Turkey lauds Bangladesh PM for reacting to July coup bid

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reacted to the Turkish coup attempt on July 15 and issued a statement condemning the bid, Ambassador Devrim Ozturk has said.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 16 August 2016, 01:52 PM
Updated : 16 August 2016, 07:54 PM

He lauded the message sent to President Tayyip Erdogan at the beginning of a press briefing on Tuesday on his return to Dhaka following three months of absence – which Ankara says was for “consultations”.

Traditionally, the prime minister’s statements are also sent to media. But that statement to Turkish president was not sent, apparently due to the strained relations following Ankara’s reaction over Bangladesh’s war crimes trial.

The press briefing was organised on the coup attempt that the ambassador said was carried out by ‘the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation or FETO’, which is led by the US-based preacher Fetullah Gulen.

But Ambassador Ozturk faced questions on Dhaka-Ankara relations as President Erdogan condemned the execution of Jamaat-e-Islami chief Nizami, who was convicted for crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.

He recalled Ozturk on May 12.

The top Tukish diplomat in Dhaka said Ankara does not want to interfere in Bangladesh's domestic issues, and said they had issued the statement as they are opposed to the capital punishment.

“Our approach to Bangladesh is something cordial. We are always with our Bangladesh brothers and sisters. It (the comments on war crime trial) should be taken as friendly advice, not an insult to the country,” he said.

“We don’t have any reservation with the current government,” he said.

He expressed Turkey’s “gratitude” to Bangladeshi government and the people who had shown their “solidarity at the highest level” with the people of Turkey after the coup attempt that ‘targeted democracy’.

He said Hasina had condemned the coup attempt, “expressed sincere condolences for the people who lost their lives and supported the democratically elected government and rule of law, and extended congratulations to the leadership of the Republic of Turkey for successful intervention on the situation”.

He said the prime minister had “judiciously” pointed out that by foiling the attempt to take over the government through extrajudicial means, “Turkish people once again proved that ‘national will is the fundamental force’ to depend on and that the foiled military coup in Turkey should be seen as an example for the people of other countries, including Bangladesh to learn from.”

The ambassador started the press briefing by recalling Bangladesh’s founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the country observed National Mourning Day on Monday.

He drew similarities between the coup attempt and the killing of Bangladesh’s architect 41 years ago and said that was the “saddest chapter” in Bangladesh’s history.

“We joined our Bangladeshi brothers in commemorating this heinous assassination which had its ripple effects on the development of democracy and democratic institutions in Bangladesh for decades to follow.”

“On the night of July 15, Turkey achieved to avert a similar turnaround in its history,” he said.