World turned blind eye on Turkey on July 15: President Erdoğan

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency

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The international media’s attempt to paint "terrorists as heroes" and ignore their victims is part of a sinister plan against Turkey’s people and its government, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Feb. 25.

"The double standard the international media organizations use in covering the incidents we have undergone in recent years is known," Erdoğan told the opening ceremony of the 4th Istanbul CNR International Book Fair, whose theme this year is the July 2016 failed coup attempt.

Saying that the world turned a blind eye to Turkey's glorious victory over the coup attempt, Erdoğan stressed that repeatedly telling the story of what happened the night of July 15 through literature and the arts is important. 

"It is the binding duty of all of us to hold onto this legacy," he said.

"As always, we cannot count on the conscience or actions of others."

At least 248 people were killed and nearly 2,200 were injured in the attempted takeover which was blamed on the Gülen Movement under the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen.