Statements of officials of Turkey on deadly armed attack at nightclub in İstanbul
President Erdoğan: ‘These attacks fuel our ambition and determination’
Releasing a written statement on the deadly attack at İstanbul’s Ortaköy district at Reina nightclub at the very early hours of the first day of 2017, which claimed lives of 39 and left 65 people wounded, Turkey’s President Erdoğan condemned the attack, extended condolences and said the following: “Those who attempt against our nation’s peace in these attacks where civilians are targeted are trying to make our country unstable and create chaos by causing despair among our people.
However, as a nation, we must maintain our calmness. By bonding together more, we are not going to give way to this dirty games... We are aware that these attacks, where different terrorist organizations target our country, are not seperate from things happening in our region. We are determined to eliminate the roots of these threats and attacks. Each person that we lose in this process makes our heart ache but also fuel our ambition and determination... “
PM Yıldırım: ‘All countries can face incidents like this’
PM Yıldırım talked to journalists in İstanbul. Condemning the attack and giving updates on the condition of the wounded, Prime Minister stated claims about attacker having dressed in Santa Claus costume were not true and added: “All countries can face incidents like this; so can Turkey. But terror cannot discourage us; it cannot scare us. We will scare off terror… Our greatest assurance is the spirit of solidarity that our people have… Our security forces are going after him (the attacker)… Certain possibilities are being revealed. It’ll be shared with the public later… Turkey has been fighting against the separatist terrorist organization (PKK) for a while; and, we have been fighting against both FETÖ and DAESH… We know that there are consequences for this fight. But we are never going to give in to terror...”
Deputy PM Kurtulmuş: ‘Our people should be careful but they should not live in fear'
Speaking live on CNN Türk and answering a question about whether there is intelligence and warning about another attack in İstanbul, Deputy Prime Minister and Government Spokesperson Numan Kurtulmuş said “Yes, our people should be careful in this regard but they should not live their life in fear”, and, gave the following information: “It is understood that the attack was carried out by one person. 2016 passed in hardship. We were anticipating 2017 to come in a better way…. We are going to fight against the perpetrators without getting tired. We hope for the attacker to be caught and his connections to be revealed as soon as possible… There are certain signs (about his ties), however, we cannot name the organization yet… ”
CHP: ‘Government officials must take the responsibility’
Giving the first statement of CHP, parliamentary group leader Akif Hamzaçebi said the organization behind the attack was still not known, adding: “An attack of this sort is happening for the first time. It’s an attack that targets a particular lifestyle. These kinds of incidents must unite the nation. We must mourn for this together. This is the only way to defeat terror…”
In a written statement released from CHP, chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said: “…Terrorist organizations, which attack our daily lives and lifestyle and try to shake our trust and love that we have for our country, will not be able to reach their goals. We are going to eliminate terrorist organizations with our societal solidarity, rooted democracy, and the priceless value of our secularism... Regardless of the steps of the government, these terrorist attacks have not been managed to be stopped. After each terror attack, the government officials make certain statements about precautions. And, this seems to encourage the terrorist organizations for their next attack. The reason for this is due to a lack of sound and sustainable counterterrorism policy. On the other hand, the officials are not taking the responsibility or resigning from their posts after these attacks... And, this creates a weakness, too.”
MHP Chair: ‘Terror is not going to win’
Chair of Turkey’s MHP (Nationalist Movement Party) Devlet Bahçeli said: “Terror is not going to win. Traitors and their partners will not be able to witness their planned destruction
HDP: ‘Those who do not take a positive step are politically responsible’
Condemning the attack, HDP’s written statement included condolences messages and a reference to recent ‘sermon of the Religion Affairs Presidency of Turkey’, where people of Turkey had been asked to not celebrate the coming of new year as it was deemed as ‘illegitimate’ and ‘not part of the tradition or culture of the people of the country’. The remaining part of the message read as: “Political approaches that lack the understanding that different beliefs, cultures, and identities of Turkey’s society is actually a great richness… are leading the country into a deadlock step by step… Those who do not take a positive step are politically responsible for these…They are fanning the flames!”