with science, art, culture, and literature. For this, we are completely setting aside this scourge of terrorism that has been inserted into us for over 50 years, and hopefully, as 86 million, we are silencing all weapons to fortify our inner fortress and continuing our path in the direction of unity and solidarity. Turkey becoming terror-free also means the entire region, especially our close neighbors, becoming a terror-free region. Turkey being a strong country means that all brotherly and friendly countries across a very wide geography are also strong.”

'IF THE COUP ATTEMPT HAD SUCCEEDED...'

Stating that one of the most important elements of the discord that July 15 tried to introduce to this country was discrimination and distancing people from one another, he said: “If this coup attempt had succeeded, Turkey would have long since been fragmented, long since been dragged into ethnic and sectarian conflicts, and Turkey would have been made a country completely ready for occupation by other powers. That is why we say that if they have a mind and a plan, we also have a mind and a plan. If they know how to divide, fragment, disperse, and tear apart, we also succeed in uniting, integrating, being together, and acting all together,” he said.

'PROCESS' MESSAGE

Saying that it is important to ensure unity and solidarity against the scenarios of division and fragmentation that have been implemented step-by-step since the early 1990s, Kurtulmuş expressed: "Undoubtedly, each of the July 15 martyrs has an enlightening role over us on the path to fortifying and strengthening a 'Terror-Free Turkey,' and at the same time, they have rights over us to successfully continue and complete our path in this process. We will fulfill the requirements of this right. Together, hopefully, we will build a Turkey where no terrorist organization will ever be able to act again, where no organization will ever be able to deceive this country's children and youth and take them to the mountains, and where we will live together, hand in hand and heart to heart."

News Source: 12punto