Tanju Bilgiç
Tanju Bilgiç, the spokesperson of the Ministry of foreign Affairs of the Turkish Republic published a statement on the investigations on coup leaders. The statement that was published on 18 July, is as follows:
On 15 July, Turkey was faced with a military coup d’état attempt against its Constitutional order. We are pleased to see that our friends, allies, partners and international organizations are standing by Turkey and the Turkish democracy these days in solidarity and with a principled stance, on the basis of common values.
However, we also unfortunately see that based on unrealized events and assumptions, prejudiced and unacceptable criticisms can be uttered against the legal measures and investigations Turkey is undertaking against the coup leaders. This means lending support to those who attempted the coup.
Turkey is a democratic state of law. The coup leaders attempted an aggression against the Republic of Turkey which is a democratic, secular and social state, as well as its Constitutional Order. Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organization is behind this coup attempt. We strongly condemn and refuse the statements which imply that principles of rule of law can be violated and political opponents can be treated arbitrarily despite the measures taken by independent judicial bodies in accordance with our international obligations and current legislation against the above-mentioned terrorist organization, which opened fire on our people and attacked The Grand National Assembly of Turkey and other state institutions with aircraft, tanks and other heavy weapons belonging to the Turkish nation.