Monday 18 / November / 2024
Muscat: Uğur Doğan, the ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to the Sultanate of Oman, thanked Oman on Tuesday for its support during the coup attempt in his homeland.
“We acknowledge with gratitude and appreciation the support and solidarity displayed by the Omani government and the Omani people in the aftermath of this heinous coup attempt directed towards the Turkish government and the Turkish people.”
According to Ambassador Doğan, Omanis in Turkey are safe and well and are enjoying their stay in Turkey. “Omanis in Turkey are totally safe and are enjoying their vacation in Turkey, only some of them have come back to Oman.”
He further stated that the events in Turkey had adversely affected social conditions in the country, including tourism, but said the country is now safe for travel.
“I can safely tell you that the Turkish people are completely behind the government, so there is unity in Turkey and this unity has helped in the normalisation process so that normal life can be established very quickly.”
“I can tell you that tourism, even though there is lots of reporting about Turkey these days and about the events which took place, it is only natural that tourism would be affected in the short term, but I can assure you that if you go to Turkey today, you will not face any kind of abnormal situation.”
Foreign connections
The Turkish Ambassador further spoke about the foreign connections to the failed coup attempt and of the negative role played by some foreign media agencies in spreading rumours about the situation in Turkey.
“We are very much aware that this coup attempt has foreign connections and the relevant Turkish authorities are in the process of clarifying exactly which circles were behind it. Since these realities are very well known by the countries in the region, they all emphasised in their statements and messages of support to Turkey that they would like to see security and stability in our country.”
“Therefore, it is our duty and responsibility to explain clearly to the Omani public as to what happened in Turkey and what would have been the possible consequences if the coup attempt were to be successful. It is time for all countries and media outlets to stand by Turkey and its people against non-democratic initiatives.”
Role of foreign media
Ambassador Doğan said that following the coup there were some news outlets, which were engaged in spreading wrong information about the situation. “Unfortunately some media agencies were involved in some kind of disinformation (campaign), and we have the feeling that knowingly or unknowingly, some of the international news agencies were not reporting what was happening in the country and even today some of them tried to distort the picture.”
Rule of law
The aftermath of the events in Turkey saw damage done to life and property, “Tragically, 246 Turkish citizens lost their lives during this violent terror campaign—of those, 179 were innocent civilians, who just stood bravely in front of the tanks and reclaimed their democratic rights. More than 2,000 Turkish citizens were wounded. Those taking part in the coup attempt will be prosecuted and tried in accordance with the law.”
Till date, more than 100 friendly and allied countries have extended their support to Turkey, Ambassador Doğan concluded.
