AKP President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in his speech at the Samsun City Hospital Opening Ceremony, made remarkable statements about the September 12 Military Coup, whose 46th anniversary was yesterday.
Erdoğan said the following in his speech:
"It has been exactly 46 years since the will of the nation was usurped by using street incidents and political instability as an excuse. They inflicted great pain on all of us as a nation, regardless of our views and origins. They sent many of our people from both the right and the left to the gallows, supposedly in the name of establishing justice. We lost our young saplings in the prime of their lives. As a nation, we lost our hopes and joy of life. The September 12 coup did not only inflict deep wounds in the hearts of our nation. "At the same time, it dealt heavy blows to Turkey's growth and development. Our country was condemned to economic backwardness, poverty and arbitrary rule by tutelaries for many years. The September 12 coup lies at the root of many problems that still consume our energy today, especially terrorism."
Claiming that this period ended with the AKP coming to power and that it was said, "Enough. Both the say and the decision belong to the nation," Erdoğan continued his words as follows:
"Since that day, all attempts against our democracy have failed. From terrorist acts to the Gezi uprising, from the December 17-25 coup attempt to the July 15 treason, the dirty hands that reached out to the will of the nation have been broken. I want it to be known that the book of coups in Turkey is now closed. This nation will not allow it to be opened again. We have shown our determination on this issue by ensuring that the perpetrators of September 12 and February 28 are held accountable to Turkish justice. Hopefully from now on, too. "We will never allow the will of the nation to be overshadowed. We will continue our struggle for democracy with determination, with the authority we receive from our people, and we will protect this sacred trust with our lives when necessary."
HOW DID KENAN EVREN TELL IT?
Kenan Evren, the leader of the coup on September 12, 1980, stated in an interview with Sözcü newspaper in 2010 that Erdoğan "secretly" visited him at Kalender Army House on the Bosphorus right after he became Prime Minister. Evren described Erdoğan's approach towards him during that visit with the following statements:
"When Tayyip Erdoğan's ban was lifted with the support of the CHP and he was re-elected as a member of parliament from Siirt, that's when he wanted to visit me. I made an appointment for him. In fact, he came to the Kalender Army House with his civilian car, not with his official car. We let him in secretly without informing anyone. He sat for half an hour. He showed me his respect and love. He talked about the good things I did for this country. He said things like this country needs people like you. I don't have a tape recorder in my hand. These are the things I remember... Many years have passed."
"IF I WAS MAYOR IN YOUR TIME..."
According to the interview, Kenan Evren described another incident as follows:
"You know, he lives in Bodrum now. He was the chief of police. He rose to the highest positions in the police. He became the general manager. He became a minister. He became the head of a political party. As we get older, I forget those names. What was his name: Mehmet Ağar... His son's wedding was in Istanbul, in a big club in Kadıköy. The wedding will be held in this club. Demirel was also going to come, but he did not come. At that time, Tayyip Erdoğan was the Mayor of Istanbul. It was August 1998. We sat down and got married. I was also a witness to the marriage. After the ceremony, Tayyip Erdoğan came to the table where I was sitting. I told him about the aid I gave to the then mayor Bedrettin Dalan. Then Tayyip Erdoğan said to me: "Oh my Pasha, what would I have done?" I would fly it!”
"I STILL LOVE HIM"
Kenan Evren said that his second meeting with Tayyip Erdoğan took place at Kalender Army House right after he became Prime Minister. Evren stated that Erdoğan visited him in GATA when he had his first heart spasm and said, "He came with the then Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Gül. We were also together at the funeral of Nurettin Ersin Pasha in 2005." Evren said that he went to the Prime Minister's Residence twice and that he and Erdoğan were on very good terms and continued as follows:
"However, during the referendum, we turned out to be a coup plotter Evren. But this is politics. We have to tolerate it. I still love him... I have never seen anything bad from him... Even before he became Prime Minister... He always respected me after..."
