The son of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gave a detailed account of what his family went through during the July 15, 2016 coup attempt by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
Erdoğan, who chairs the World Ethnosport Confederation, spoke in a candid interview published on Thursday. Speaking to Harun Sekmen from Sabah newspaper, Erdoğan said he was in Istanbul, at the Presidential Residence in the Tarabya neighborhood with his family on the night of July 15, 2016. “My children were younger then, and it was their bedtime. I was attending to them when I started getting text messages from friends and a few photos (showing soldiers on the streets), sometime between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. I was trying to find out what was happening,” he said.
“The president was in Marmaris then (the southwestern town where the president and first lady Emine Erdoğan were on vacation). I did not want to contact them before understanding the situation, before doing something concrete. Then, Selçuk (Bayraktar, his brother-in-law) and other family members in Istanbul arrived at our residence. We then contacted the president. He had decided to fly to Istanbul. At those moments, F-16 aircraft were flying above the residence,” he recalled.
“We were all concerned whether something would happen to the president while he was flying to Istanbul. He was determined, though, and told us that he was ready to stand against the tanks (of the putschists). But I think taking the risk of flying from Marmaris to Istanbul on such a night was far riskier than standing in front of tanks. He was joined by his family, to stand against such a danger. This is a leadership quality, taking such decisions during difficult times. Eventually, they arrived in Istanbul and I traveled to the airport, with (Selçuk Bayraktar) to welcome him. I saw large crowds on the streets. When we arrived at the airport, his plane had landed. We saw helicopters flying overhead and they continued until the morning. We could see weapons on the helicopters pointed at us. But there were so many people, all around the building where the president was inside,” he said.
“People slept around the building that night. I believe that the putschists did not have the same courage the president had, though they dared to kill more than 250 people. They were, ultimately, cowards and our nation gave them what they deserved. Allah protected our president and our nation supported him because of his courage, his sincerity. The Turkish nation always supports people it trusts, regardless of the price they may have to pay. They walked with him and they still walk with him,” he said.
