Erdoğan: FETÖ is the same as Daesh

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the opening ceremony of the new building of Turkey’s embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, on Thursday.

“Turkey has been working to strengthen its international diplomacy recently. Especially in Africa, we would like to increase the number of embassies. Turkish embassies in the African continent have increased from 12 to 41 during the Justice and Development (AK) Party’s rule. Turkey’s biggest diplomatic mission is in Somalia,” Erdoğan said.

“The efforts of businessmen and nongovernmental organizations to bolster Turkey’s ties with South Africa is indisputable. This ensured both countries to get better acquainted with one another and bolster our cooperation,” he added.

Erdoğan on Wednesday arrived in Johannesburg to attend the BRICS summit. Erdoğan will meet the Turkish community in South Africa, as well as prominent businesspeople and opinion leaders of the Muslim community.

“Turkey ranks first in the world in helping the least developed countries with $8.2 billion. It is not enough for Turkey to be ranked as the world’s fifth in terms of diplomacy. As politicians, we will lead the way, however all our businessmen and diplomats must work together to actualize tenders and negotiations,” Erdoğan said.

“Daesh, FETÖ, PKK, Boko Haram and al-Shabaab terrorist organizations are all common enemies of humanity. FETÖ is the same as Daesh. We will discuss these matters with South African President Ramaphosa. Unfortunately, South Africa is one of the countries in which FETÖ is most active. Turkey won't allow the Fetullah Terrorist Organization to turn South Africa into a base,” he added.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

FETÖ is also behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.