On the evening of July 15th, a faction of the Turkish Armed Forces attempted to
stage a coup in various cities of Turkey, particularly in Ankara and
İstanbul.

It was understood in a short time that this was more than a
treacherous plot: It was a terrorist campaign. The perpetrators fired at their
own people, stabbed their commanders in the back and bombed the National
Parliament and the Office of the Presidency.

From the very beginning,
the command chain and vast majority of the Turkish Armed Forces stood up against
the coup attempt. It was merely some elements of the Air Forces, Gendarmerie and
armored units that joined the violent conspiracy. Both the police and public
prosecutors immediately took necessary measures to foil the
attempt.

Above all, it was the Turkish nation who thwarted the plot.
They displayed a historic solidarity as they took to the streets and remained
defiant. They stood bravely in front of the tanks and reclaimed their democratic
rights.

The terrorists tried to broadcast their message by taking over
studios of the state TV (TRT) and raiding private media outlets. Yet the
plotters’ attempt to control media did not last long. It must be noted that the
Turkish media also played a key role in subsiding the coup
attempt.

Throughout the process, all the political parties and Members
of the Turkish Grand National Assembly stood firmly by democracy, democratic
politics, democratic institutions and the Constitution. A Joint Declaration in
defense of democracy was issued during the extraordinary meeting of the General
Assembly on the 16th of July.

During the operations held against the
terrorist group, more than 6000 have been detained so far and more than 100 coup
plotters were captured dead. The operations continue.

Unfortunately,
more than 190 of our citizens were left dead and more than 1400
wounded.

A group of eight involved in the coup attempt fled to Greece
onboard a helicopter that they stole. Necessary steps have been taken for the
return of the suspects and the helicopter.

This coup attempt was staged
in no uncertain terms by the Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organization (FETÖ). Our
Government has been constantly exposing the real motives of this terrorist group
and its leader, Fethullah Gülen, to all allies and partners. The foiled coup is
the latest criminal act revealing the danger posed by FETÖ.

Our
President, Prime Minister, Government, Members of Turkish Grand National
Assembly and the Turkish people all together defeated this coup attempt and
stood by democracy and rule of law.

The terrorists will be punished in
accordance with the law.