Turkish PM Yıldırım names July 15 coup attempt as ‘project’ he did not like


Date posted: July 6, 2018

In remarks that fueled suspicions even further that the Turkish government was involved in a failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Thursday that July 15 was a “project” he did not like or approve of.

Yıldırım’s remarks came during the Anadolu news agency’s “Editor’s Desk” program.

When one of the editors of the agency asked the prime minister, “Has there been any project that challenged you so much it made you say, ‘If only we had not gotten into this business’?”

“Which one [of them] should I tell you about? The project I did not like was July 15,” said Yıldırım, laughing, sparking a burst of laughter among the journalists who sat around the table with Yıldırım.

The prime minister’s remarks attracted widespread criticism on social media, with many saying that Yıldırım had confessed to the government’s involvement in the coup attempt, which claimed the lives of 249 people and injured a thousand others.

Immediately after the putsch the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement.

Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the movement, strongly denied having any role in the failed coup and called for an international investigation into it, but President Erdoğan — calling the coup attempt “a gift from God” — and the government initiated a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.

Amid an ongoing witch-hunt targeting the Gülen movement, more than 50,000 people have been jailed while more than 150,000 have been removed from state posts due to alleged Gülen links since the coup attempt.

Yıldırım is the last prime minister of the modern Turkish Republic as a new system of governance, an executive presidency, was adopted in a referendum last year. Yıldırım is expected to be the new speaker of parliament for the next legislative term.

 

Source: Turkish Minute , July 6, 2018

Tags: | | |


Related News

The story of the government media’s smear campaign against Hizmet

The pro-government media — or more correctly the “government media,” as it has become apparent that they have been bought by businessmen under orders from the prime minister — has manufactured and published lies about the Hizmet movement, which has a four-decade proud history in Turkey, in an attempt to create the perception that it is a criminal organization.

Amnesty International: Malaysia’s extradition puts three Turkish men at risk of torture

“By sending these three men suspected of links to Fethullah Gülen back to Turkey, the Malaysian authorities have put their liberty and well-being at risk. They have already suffered a harrowing ordeal, being arbitrarily detained and held incommunicado. Now, they have been extradited to Turkey, where they could face arbitrary detention, unfair trial and a real risk of torture.”

Turkish purges leave armed forces weak, dismissed officer warns

NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe, General Curtis Scaparrotti, said in December that he never had any reason to suspect that Turkish officers in his teams would be involved in a coup attempt. In their absence, and without their expertise, the capacity of his staff had been “degraded,” he told the Financial Times and Deutsche Welle.

Avni: New plot under way to blame Gülen movement for PKK attacks

A whistleblower who tweets under the pseudonym Fuat Avni has claimed that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his accomplices have devised a new plot against the faith-based Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement, in which they will place blame for the recent increasing violence across Turkey on the movement.

Irmak TV starts broadcast

New television channel Irmak TV began broadcasting on Thursday night in a magnificent ceremony with blessings from senior Turkish officials, journalists and public figures. The TV channel, along with Today’s Zaman, is part of the Feza Media Group, and will mostly broadcast programs with moral, spiritual, cultural and religious content. Irmak, meaning “river” in Turkish, […]

Victims of Erdogan’s witch-hunt and purge get their voice heard

A new website has recently been launched to publish stories or Turkish president Erdogan’s with-hunt, persecution and brutal crack-down on the dissents. The new website is named “Magduriyetler,” which aims to disseminate the stories of the countless violations of law after the coup attempt in July 2016.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

TV station won’t cover AK Party events due to harassment of reporter

Women gather for UN development agenda in İstanbul

Cultural diaspora

UN praises Kimse Yok Mu for aid efforts in Somalia

Turkey Deports Journalist for Criticizing Government on Twitter

West Hartford State Rep. Receives ‘Statesman of the Year Award’

Ottawa urged to expedite residency process for those fleeing oppression in Turkey

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News