Erdoğan thanks locals of Ankara town for stance against coup

ANKARA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has voiced praise for the people who poured out onto the street to resist an attempted coup in the Kazan district of Ankara while also vowing to continue to “chase” the perpetrators of the July 15 coup attempt.

Addressing 10,000 people in the town, in which nine people were killed and over 90 wounded on the night of July 15, Erdoğan said he came to the town to visit the town’s “martyrs” and added that Kazan had proved to be one of the most “dignified” districts for its stance during the military bid as its residents “punished” the Mürted Base, where the attempt was coordinated that night. Kazan is located around 50 kilometers from the base. 

“We said ‘we will enter their dens.’ Now we have. Now they are running away, looking for spots to run away. They can escape wherever they want. They will run away and we will chase them,” said Erdoğan, referring to the followers of Fethullah Gülen, the U.S.-based Islamic preacher believed to have been behind the deadly coup attempt in the country. 

Erdoğan also denied allegations that the attempt was “his game.”

“Some countries in the world are still trying to portray that this was my game. How is that you plan a game for death and you go to death? How is this possible? They could not recognize us, and they will not be able to. When we reach our 2023 goals, they will see what the world is about much more clearly. July 15 taught us a lot,” said Erdoğan.