Türkiye will continue its fight against the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) under the rule of law until the threat is fully eliminated, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday, marking the 10th anniversary of the failed July 15 coup attempt.
Speaking at a commemorative event in Ankara titled “10 Years of July 15: The Will is Ours, the Victory is Ours,” Erdogan honoured the 253 people killed and thousands wounded during the coup attempt, praising those who resisted the putschists.
“FETO exists, and therefore the fight against FETO will continue,” Erdogan said. “We will continue our struggle against FETO patiently under the rule of law until the danger is completely eliminated.”
He said authorities would continue targeting the group’s alleged covert members while avoiding “the traps FETO wants to draw us into” and acting with caution.
“Everyone must now see that the road has run out for terrorist organisations. There is nowhere to go through hostility toward Türkiye,” Erdogan said.
Erdogan accused FETO, which Ankara blames for orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt, of targeting key state institutions, including the parliament, presidential complex, military headquarters, police facilities, TRT and Turksat during the attempted takeover.
He said the organisation’s “biggest characteristic” was being “a spy network that eats away at the body from within like cancer cells,” adding that Türkiye would continue its fight until it is completely eradicated.
‘War of Independence come back to life’
The president also paid tribute to the security forces and civilians who confronted the coup attempt, saying they had protected the country’s democracy and national will.
“On that night, we saw the spirit that rose during the War of Independence come back to life,” Erdogan said, adding that the Turkish people had shown “no power can stand before this nation.”
The failed coup attempt on July 15 2016, left 253 people martyred and more than 2,700 injured after FETO terrorists attempted to overthrow the government.
Erdogan also vowed that “Ankara will continue supporting “oppressed and suffering people from Gaza to Lebanon, Somalia to Syria, and from Rakhine to Sudan.”
“Wherever there is an oppressed person or a victim with tears in their eyes, we will continue to stand by them,” he said, adding that those trying to undermine Türkiye’s role would not succeed.
