Turkish embassies in Uganda, South Sudan mark 8th year defeated 2016 coup attempt

By Hamza Kyeyune

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) — The Turkish embassies in Uganda and South Sudan on Monday marked the eighth anniversary of the defeated 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye.

Turkish Ambassador Fatih Ak spoke at an event hosted by the embassy, honoring the bravery of the 252 people killed while pushing back the attempt, orchestrated by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

"In the past eight years, the fight against FETO both inside and outside Türkiye has constituted one of the main priorities of our state.

"This secretive cult organization is now focusing its efforts on regrouping its followers outside Türkiye. Therefore, the fight against FETO structures abroad has been among the top priorities of us," said Ak, underlining that the terror group remains present in Uganda and offers sham services in education and health.

FETO and its US-based leader, Fetullah Gulen, orchestrated the defeated coup of July15, 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.

Turkish officials have requested that the US extradite Gulen — a resident of the US state of Pennsylvania — to face Turkish justice, but US officials have not granted the request.

Calling FETO a "secretive and clandestine cult terrorist organization," Ak said it continues to use "all universal values for their own purposes and still runs so-called schools and other types of income-generating establishments in many countries, unfortunately, including Uganda."

"The money collected through these entities supports its illegal, clandestine and subversive activities. These opportunistic and corrupt elements continue to pose a danger to all societies abroad that have ties with our country," he added.

Uganda's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Henry Okello Oryem recently told Anadolu that any Turkish national involved in subversive activities would be deported from the East African nation, highlighting the excellent bilateral relations between Ankara and Kampala.

"We condemn them and cannot allow them to use Uganda as their base to undermine Türkiye," he said. The event in Kampala was attended by diplomats from Pakistan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Libya, Somalia, and Venezuela.

In Juba, Turkish Ambassador to South Sudan Erdem Mutaf called on the international community to stand in solidarity with Türkiye in the fight against terrorism.

"Terrorism does not have a nationality, ethnicity or religion. This menace threatens humanity as a whole. Therefore, the response to this threat must be united and determined.

"No state has the luxury to make distinction among terrorists and no terrorist organization can be classified as 'useful' according to preferences," Mutaf said in a speech marking Türkiye's Democracy and National Unity Day on Monday in the capital Juba.

*Benjamin Takpiny contributed to this report from Juba, South Sudan