13.07.2017 Ankara
Turkey - EU Joint Consultative Committee’s (JCC) Turkish wing comprised non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Türk-İş, TESK, Memur-Sen, Hak-İş, TZOB, TİSK, Turkey Kamu-Sen and TOBB jointly made a joint statement on the 8st anniversary of July 15th in 81 provinces simultaneously.
TOBB
President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu read the joint declaration with 7 NGO's
leaders; there was also live connection to the press conference in Ankara from 7
provinces (Adana, Diyarbakir, Erzurum, Edirne, Istanbul, Izmir, Trabzon). Abdurrahman
Yüce in Adana, Engin Yeşil in Diyarbakır, TzOB Representative Huseyin Darcan in
Edirne, TESK Representative Rasim Fırat in Erzurum, Türk-İş Representative
Adnan Uyar in Istanbul, Kamu-Sen Representative Ahmet Doğruyol, Memur-Sen Reprsentative
Mehmet Kara in Trabzon connected to the meeting on behalf of their
organizations.
The
declaration read by Hisarcıklıoğlu in Ankara is as follows:
“We
will never forget July 15th; we will not allow it to be forgotten
Our
power is the will of the nation; our goal is great Turkey.
Distinguished
Press Members,
Representing
Turkey's civil society; The Turkey-EU Joint Consultative Committee’s Turkish
wing, we are here as:
•
Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TÜRK-İŞ),
•
Confederation of Turkish Tradesmen and Craftsmen (TESK),
•
Confederation of Officers' Unions (MEMUR-SEN),
•
HAK - Confederation of Trade Unions (HAK-İŞ),
•
Union of Agricultural Chambers of Turkey (TZOB),
•
Confederation of Turkish Employers' Associations (TİSK),
•
Turkish Confederation of Public Servants Trade Unions (Turkey KAMU-SEN),
•
The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchange of Turkey (TOBB).
As
democracy-loving institutions sitting at this table, we make this common
statement at the same time.
We
are entering the anniversary of July 15th, one of the most difficult
days of our history.
For
two weeks, we will keep the July 15th spirit alive in our country
with different events and posters we have prepared.
We
will not forget the 15th of July, we will not allow it to be forgotten.
We
believe that July 15th is a milestone for Turkey.
Because
this heinous attack, beyond a coup, was an invasion attempt.
July
15th was the greatest danger our country has faced since the days of
independence.
That
night the Fetullah terrorist organization attempted to seize the
"state" and take the nation under domination.
The
main purpose of the coup attempt was to drag our country into a chaos unprecedented
in our history; to ignite a conflict and put Turkey in a civil war environment.
The
ultimate goal of the coup attempt was to bring the Republic of Turkey to a
standstill.
Praise
Allah, our nation, brought this plot to a stop though its courage.
We
stood up against this assault against our national democracy and freedom, and
defended our values at the cost of many lives.
The
entire organization at this table, from the very first moment, was beside our government
and our nation.
We
wrote an epic with our President, the veteran Parliament, the Prime Minister,
our political parties, our nation, our non-governmental organizations and our
media.
We
bow with respect before our nation, who defied the treasonous coup attempt.
On
July 15th, Turkey passed the most difficult democracy test with
great success.
We
showed everybody that our democracy is too strong to surrender brute force.
The
nation has stood up against the coup and proclaimed clearly: ‘No power can
govern the state of the Republic of Turkey except the will of the nation.’
This
is an exemplary attitude.
Of
course we paid a big price for it.
In
this struggle against coup attempt, 250 citizens were martyred.
2301
citizens became veterans.
We
pray for the grace of Allah upon our martyrs. We salute our veterans with
gratitude.
Our
nation will always remember them with gratitude.
Very
few nations in the world can afford this price.
The
insurance of the future is the spirit of democracy of July 15th
whatever the political leaning.
Against
the backdrop of such treacherous attempts, the fight against FETO should be carried
out effectively and steadily.
Judicial
institutions should give the most serious punishment to the putschists and
their supporters, and should ease the conscience of our nationality.
Distinguished
members of the press,
The
time following the coup attempt, almost as much as July 15th, was a
difficult process for our country.
After
the coup attempt, our society suffered a great deal of trauma.
FETO
has carried away scandalous campaigns against our country abroad with false
news.
Our
economy was also adversely affected by this attack.
Praise
Allah, thanks to our unity and solidarity, we have overcome all of them in a
short time.
We
have quickly recovered with the measures and reforms our government has made in
consultation with us.
More
than a year after the coup attempt, the economy has grown by 5%.
Employment
records were broken. In the first six months of this year, we have provided 1.2
million people with new jobs.
We
started to increase our exports to record levels.
We
have regained the trust of foreign investors.
It
is quite clear that Turkey has succeeded in the world's most difficult stress
test.
Be
sure that if this happened in another country, it would not be getting up
again.
But
we stand tall.
In
such a region, we have done what no one can do under the toughest conditions.
But
we will not get slack.
We
have more work to do; bigger goals.
We
completed the recovery process after July 15th.
Now
we need to start a new breakthrough process.
It's
time to run, now that we've broken our chains.
In
growth, in employment and in exports, we have to break new records.
We
must further increase the welfare of our citizens and strengthen our democratic
gains.
For
all of this, we must initiate a new reform process in common wisdom and
consultation.
Here
we call on our friends abroad.
We
want to see all of our friends stand with us after this first year of this
great democracy test.
We
invite our friends not to listen to defamatory campaigns, but to listen to the
facts and act accordingly.
We
look forward to the support of friendly and allied states in the fight against
FETO.
Whatever
the source, coups and terror are crimes against humanity. But if we work
together, we can build a better future.
We
will now work with greater determination for our country and our nation; we
will take Turkey to its big goals.
As
Turkey's civil society, we will never forget July 15th, we will not let
it be forgotten.
The
lessons we learned in building our country will be a guiding light for us.
We
are hopeful of the future of this country.
Our
power is our national will, our goal is great Turkey.
We
salute all of you with respect.”