Is Turkey’s only priority toppling al-Assad?

The Feast of Sacrifice holiday has passed, right? Since the holiday mood is over, I would like to say a few words to those who continued to fight the entire world over the holiday. I want to express those feelings that I kept inside because it was the holiday.

I will directly address the prime minister. I read with dismay his interview with CNN from afar. He said to the U.S., “If you decide to topple [Bashar] al-Assad, then we will send our troops to Syria and Iraq.”

What I'm saying is this: "Look, stop there. Stop a little and think. Not once or twice. Think 10, 100, 1,000 times. Then, if you see the people of this country as citizens, not as subjects, then answer these questions: Do you mean that this nation, the mothers and fathers, will send their children and their brothers there just to correct your already failed Syria policies? Are we going to go there just to satisfy your Ottoman fit? In other words, just to make your Enver Pasha dreams come true, just to reestablish your hubris of toppling a person heading another country? Do you mean to say that those people you have armed without making any distinction, those men who behead people, are no danger for Turkey? The only priority is toppling al-Assad?"

At the beginning of the incidents in Syria, I wrote that the government's policy would turn us into a Peshawar, that it would bring Afghanistan to our borders.

Today, I am saying, “The world has come to its senses; logic has prevailed, but your juvenile dreams, your Enver Pasha ideals and your Muslim Brotherhood ambitions have not yet been curbed. Look friend, this place is Turkey, a vast country that has fought a War of Independence against the powers of the world and won. If necessary, we will fight again. The women and men of this country will give their lives for this land. But come up and say it openly: Say that your real aim is not ISIL, but rather toppling al-Assad."

Yes, ISIL is a huge and dark threat for this country. We would fight for our country, for the safety of our children, for our interests, but there is big “BUT.” We would not fight just for Davutoğlu's dreams of toppling al-Assad.

To my Kurdish friend...

My Kurdish brother, be rational. I have no issue, not in the least, with the brother who wants to speak his mother tongue freely, who wants to cry out his identity proudly and say “I am a Kurd,” who wants to share the joy and grief of the country by heart, who is as proud of Turkey as he is of being Kurdish.

Now, I want to address the other man, the man who wanted to torch Turkey on Oct. 7.

Look, when it serves your purpose, you chant, “Damn the Turkish state.” When it suits you, you hit the streets chanting “Turkish army for duty” and vandalize.

When it serves your purpose, you say “We also participated in the War of Independence” and want your share in that pride. When not, you insult the victorious commander of that war, you burn and snatch the head off his statues, the person whose principles we carry in our souls.

Well, there is no such thing. It cannot and it will not happen. We have kept silent, as befits a civilized country. We have supported the peace process with all our hearts. We have even tolerated things that we did not quite agree to.  

But, wait a minute. If you have values, know that we also have values. If you do not want your values to be trampled on, do not destroy or torch mine either.

Do not send the dark bill of the Middle East to your own country. Whatever you were torching and smashing is actually everybody’s property. Those values that you wanted to trample on are relics for us. You should know this.

You should also know this very well: Our soul, heart and conscience are all with you in Kobane. But they are not with you here. They are not even beside you here.

We founded this republic with sacrifice and pain. Because of that, we know its value. Look at the other side of the border. Look carefully. Look and see the situation over there. See the dark head that beheads your brother, that beheads my brother.  

Then take another look to this side, to your country, where you have been living for centuries. Look at your republic, and at the hero, the precious person who founded this republic.

Look carefully. If you have any wisdom, heart and conscious, then it will be you, yourself, who stops the hand that hits that precious person.