President Erdoğan: To us, anyone who has affection for and contributes to Turkey is a first-class citizen

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Syriac Orthodox Mor Efrem Church in Istanbul.

President Erdoğan said: “We are a nation which has been ruling over this region for almost a millennium, and Istanbul for 566 years. Throughout this long history, our region has always been the heart of religious, ethnic and cultural diversity, most importantly of the conscience of humanity.”

“Our hearts and doors have always been open to all the oppressed and the wronged who have come to these lands from everywhere, from Spain and Eastern Europe to the Caucasus and the North Africa,” President Erdoğan stated, noting that Turkey has been hosting nearly 4 million people, who have come from Syria and Iraq and are members of different religious groups.

“TO US, ANYONE WHO HAS AFFECTION FOR AND CONTRIBUTES TO TURKEY IS A FIRST-CLASS CITIZEN”

President Erdoğan further stressed: “Although the sufferings of the last 150 years in our region have caused many troubles and destructions, we have never allowed even a slightest weakness in our will of coexistence. To us, anyone who has affection for, show loyalty to and contributes to Turkey is a first-class citizen.”

Underscoring that as Turkey grows stronger, all the citizens, without exception, enjoy the emerged opportunities, and that they will continue to do so, President Erdoğan went on to say: “As the rights and freedoms in our country expand, all our citizens, without exception, will enjoy them. Our only exception is terrorist organizations, terrorists and those who betray their country and people. Other than that, there has never been discrimination in our minds or hearts, and there will never be. The closer we get to the goal of great and strong Turkey, the more secure and the more peaceful we will feel ourselves, and we will all together share the generated prosperity.”