Erdoğan's Gezi Park remarks! 'Turkish courts...'

AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the opening ceremony of the 1st and 2nd Stage Education Buildings of the campus bearing his name at Marmara University.

"I AM PROUD TO BE A STUDENT AND GRADUATE"

"I am proud to be a student and graduate of Marmara University," said Erdoğan, adding, "We will continue to stand by our Marmara University at all times. I find it very valuable for our universities to expand abroad."

GEZI PARK REMARKS

Speaking about the 2013 Gezi Park protests, Erdoğan stated, "History and independent Turkish courts have delivered their verdict regarding the Gezi events. If there is anyone who needs to apologize, it is not those who defend democracy and the national will. Those who truly need to engage in self-criticism are those who set the streets on fire. They are the ones who smashed and burned the nation's buses."

Erdoğan's statements are as follows:

"I am personally experiencing a special excitement today. We are experiencing the joy of opening the campus, every stage of whose construction process I have followed.

43 years ago, in 1981, I graduated from what is now our university's Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences. Throughout our political life, I received the most meaningful of the more than 60 honorary doctorate titles bestowed upon me from my university in 2013. I have taken a close interest in my university and tried to pay my debt of gratitude.

I am proud to be a student and graduate of Marmara University, one of Turkey's most deep-rooted and distinguished higher education institutions.

We have ranked among the top 10 universities representing Turkey in international rankings. We will continue to stand by our Marmara University, which has produced many politicians, professors, journalists, prime ministers, and presidents for Turkey. I find it very valuable for our universities to expand abroad.

I wish it to be beneficial for our city and our university. I thank those who contributed to the construction of our campus. We will continue to stand by our Marmara University in its 141-year deep-rooted history. With our campus, which was brought to life with a total investment of 12 billion liras, we are getting a little closer to our goals in the fields of education and science.

"WAVE OF HATRED AGAINST FOREIGNERS"

There are 340 thousand students in 198 different countries of the world. 95 percent of them study with their own means. The contribution of guest students is around 3 billion dollars. This is a situation to be proud of for our country.

An attempt is being made to create a wave of hatred against foreigners. We silently watched the politics of hatred that was stoked for 2 weeks during the election period.

In Turkey, there is a very clear anti-Turkish, anti-Muslim, and total anti-Turkey sentiment under the guise of racism. We have not discriminated against anyone based on their color or language. The opposition candidate could not utter a single sentence against the politics of hatred beside him. The issue of racist fascism is constantly being stirred up. They have become the flag-bearers of racism and xenophobia. Under the guise of racism, anti-Turkish and anti-Islamic sentiment is being carried out. Racism is rising on social media.

We are a state that has no history of colonialism, despite having established sovereignty across 3 continents and 7 climates for centuries.

"THEY ALWAYS USED THE YOUTH"

Both before May 27 and before the September 12 Coup, they always used the youth to achieve their ambitions. They used the youth to intervene in politics and to prepare the ground for a coup. We all paid the price for all of this as a nation. We paid for it with our development journey in the economy being frequently interrupted. We paid for it by being condemned to bans on rights and freedoms. We paid for it by allowing terrorist organizations to exploit security.

When we took office in 2002, we were very careful so that Turkey would not fall into the trap of a coup again. We fought very hard so that our children would not face what we experienced. We never let go of courtesy in politics for a moment. When the national will was under threat, we opposed it with all our might.

GEZI EVENTS

History and independent Turkish courts have delivered their verdict regarding the Gezi events.

They are opening a debate about an apology to us over this uprising, which cost Turkey billions of dollars. Yes, even after 11 years, there was a need for sincere expressions of remorse regarding this incident. If there is anyone who needs to apologize, it is not those who defend democracy and the national will. Those who truly need to engage in self-criticism are those who set the streets on fire. They are the ones who smashed and burned the nation's buses."