24.02.2026 20:51
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking at the "Iftar with Police, Gendarmerie, Coast Guard Personnel, and Security Guards" program held at the Beştepe National Exhibition Hall, emphasized that steps are being taken towards the goal of a "Terror-free Turkey," stating, "We are taking every step carefully. We have our own account against every calculation. We are prepared to thwart every plot that would disrupt every game."
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the "Iftar with Police, Gendarmerie, Coast Guard Personnel, and Security Guards" program held at the Beştepe National Exhibition Hall.
Highlights from Erdoğan's statements are as follows:
"I thank you for honoring our iftar table by responding to our invitation. I am also pleased to host the Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization at our table. I thank our Ministry of Interior, our General Directorate of Security, our Gendarmerie Command, and our Coast Guard Command for bringing us together at this bountiful table. I congratulate you on the blessed month of Ramadan. I remember with mercy those who fell as martyrs for the peace, unity, and integrity of our people in the name of all values from Malazgirt to the War of Independence, from the Cyprus Peace Operation to the July 15 resistance. May their souls be blessed, and I wish long lives to our veterans.
"TURKEY HAS TURNED INTO AN ISLAND OF STABILITY"
I express my gratitude to the parents who send their children to duty with the prayer of either becoming a martyr or a veteran, placing the consciousness of martyrdom and struggle at the center of their lives. On behalf of myself, my country, and my nation, I thank our security forces who serve in every corner of our homeland, in the mountains, at sea, and in foreign missions, and who consider it an honor to sacrifice their lives for their homeland and nation. May God be your helper. The integrity of our nation is also the unity of our nation. Even if it leads to martyrdom, it is you who protect our unity and integrity. If Turkey has turned into an island of stability, peace, and security admired around the world and in the region, the lion's share belongs to you. Our security forces have fought battles that cannot be compared with those of other countries, successfully passed great tests, and thwarted every attack on our state and every plot against our independence despite countless reputation assassinations.
"YOU ARE THE ONES WORKING SACRIFICIALLY FOR THE PEACE OF OUR PEOPLE"
You are the ones who have written epics in the fight against terrorist organizations without making any distinctions. You are the ones who do not give a breath to organized crime groups. You are the ones who do not allow drug traffickers, gangs, and arrogant structures that see themselves above the state and the law to open their eyes. Just like during the Gezi Park events, you are the ones who thwarted the external attempts aimed at dragging Turkey into instability. You are the ones who did not allow the spineless traitors, who change colors like a pen and take the shape of the vessel they enter, to attack our democracy on the night of the July 15 coup attempt. You are the ones who thwart the plans of human traffickers and migrant smugglers. You are the ones who saved thousands of lives in the life-threatening situations in our seas. You are the ones who do not give a break to looters and plunderers in these lands that harbor the richest treasures of human history. You are the ones who rush to the aid of those who are oppressed regardless of their affiliation, belief, nationality, or identity; who cannot sleep without delivering criminals to justice; who work sacrificially for the peace of our people. I congratulate all members of our Ministry of Interior, including the police, guards, gendarmerie, coast guard, and village guards. I want you to know that as President, I will always be proud of each one of you. Whoever disturbs the peace of our people, whoever reaches out to the security of our state, whoever attacks our freedoms and democracy, we will continue to ride over them.
"WE WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT YOU IN EVERY ASPECT"
As we have for 23 years, we will do whatever is necessary to ensure that our security forces can carry out their duties comfortably, and we will hopefully continue to support you in every aspect. We are a nation that has considered remaining in the shadow of others, seeking refuge under someone else's protection, as disgraceful; we have been born free, lived free, and regarded delivering the trust freely as the greatest honor. We only recognize the shadow of our star and crescent flag as a shadow. Our flag poet Arif Nihat Asya beautifully expresses this. War took us to snowy mountains, and we warmed ourselves in its redness. On the day it brought us down from the mountains to the deserts, we took refuge in your shadow. O dove of peace, swaying with the gentle winds, eagle of war, flower blooming in high places. I was born at your feet, and I will die at your feet. For 86 million, the safest place on earth is the comforting shadow of our star and crescent flag. Hopefully, we will not allow unrest, chaos, or turmoil to arise in this shadow. In our geography, where a new crisis emerges every day, we take every step and every move carefully. I want you and your families to know very well that we have our own accounts against every account, we have our preparations to thwart every game and conspiracy, and everything we do is planned with a strategy that has been well thought out with 23 years of experience. We are implementing strategies whose every detail we have determined step by step with patience, calmness, and determination. As both our friends and adversaries see and acknowledge, Turkey is stronger, more powerful, and more decisive than ever in its recent history. We are rapidly building Turkey, which has solidified its position as a pole in its region in the newly reshaped world system. Peace and security prevail in every inch of our country. The west of Turkey is as secure as the east, and the north is as safe as the south.
"EMPHASIS ON A 'TERROR-FREE TURKEY'"
In places that could not be visited for years due to the threat of terrorism, shepherds are now grazing sheep, and local and foreign tourists are visiting in peace. As the security environment strengthens, investment increases, employment rises; the faces of tradesmen, merchants, and farmers are smiling. Just like in Mount Gabar, as we bring our oil and natural gas resources, which have been idle for years, into the economy, the welfare level of all 86 million is rising. As the risk of terrorism, which has hindered our progress for nearly half a century, poisoned the brotherhood of our nation, and imposed a heavy bill exceeding two trillion dollars on our economy, disappears; all members of our esteemed nation, regardless of being Turkish, Kurdish, Arab, Alevi, or Sunni, are winning. Thanks be to God, Turkey is now becoming a player in a different league.
With the "Terror-Free Turkey" process, we are hopefully taking all these successes a step further; we are inscribing them indelibly in the profit column of our country. On one side, our state's security forces, with their military, police, gendarmerie, intelligence officers, and security guards; on the other side, our Grand National Assembly, which is the manifestation of the national will; and on the other side, the People's Alliance, which acts in solidarity, together with our esteemed nation, which does not spare its prayers with every step we take, we are weaving this process stitch by stitch. As a nation that has risen from its ashes and overcome many difficulties in its thousand-year history, I sincerely believe that we will reach our goal.
"A 'TERROR-FREE TURKEY' IS THE RESULT OF YOUR STRUGGLE"
We will hopefully build a Turkey where mothers do not weep, saplings in the spring of their lives are not cut down prematurely, and fires do not fall into homes. I would also like to express with all my sincerity: every stage reached in the "Terror-Free Turkey" process is the result of your heroism, the courage of our veterans, and the unwavering struggle of our dear martyrs, whose memories we cherish in the most special corner of our hearts.
Heroes exist to sustain the homeland, as the poet said; the survival of a nation depends on the presence of its heroes. This state, which rises on the shoulders of our veterans and martyrs, will continue to exist forever with its heroes and will remain a beacon of hope for the innocent and the oppressed.