President Erdoğan said, “Our Coast Guard Command has achieved notable success in preventing the pressure of the mass migration on our country, which started in Syria and the Middle East and was later joined by the African route.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent a congratulatory telegram to the foundation anniversary ceremony of the Coast Guard Command. Congratulating all members of the organisation on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Coast Guard Command in his message, President Erdoğan said, “I pray that Allah blesses and protects them all and grants them victory. I wish success to our organisation, which strives to defend human dignity against those who seek to transform the blue of the water of our coasts into black and the hope that its clarity symbolises into dread.”
Stating that the organisation fulfils every duty assigned to it, from combating smuggling to preventing marine pollution, search and rescue to coastal security with its members who manage to keep their careers as white as their uniforms, President Erdoğan said, “Our Coast Guard Command has achieved notable success in preventing the pressure of the mass migration on our country, which started in Syria and the Middle East and was later joined by the African route. Our soldiers became the hope of the oppressed while the Aegean and the Mediterranean were transformed into a graveyard of refugees, and while the refugees were forced back using unreasonable and unscrupulous torture.”
Sharing the information that 223 thousand 642 irregular migrants have been caught or prevented as part of the fight against illegal immigration since 2016 alone, and 33 thousand 745 people subjected to inhuman treatment have been rescued from the sea, President Erdoğan stated the following:
“Our Coast Guard Command, which devotes a substantial portion of its efforts to the fight against illegal immigration, has made a big move recently. By raising the number of personnel by 42 per cent, boosting the rate of professionalism to 100 percent, and improving its technical infrastructure from boats to radar, it is now able to fulfil its responsibilities adequately. I sincerely believe that the Coast Guard Command and all its members, who were chosen from among the noble children of this nation, will continue to serve as a model for the oppressed and the world. I once again celebrate the 40th anniversary of our organisation, remember our martyrs and veterans with gratitude, and wish success to our on-duty staff.”