Erdoğan's 'terror' message in Republic Day video: 'Using all our means...'

AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan released a video message for the October 29 Republic Day.

Congratulating all citizens living in Turkey and abroad on the holiday, Erdoğan said, "I offer my thanks on behalf of my country and my nation to all our friends and guests who share our holiday joy in our country and in different geographies of the world. Today, we are experiencing the happiness and justified pride of reaching the first anniversary of the new century of our Republic."

Wishing God's mercy upon the martyrs and veterans who have watered the homeland soil with their blood for independence and the future since Malazgirt, Erdoğan remarked, "Every one of our brothers who fell to the ground as if entering a rose garden for the sake of our independence, especially our martyrs we gave in the attack on TUSAŞ, the leading organization of our defense industry, will always live in our hearts."

QUOTED ATSİZ'S POEM

Reciting the lines, "Man grows in the cradle to lie in the grave. And heroes give their lives to keep the homeland alive," from Hüseyin Nihal Atsız's poem "The Death of Heroes," Erdoğan continued:

"As the poet pointed out, I commemorate with the utmost respect each of our heroes who played a role in the establishment, preservation, and leaving indelible marks on history of our states that reigned within the vast borders of our heartland. We are determined to keep the independent, strong, honorable, and prosperous Turkey, which is the legacy of our states extending from the Seljuks to the Ottomans and finally to the Republic, alive forever."

Stating that the Turkish nation possesses a deep-rooted state tradition spanning over 2,200 years, which finds its meaning in the 16 stars on the Presidential Seal, Erdoğan said they aim to use, develop, and strengthen this deep-rooted state accumulation in a way that will make the greatest contribution to the common heritage of humanity with the participation of kinsmen and friends.

President Erdoğan said, "We will embrace this ancient historical perspective and our civilizational values of our nation more tightly in order to ensure that peace, tranquility, security, and justice prevail both within our country's borders, in our region, and in the world. Neither terrorist organizations, nor those trying to drown our region in blood and fire with expansionist ambitions, nor the imperialists who support and spoil them can prevent the struggle we are waging from reaching its goal."

Emphasizing that they are working day and night to complete every deficiency one by one for this purpose and to raise Turkey above the level of contemporary civilizations, President Erdoğan said, "With the support of our nation, we have achieved very important gains in this period we have left behind by making great sacrifices, thwarting many insidious games and traps, and neutralizing many treacherous attacks."

Stating that they are on the eve of a process where the rewards of sacrifices made in every field from security to technology, from diplomacy to the economy will be reaped, Erdoğan noted the following:

"There are few obstacles left for us to overcome and few problems left for us to solve to reach the bright future we call the Century of Turkey. We are aware of the difficulties that attempts to collapse our country in the economy, as well as in other areas, especially security threats, have caused in the lives of our nation over the last 6 years. Likewise, we know that we must now bury the scourge of terrorism, which has been draining our energy, gnawing at our brotherhood, and distancing us from our goals for 40 years, into history by using all our means. We want to open the doors wide to a Turkey where we will compete not in sorrows but in joys, share not our scarcities but our riches, and sprout not pessimism but our hopes.

As we expressed in our Republic Day message last year, whatever we do, we do it with the intention of exalting the ideal of a 'Great and Strong Turkey,' without paying attention to external and internal wretches. With the help of God, the foresight and support of our nation, and the political and military power of our country, we are determined to bring our Republic out of the new period we have entered even stronger. I wholeheartedly believe that all members of our nation, regardless of their origin, sect, or political view, and all our friends, no matter where they live in the world, will stand by us in this historical struggle. May God be our helper. With these feelings, I sincerely congratulate all our citizens living in Turkey and abroad on Republic Day. May the souls of our martyrs be blessed, their places be high, and their memories be eternal. Happy 101st anniversary of our Republic."