Erdogan warns 'blood merchants' and 'genociders' seeking instability will lose

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Tuesday that those who profit from terrorism and seek to plunge the region into instability are destined to fail, declaring that "blood merchants" and "genociders" will ultimately lose their gamble. Speaking at a ceremony in Bitlis province marking the 955th anniversary of the Battle of Malazgirt, Erdogan said the historic victory in 1071 opened Anatolia to Turkish sovereignty. "The blood merchants will lose; the opportunists who profit from terrorism will lose. The genociders who seek to plunge our region into instability will lose," he stated.

Century of Türkiye vision

Erdogan emphasized that the rise of a "great and strong Türkiye" is now inevitable, noting that the Terror-Free Türkiye initiative remains central to the government's agenda. Once this initiative achieves its objectives, "the doors to a new era will open before our nation," he said. The president stressed that the construction of the "Century of Türkiye" has already begun, marking a transformative period for the republic.

"Let no one have any doubts. The dawn of a great and strong Türkiye has broken. The construction of the 'Century of Türkiye' has begun," Erdogan said, framing the current era as a definitive break with past constraints. He argued that defeating terrorism and rejecting externally sown instability are prerequisites for the nation's future prosperity. Erdogan added that humanity and brotherhood would emerge as the ultimate victors alongside the Turkish nation and its citizens.

From Ahlat to Jerusalem

Referring to Ahlat — a key staging ground for the Seljuk forces before the Battle of Malazgirt — Erdogan drew a direct line between the 1071 victory and the later conquests of Istanbul and Jerusalem. "Jerusalem and Istanbul were conquered with the faith that took shape in Ahlat," he said, underscoring the town's spiritual significance in Turkish history. The Battle of Malazgirt took place on August 26, 1071, when Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan defeated Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes, establishing Turkic dominance in Anatolia and altering the region's demographic landscape permanently.