Erdoğan speaks at graduation ceremony: We see some politicians whose ambition has enslaved their minds offending our police

Here are the highlights from Erdoğan's statements:

I wholeheartedly congratulate all our students who have successfully completed their training at the Academy. I extend my heartfelt thanks to all our instructors, supervisors, and administrators who meticulously trained our young police officers and prepared these brothers and sisters for both their profession and life with their knowledge and experience. I send my greetings to all members of our security organization who serve selflessly in our country and abroad, including those among you. I am here at Gölbaşı again to commemorate the special operations heroes who were martyred by FETÖ traitors on July 15 last week. We once again commemorated with mercy the children of this homeland who sacrificed their lives for our independence and future that night.

We remembered them with pride, prayed for each of them, and sent our Fatihas to their blessed souls. On this occasion, I commemorate with mercy every martyr who has made this land our homeland by turning their blood into the color of our glorious flag since 1071. On behalf of myself and my nation, I express my gratitude to all our veterans who fought by putting their lives on the line for the homeland, and I wish each of them a prosperous, healthy, and fruitful life. I kiss the blessed hands of the mothers and fathers who raised our martyrs and veterans. I offer my respects to each of them. These lands, where a hero lies in every corner, are the world's largest cemetery. This is the land of martyrs. It is the hearth of veterans. It is the land of the saints. As a nation, we have been living with our martyrs for centuries. We walk with our martyrs.

'WE WILL STRENGTHEN OUR UNITY'

We will protect the legacy of our martyrs and veterans at the cost of our lives. We will put our bodies on the line, along with our hands, when necessary to further strengthen our state, our nation, and our unity and solidarity. May the Almighty be our helper and supporter. May He make the noble souls of our martyrs our witnesses. My dear brothers and sisters, today we are graduating a total of 8,238 students who have completed their training in different units of our Police Academy, and we are sharing in their joy. From our Police Academy Training Center, 162; from our Police Vocational School, 2,441; and from our Police Vocational Training Center, 5,604 of our brothers and sisters are joining the ranks of our security organization to begin their new duties. I congratulate each of you, who will work with a high sense of duty for the peace and security of our nation.

I wish each of you great success in advance. Likewise, I congratulate one by one our 32 students who came here from Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Palestine, Kyrgyzstan, Congo, Maldives, Mongolia, Rwanda, and Somalia to study. I believe they will make the best use of the knowledge and experience they gained at the Academy in their countries' police forces. I also ask these brothers and sisters to take our warmest greetings to their families, friends, and loved ones.

We have a very deep-rooted and institutional history in the field of security services. As you know, this year we celebrated the 180th anniversary of the founding of our police organization. Our Police Academy is marking its 146th year. With its faculties, institutes, vocational training centers, and high schools, our Police Academy forms the backbone of our security organization. The children of the homeland raised here work with dedication in every corner of our country and the world in a manner worthy of the Turkish police, and serve their state and nation successfully. In addition to providing qualified and conscious personnel to our security organization, our Police Academy does very valuable work with its education and research activities and national and international collaborations.

We want our police officers who will begin their duties to never forget this truth. My dear young brothers and sisters, the uniforms you wear are the attire of heroes who walk to martyrdom without hesitation. The identities you carry are the title deeds of this country's peace and security. Without exception, all of you, every member of our security forces, are the apple of this nation's eye and the guarantee of our future. We are proud of every one of our police officers who ensure public order across the country, fight effectively against terrorism, give no respite to gangs, mafias, murderers, drug dealers, traffic bullies, and cyberbullies, and grab those who threaten our social peace by the collar. I thank all my brothers and sisters here who are on duty 24/7 without regard for working hours for the sake of our country's safety. May the Almighty protect you.

Of course, I must also express this. You will sometimes serve in the most rugged terrains and under the most difficult conditions. Sometimes you will carry out the most critical operations and the most vital missions. Whatever happens, you will never for a moment forget that our nation's prayers and our state's support will be with you. Remember, if you uphold justice, the nation will stand by you. If you observe the truth, the state will support you. If you act with conscience, this noble nation will always hold you in high esteem.

Look, the double-headed eagle in our Police Academy's logo represents our understanding of the world that transcends borders, the ram's horn represents our strength, our courage, and our heroism, and the 8-pointed star represents our merit and competence. Throughout your professional life, I expect you to always take these values as your guide.

To date, we have shown maximum sensitivity in meeting every need of our security organization. We have always supported our police, from regulating working conditions to improving personal rights, from providing equipment and logistics to developing human resources. Recently, with the change we made in the regulation on the appointment and relocation of security service personnel, we started to make the appointments of our police officers based on their duty points.

I congratulate our Minister of Interior and his team for this regulation, which prioritizes the efforts of our police, is transparent, fair, and considers family peace. I also congratulate our security forces who maintained their composure despite all the actions, provocations, and acid and axe attacks they were subjected to during the provocations aimed at stirring up the streets following the March 19 anti-corruption operation.

'IF THERE IS EVIDENCE, TAKE IT TO COURT'

I want to say this clearly and plainly here. Being a police officer means greeting the night with a watch, spending holidays at the police station, and ensuring the safety of other children on your own child's most special day. Being a police officer means being at the command of the law, in the pursuit of justice, and in the service of the nation and the state at all times. I am a politician who knows very well the sacrifice with which our police work.

I am the closest witness to the high sense of duty with which you fight for this homeland, for this nation, and for the well-being and security of society. This being the case, we see some politicians whose ambition has enslaved their minds offending our police with baseless allegations. They have come out and are clinging to the lie of a 'setup' to cover up a bribery scandal in which the police caught them red-handed. They say, 'We have so many hours of video recordings.' They are casting aspersions not only on our police but also on our judges and prosecutors who are pursuing the bribery. Instead of cleaning up the corruption virus that has engulfed their world and fighting against bribe-takers, they are playing with the honor of this nation's pure children. Look, this is not called politics; this is the shamelessness of 'throw mud, let it stick.' Since you have 32 hours of video recordings, why don't you take it to court instead of talking here and there? After all, if there is a setup against you, you gather your evidence, go to court, and hold the setup-makers accountable. But if you don't do this, if you cannot prove what you say, you cannot escape being called a slanderer.

News Source: 12punto