By Esra Tekin
ISTANBUL (AA) – The arms lobbies and chaos merchants who thrive “on the tears of the oppressed” are troubled by the principled stance of Türkiye and its growing international sway, said the nation’s president on Friday.
"Arms lobbies, chaos lobbies, and arms dealers who feed on the tears of the oppressed are troubled by us, by a growing and strengthening Türkiye,” said Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his speech in a ceremony in Istanbul.
“Those who want to keep the old wheels of exploitation turning” are troubled by Türkiye, he added.
On Türkiye’s continuing fight against terrorism, Erdogan said that they cannot make the “slightest concession” on the country’s peace, reiterating their determination to pursue terrorists until the end.
“We have left no room for terrorist groups to breathe, either inside or outside our borders,” he said.
Türkiye has conducted more than 35,500 counter-terrorism operations against terrorist groups, including the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) – the group behind the defeated 2016 coup in Türkiye – and the PKK, said the president.
In its 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, infants, and the elderly.
FETO and its US-based leader, Fetullah Gulen, orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in which 252 people were killed and 2,734 wounded.
Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
On Ankara’s defense industry investments, Erdogan further said, “We once again witnessed how vital this is through the cyberterrorist attacks mounted in Lebanon” this week, attacks which killed dozens of people and injured thousands of others.