The conscience of Turkish society is aching

Starting from July 15, 2016, a great period of purge took place in the Turkish Armed Forces in Türkiye.

This purge generally targeted Turkish officers, and these people were openly expelled from the army. They were not only expelled but also branded as members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) and thrown into prisons. Since that date, thousands of honorable Turkish officers lying in prison are waiting for the day they will regain their freedom. Not only soldiers, but also police officers, prosecutors, judges, teachers, and people from many other professions we do not even know of...

The AKP government removed Türkiye's honorable officers from the army one by one and restricted their freedoms in prison. Who is to say that these people, who have been imprisoned for years through injustices, will not hold the current government accountable once they regain their freedom one day. Since the government already knows that it would experience disaster in such a scenario, it is doing every dirty deed it can today in order not to lose power and continues to increase them with each passing day.

Those who paraded almost all officers before the eyes of the media and presented them to society as traitors on July 15, 2016, will one day face this reality. Because there is no fair trial, both the guilty and the innocent are being held together in prison. Whereas, if there were a fair trial, I believe that almost all of these officers would leave prison and regain their freedom. If there are those who committed crimes, let them be tried fairly and receive punishment, but those who are innocent will surely one day regain their freedom. The founding values of the Republic of Türkiye have always taught us to be just and transparent, and we grew up with this culture. At the point we have reached today, we are witnessing that the government disregards the founding values of the Republic and even tries to destroy these values.

US Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack, in a speech, referred to Türkiye being governed by a monarchy like Middle Eastern countries. Because the Republic has always posed a threat to them. After this unfortunate statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye made no condemnation on this matter and did not warn Barrack. This unfortunate speech shows that the government is doing its part as part of an existing plan.

However, one day when justice is reestablished in Türkiye and order is restored, these people will certainly be prosecuted. Everyone, from the very top of the hill to the very bottom, will certainly pay this penalty. No matter which country in the world they flee to, this responsibility will never leave them alone.

One day, everyone pays the price for what they have done.