Şakir Özkan Torunlar, Turkey’s Ambassador to Tel-Aviv, stated that 7 years ago, the national press announced to the Turkish people that the Bosphorus Bridge, which connects the European and Asian sides of Istanbul, was closed to traffic, and said: Istanbul, with a population of millions and hosting tens of thousands of tourists, was preparing for another pleasant weekend. Not many people were following the news because it was a Friday evening.” used the phrases.
Torunlar noted that an hour later, television channels reported that Turkish Air Force F-16s were flying low over the capital Ankara, and continued as follows:
“People began to ask questions about what was going on. Towards midnight, it became clear that a group of putschists within the Turkish Armed Forces wanted to overthrow the democratically elected government, with the instructions they received from their mentors who had been living in exile in the USA since the 1990s. Turkish tanks entered major cities and “The Turkish Air Force bombed the country’s parliament building, police stations and the Presidential Complex. A group of rebels attempted to kidnap Turkey’s democratically elected President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from the resort town where he was spending the weekend with his family.”
Pointing out that dark clouds hovered over Turkish democracy that evening, Torunlar said that in response, civilians took to the streets without hesitation, and hundreds of thousands of people in the army and police force took action to restore command and control of the Turkish Armed Forces.
Pointing out that the balance sheet of the coup attempt was revealed the next morning, Torunlar said, “251 people of all ages, civilians, women and men, were killed by the so-called rebels affiliated with the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), and more than 2,500 were injured. The so-called rebels, from the 1980s. Since then, he has infiltrated the Turkish army, holding ranks from lieutenant to general, but he was taking his orders from a so-called high school dropout, who was protected by the United States.” made its assessment.
“May elections are proof that Turkish democracy has never really faltered”
Reminding that right after the uprising, the Turkish administration received messages of solidarity from its true friends, Torunlar used the following expressions:
“Those who define themselves as lovers of democracy in the West, who say what democracy is and what it should be, and do not hesitate to tell everyone about it, remained silent for days until the doubts about whether Turkey really is a democracy passed. There is no need to thank the great global champions of democracy, Turkey is better than before. came out strong.”
Ambassador Torunlar underlined that the proof that Turkish democracy has never really faltered is the rate of participation in the elections held last May, and said:
“The figure was enormous, not only in terms of Turkish voter turnout, but also when compared to the turnout rate in other democratic countries. Voters from both Turkey and abroad (including those in Israel) chose the new parliament and president by exercising their democratic rights. He re-elected 600 new members, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as president for the next 5 years in the second round of voting on 28 May.
“As Mediterranean countries, Türkiye and Israel have vibrant democracies”
Emphasizing that the Mediterranean countries Turkey and Israel have vibrant democracies, Torunlar said that families from both countries have known each other for centuries, and that they are neighboring countries with tested ties under all conditions and times.
Torunlar concluded her article by stating that the governments of both countries desire more cooperation that goes beyond tourism and trade:
“Israelis come to Turkey not only for tourism or business, but also to help in difficult times. When Turkey was rocked by two consecutive earthquakes on February 6, which was dubbed the disaster of the century, Israel was one of the first countries to come to help with its 70-person search and rescue team. rescued 19 people from gold. A day later, Israel established a world-class field hospital in Kahramanmaraş with 350 paramedics. I believe relations between the two countries will improve in the coming months and years. Thanks to the strong and personal initiatives of the presidents of Israel and Turkey, who put relations back on track, both countries wants to take advantage of the new era.”