Minister Özhaseki's 'geography' warning: 'You live if you pay the price for living here'

Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Mehmet Özhaseki gave a speech at the opening ceremony of the Children's Book Fair and Festival organized by the Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality.

"TURKEY IS GROWING ALONG WITH EDUCATION"

Drawing attention to the importance of being strong as a country and keeping up with change through education in his speech, Özhaseki said, "Our children do not get up from the virtual world, but we will push the conditions and educate them. The more we educate, the more we secure our future. Thank God, Turkey is growing and expanding along with education." 

"WE ARE SURROUNDED BY A RING OF FIRE"

Later, bringing up the subject of President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's son-in-law Selçuk Bayraktar and the Baykar family, Özhaseki said, "Their father is an engineer. One of his brothers said about their late father, 'My older brother is a dervish-like man. He has nothing to do with money or wealth. What makes him happiest in the world is solving a formula. It is finding something unknown, reaching a conclusion. That is why he educated his children.'

Then they came and started a business for the sake of a dream. Afterwards, this business developed; UAVs, SİHAs (armed drones), Bayraktar TB-2s, and now it is turning towards fighter jets. We are in a difficult geography. We are truly surrounded by a ring of fire. There is only one price for living in this geography. If you pay that price, you live; otherwise, they will take it from your hands, God forbid. You have to be strong. If you are strong, you live in this geography, you declare your independence, you do not let them play games on you, and you stand tall. Your call to prayer is recited, your flag waves."

"WE WILL COMPETE WITH THE WORLD"

Finally, Özhaseki noted the following:

"If you are not strong, they will not let you do any of these. They won't even let you have an education. You would turn into the backward societies in the East, God forbid. That is why we said that on one hand, of course, we will be strong. We will establish our Defense Industry and we will stand tall here. On the other hand, we will complete our education. We will read, we will keep up with change. Ultimately, we will compete with the world. We will work and we will turn this society into a prosperous society."