Hulusi Akar: ‘That night, we showed the whole world that every Turk is born a soldier’

During the treacherous coup attempt organized by FETÖ on July 15, 2016, General Hulusi Akar, who was the Chief of the General Staff, stated on the 8th anniversary of the insurgency, ‘We must also be prepared against the treacherous attempts of traitors and villains like this. We will draw inspiration from the successes achieved by our nation, our army, and our police; the younger generations will be inspired. On the other hand, we will take a lesson from the presence of these treacherous villains. Imperialist powers, their puppets, and intelligence agencies will never remain idle.’ As part of the events held in Kayseri within the framework of the July 15 National Unity and Democracy Day, a ceremony was held at the Kartal Martyrs’ Cemetery. After the recitation of the Quran and prayers during the ceremony, a salute was made in honor of the martyrs. At the end of the ceremony, protocol members visited the martyr graves and met with their families. Speaking to journalists after the program, the then Chief of the General Staff and Chairman of the Turkish Grand National Assembly National Defense Commission, Hulusi Akar, said that they showed the whole world that every Turk is born a soldier that day. Akar, also added that imperialist powers will not remain idle, ‘Today marks the anniversary of the resistance we put up against the treacherous coup attempt with the leadership of our President, with our military, gendarmerie, police, and civilians loyal to their homeland, nation, and flag. We are commemorating this. Here, once again, we showed the whole world that every Turk is born a soldier on July 16. We saw how important the unity of the army and the people is once again here. We must be prepared against the treacherous attempts of traitors and villains like this. We will draw inspiration from the successes achieved by our nation, our army, and our police; the younger generations will be inspired. On the other hand, we will take a lesson from the presence of these treacherous villains. We will continue our struggle against them. Imperialist powers, their puppets, and intelligence agencies will never remain idle. Yesterday was July 15, a month ago they attempted to rebel by using Syrians as an excuse. With the wisdom, logic, and sagacity of our noble people, we never allowed them, and we will not allow them. As our state, we will continue our stability as 85 million people with a single fist. Hopefully, we will build a growing and strengthening Turkey.’ The ceremony was attended by Governor Gökmen Çiçek, members of parliament, Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Memduh Büyükkılıç, military officials, police officers, district mayors, political party provincial chairmen, institution directors, and NGO representatives.