In his remarks at the Panel on "Two May 14 Elections in the Republic's History," Presidency's Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun said, "The success of the political movement led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who set out by saying, 'Nothing will be the same in Türkiye anymore!' marked a turning point for our country."
Altun stated during his speech at the panel titled "Two May 14 Elections in the Republic's History," which was co-hosted by the Presidency's Directorate of Communications and the Presidential Legal Policy Board at the Adnan Menderes Congress Center on Democracy and Freedoms Island, that the organization of the panel on the island on the anniversary of the April 27 declaration aimed at the will of the nation has a separate significance.
Director of Communications Altun said that after the coup of May 27, 1960, one of the darkest chapters in the history of democracy, the "men of the nation" were imprisoned on Democracy and Freedoms Island, subjected to inhuman torture and cruelty, and that the late Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, Foreign Minister Fatin Rüştü Zorlu, and Finance Minister Hasan Polatkan were martyred by unlawful death sentences issued by the so-called court established on this island.
Director of Communications Altun stated, "Our nation will never forget these extraordinary individuals, their tenacious struggle, or their service. Those responsible for their execution through sham courts and trials will be cursed in perpetuity. Today is April 27th. Once again, the pro-tutelage circles attempted an illegitimate intervention against the elected civilian will sixteen years ago. But for the first time in the history of our democracy, the elected civil will told the pro-tutelage circles, "Know your place," and forced them to retreat. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was the leader who demonstrated this will."
Director of Communications Altun stated that, from a historical point of view, the multi-party system in Türkiye is not a process voluntarily initiated by the CHP's single-party mentality but a result imposed by both the people's struggle and international conditions, and added: "In the first general election of our country's multi-party political system in 1946, the use of open voting and a secret sorting procedure actually caused the Turkish democracy to have a painful birth. In addition, the pressure and manipulations of the single-party CHP during this election process were also political incidents that crippled our newly sprouting democracy. Nevertheless, even in such an election, the Democratic Party, led by Adnan Menderes, was able to secure about 60 deputies."
Director of Communications Altun stated that breaking the vicious cycle between coups and democracy was also one of our nation's greatest challenges, and that the 2002 elections provided the spark needed to reverse this misfortune.
Presidency's Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun stated that the success of the political movement led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who set out by saying, 'Nothing will be the same in Türkiye anymore!' marked a turning point for Türkiye and continued:
"Combining the great popular support he has received since then with his strong leadership, our President has focused on solving all the accumulated problems of Türkiye, which was struggling with a spiral of crises, was forced to live under the shadow of coups and tutelage, and was forced to surrender to the order of the West. Whenever he challenged this system, he was naturally confronted by pro-tutelage circles, the Western colonial order, and its extension, that is the Western dependency system. However, our President has never acknowledged a word superior to the nation's word or a power superior to the nation's power.
On the one hand, he was eliminating pro-tutelage attempts; on the other hand, he had to deal with multidimensional threats ranging from Gezi Park violence to street riots, PKK, FETO, and DAESH terrorism, and economic attacks to regional and global crises. Supporters of tutelage attempted to implement old practises at every opportunity to subvert the will of the nation with support from both within as well as outside the country. The invasion attempt by FETO, disguised as a coup d'état, on July 15, 2016 heightened these threats against our country.
"The Turkish people paid a high price for true democracy"
Director of Communications Altun underlined that on July 15 evil forces, unwilling to recognize democracy, attempted to hold the nation's future in pledge and put the Turkish state in chains in order to protect the interests of imperialist actors from whom they received instructions, adding that this heinous attempt, which the conspirators believed would produce results similar to May 27, 1960 or September 12, 1980, suffered a crushing defeat due to the nation's will and its leader's unwavering stance.
Director of Communications Altun pointed out that the nation thwarted this coup attempt through an epic struggle by uniting behind President Erdoğan's leadership, and added, "In this regard, it is important to note that democracy did not come as a gift to Türkiye. The Turkish nation has fought its way to democracy, paying a high price. Throughout the past 21 years, every attempt by the evil minority, which deems the nation's will to be inferior to its own, to undermine the nation's values through the use of state resources has been punished. Of course, great strides have been made in every field, from the economy to health, security to justice, transportation to energy, agriculture to tourism, foreign policy to rights and freedoms, under our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's vision during the last 21 years."
"Under the leadership of our President, we have built the axis of Türkiye"
Director of Communications Altun drew attention to the fact that Türkiye has become a shining star of the region and the world while strengthening its relations with the Turkic and Islamic worlds, and went on to say,
"Türkiye, which has strengthened its internal political stability and is experiencing economic growth, has begun to assert itself in regional and global politics. Our country has become a stabilizing actor and a stabilizing force as a result of the dynamic foreign policy vision we have pursued during this period. While some speculated on whether or not 'Türkiye's axis is changing,' we built the Türkiye axis under the leadership of our President. We have achieved historic victories in the fight against terrorism, thanks to our strategy of eliminating terrorism at its source and our domestic and national defense industry breakthroughs. We are now in a position to set an example with TOGG on the road, the TCG Anadolu ship at sea, and Kızılelma Fighter UAV in the air.
Our country has always supported our President and the AK Party, which has always protected national will and democracy, increased stability and prosperity, and led our country to unimaginable heights in every field, and I believe it will continue to do so. At this point, it is necessary to clarify that, as in the elections of May 14, 1950, when this people supported the Democrat Party of the late Adnan Menderes who declared, "Enough is enough! The nation has its say," because they desired to govern according to their own preferences, they have supported our President and the AK Party with the same sentiment in every election they have participated in for the past 21 years. There is historical continuity and a shared sentiment at this point. Because Erdoğan is protecting the nation's values, independence, and future, advancing the democratic gains inherited from May 14, 1950, and continues to embody the spirit of May 14, 1950. Our nation will go to the polls with a historical consciousness in the elections of May 14, 2023, and this time it will rally behind our President, who says 'The word, the decision and the future belong to the nation', and will continue to walk behind him."
Director of Communications Altun stated that the elections on the 100th anniversary of the Republic will bring the development and democracy moves that have been going on for 21 years to a peak and that they will continue their pursuit of stability and justice for the region and the entire world while making the country more prosperous and safer for its citizens with the vision of the Century of Türkiye.
Presidency's Director of Communications Altun noted the following:
"We have seen and continue to see how the 'company of dissimilars' that gathered around and under a table was unable to divide power prior to elections, as well as the types of crises they sat and stood up from the table during. We have seen numerous trailers demonstrating what those who are unable to provide a sound policy regarding the independence and future of our country can do to ensure their own prosperity. On the other hand, those who use lies and slander as incubators to fuel anti-Erdoğanism and constantly generate disinformation will not hold a place in the hearts and minds of the people of this country. Those who have lost the political and economic privileges they built with the resources of the country can only cling to systematic lies and disinformation now that the coup and tutelage wheels have been blocked.
"Our President is in very good health and performing his duties"
Director of Communications Altun stated that certain people try to gain political advantage through baseless claims on our President's health and said, "Our president is extremely strong, active, and healthy, and he is on duty. With Allah's permission, he will remain in power for a long time. Whatever they do, the Turkish people will always support their leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who works tirelessly. Whatever they do, on May 14, our nation will propel our President and the AK Party to victory once more. Because our country recognizes that the election on May 14 will be historic."
Director of Communications Altun stated that the Turkish people will not give a chance to those who promise to bring back the gloomy days of old Türkiye, as well as those who play into the hands of imperialist ambitions and terrorist organisations, and went on to say,
"The Turkish nation recognizes that a decision on how its future will be shaped will be made on May 14." And the nation is looking forward to disappointing those who have set their sights on his 21-year-old achievements in this election. Our nation, which exiled the Republican People's Party (CHP) dictatorship to the dusty pages of history in the May 14, 1950 elections, will also expel from politics those who harbor hopes for terrorist organizations in the May 14, 2023 elections. We aspire to embark on a new period of flourishing under the leadership of our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on May 14, which we believe will mark the beginning of the Century of Türkiye."
