IndiaTomorrow.net,
New Delhi, July 17: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish people who played historic role in thwarting a coup attempt Friday night, have got support from global leaders.
While United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for calm, US President Barack Obama has urged all parties in Turkey to back the democratically-elected government of Erdogan. “All parties in Turkey should support the democratically-elected government of Turkey, show restraint, and avoid any violence or bloodshed,” said Obama.
Around 300 people were killed in clashes after tanks opened fire around the Turkish parliament building in Ankara and military jets were seen flying low over the city as the military claimed it had seized control of the country late Friday night.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addressing via Facetime, asserted he was still President and vowed to crush the people responsible for the coup.
In his latest address from Istanbul on Saturday morning, Erdogan said the coup was over.
Speaking to thousands of jubilant supporters after arriving in Istanbul later on Saturday morning, Erdogan said: “The president, whom 52 percent of the people brought to power, is in charge,” Erdogan said. “This government brought to power by the people, is in charge. They won’t succeed as long as we stand against them by risking everything.”
France has strongly condemned the military coup attempt.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault while condemning the coup attempt said he hoped Turkey’s “democracy will emerge strengthened”. “The Turkish population showed its maturity and courage by committing to the respect of its institutions. It paid the price with many victims,” the minister said in a statement.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted: “coups have no place in our region and are doomed to fail.” “Deeply concerned about the crisis in Turkey Stability, democracy & safety of Turkish people are paramount. Unity & prudence are imperative,” Zarif added in another tweet.
Back home, India has also supported democracy in Turkey.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday announced that India was closely monitoring the situation in Turkey following reports of an attempted coup.
“We have been closely following the developments in Turkey,” the ministry said in a statement.
“India calls upon all sides to support democracy and mandate of the ballot, and avoid bloodshed,” it added.
India’s largest Muslim organization Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has congratulated Turkish president Erdogan and the people of Turkey for thwarting the coup attempt.
While condemning the coup attempt to topple the democratically-elected government in Turkey, Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari, National President of Jamaat, said: “Turkey is a very important regional power and has achieved great success in delivering economic prosperity to its people. The Turkish government has given the much needed stability to Turkey and is an indispensable partner to many countries for achieving peace and stability in the region.”
Jamaat, which has always spoken on major global and Muslim world issues, blamed some big powers for the chaos in Turkey.
“There are some powers that do not want to see a strong Turkey and are eager to create chaos and instability in the Middle East. These are the same powers who are the biggest suppliers of arms and ammunition and do not want to see peace in the region,” said Jamaat chief.
He also applauded “the brave people of Turkey who heeded the call of their President to save their country and braved the savagery of military tanks and helicopters”.
—
With inputs from IANS and AlJazeera
