President Erdoğan: We are proud to see European Turks contributing more to the cultural and political lives of the countries they live in

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed CDAC members of the Union of International Democrats’ (UID) women branches and youth branches in Istanbul.

“TURKEY WILL EMERGE STRONGER FROM THE PANDEMIC PROCESS”

Voicing his belief that the hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic would actually usher in auspicious developments, President Erdoğan said: “It is our hope and expectation that Turkey will, Allah willing, emerge much stronger from the ongoing pandemic process.”

Noting that the pandemic will pave the way for a new era that will bring about fractures in the global system, President Erdoğan stated: “Turkey is one of the countries with the highest level of readiness to enter this new era, which is best evidenced by the 1.8% growth rate Turkey achieved in 2020, a year when economies across the world experienced serious contractions.”

“WE HAVE SHOWN TURKEY’S GENEROSITY TO THE WHOLE WORLD”

The services Turkey offers by the highest standards for free can hardly be accessed by paying pricy fees in many European countries, stressed the President. “We also know that there are many citizens of ours in Europe who wait for days in queues to get tested, have no access to medication, pass away at their homes as they cannot find any ambulances, or are turned down by hospitals.”

Pointing out that over 100 thousand Turkish citizens from 142 countries have been brought back to Turkey and that over 380 Turkish citizens have been medevacked from abroad to hospitals inside the country since the outbreak of the pandemic, President Erdoğan highlighted that Turkey has also shown its generosity to the whole world by providing assistance to 157 countries and 12 international organizations.

“THOSE STILL SEEKING TO CONFINE EUROPEAN TURKS TO THE NARROW STEREOTYPES OF THE 1960s DON’T WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE REALITY OF A BIGGER AND STRONGER DIASPORA”

Noting that around 6 million Turkish citizens living in Europe now have an increased presence across a large spectrum from academy and education to trade, politics and civil society, President Erdoğan underscored: “We are proud to see European Turks contributing more to the political, cultural, economic and social lives of the countries they live in. We especially witness that our women and young people are at the forefront in various areas of life.”

Voicing his firm belief that Turks and Muslims will become much more visible in a manner they deserve in the future’s Europe, President Erdoğan said: “Such a prospect inspires hope in us while becoming a nightmare for some others. Those still seeking to confine European Turks to the narrow stereotypes of the 1960s don’t want to acknowledge the reality of a bigger and stronger diaspora. The Islamophobia and xenophobia, having recently escalated to alarming levels, is just one of the manifestations of this indigestion.”

“Models of Islam, Allah forbid, put forward under various names in European countries also reflect this diseased approach,” the President stated. “Islamophobia has turned into one the most important instruments western politicians employ to cover up their failures and conceal their ineptitude. It is now mainstream media outlets, academics and authors as well as politicians at the level of minister and prime minister that have started to resort to this populist method, to which marginal groups used to resort to formerly. Politicians who are unsuccessful in foreign policy, get cornered at home and put their personal competitions above their offices have been working to camouflage their incompetency by attacking me and Muslims.”

“THOSE LECTURING US ON DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS APPLAUD VIOLATIONS OF THE MOST BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS IN THEIR OWN COUNTRIES”

Pointing out that the number of attacks targeting immigrants in the three European countries hosting the largest number of Turkish citizens has surpassed 3 thousand, President Erdoğan said: “In 2020 alone, more than 900 racist attacks in total have been registered in Germany, 400 of them against our citizens. Last year yet again, 121 attacks took place targeting our mosques and their affiliated-associations despite the restrictions put in place due to the pandemic. Muslim women’s rights are being usurped in Europe by means of the public space versus private space ruse as was the case once upon a time in our country. Unfortunately, the ability of women wearing headscarves to get employed, find a job, freely participate in social life and, even to get education in some places have seriously been restricted in many European countries. It is all the more alarming that those lecturing us on democracy and human rights applaud violations of the most basic human rights committed in their own countries and don’t speak out against this discrimination.”