We will never give up on our faith in this country!

The two earthquakes that hit Türkiye Monday last week with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6, and epicenters in the Pazarcık and Elbistan cities of Kahramanmaraş province, have been dubbed the disaster of the century. It is difficult to even estimate the dimensions of the disaster. However, there is no doubt that the agony which spread across the whole country deeply affected those in our nearby region as well. In addition to Turkic and Muslim countries, countries of different religious backgrounds and cultures also took action. The examples of solidarity beyond borders have shown us that the pre-earthquake period aid operations in which our nation has always been proud to be involved connected us to other regions. We clearly did the right thing by participating in these efforts. I am not saying this because we see them helping us in return. This indicates a sincere connection. It is truly important to know that there are people in different parts of the world who share our feelings. This gives great hope.

Yet, we are sadly seeing the presence and operations of countries and groups waiting ready to take advantage of our current dark days. The U.S. aircraft carrier, USS George H.W. Bush, heading toward Türkiye after the earthquake disaster is not good news. Surely they are not going to wage war against Türkiye with one aircraft carrier, but it is very clear they are not on the way to help. There is no reason to think they have left aside the pre-earthquake disputes. On the contrary, we can say that they are taking advantage of the situation and sending the aircraft carrier on the ground as a threat. This can be associated with the intensity of tensions within as well.

We have been saying that Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) members have almost completely lost all ties with Türkiye. FETÖ started to become a foreign threat for Türkiye, especially after Dec. 17-25, 2013. This group was dependent on European states and the U.S., which is why we identified FETO and similar groups as dependent organizations. These organizations were born from the regulation of imperial centers' unequal relations with neighboring countries. Hence, the formed opposition to Türkiye’s autochthonism and nationalism moves. They saw no harm in being used as imperial centers’ intervention means and attempted an internal invasion on July 15, 2016. During this time period, they constantly fled the country. It is clear that over time they will completely lose all their religious, national, and language ties. FETÖ members did not hold back and acted in accordance with the imperial centers’ interests even in the earthquake catastrophe. This applies to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as well. They are lurking over Türkiye like a specter with their fake news reports and organized operations on the ground.

Considering this, while Türkiye puts forth everything as a state, will this lead to any state of weakness allowing these groups to achieve their objectives? If we, as a nation, had given up on our faith in this country, we would have sadly said yes in response to this question. Losing our faith in this country is perhaps the worst that could happen. I too question the aims of these organizations in every aspect, but I have no doubt that they want to make us believe our country will leave us halfway. There have been many examples showing that they are waiting impatiently for us to give up all our claims regarding this country and our region. They never hesitated, and will not hesitate to reveal themselves in any case. Frankly, we are experiencing many events that show those in our midst are more ruthless than those outside. It is these examples that make it clear they want us to give up. We are going through another state, which they want to wear us down by causing mental exhaustion.

Despite all this, we are going through once again the events we witnessed in every difficult situation in the last decade. Seeing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan call out to the whole world from among the rubble, right in the middle of the disaster, to show that we have strong faith in this, is extremely important. He says he takes responsibility for everything and does not leave the area. When he states, “We will rebuild it within a year,” there is no doubt that the claim is in reference to more than just the destroyed buildings. There is no giving up, no letting go halfway! We believe we have proven this at such a time as one as a nation.

We know from past examples that these dark days will pass as well. We have complete faith that difficulty will be followed by ease. The expression, “This too shall pass,” reflects the experience of centuries, and submission to this is a manifestation of faith. Sure, there have been those who consider this as a passive stance, but submission is necessary to see the perseverance in this expression.