Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The Island of Democracy and Freedoms was opened by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ali Kopuz, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), stated that Yassıada is a symbol of sadness for everyone, adding, “At the same time, even on the way to martyrdom, it is a symbol of a fortitude that considers the wellbeing of the nation and the homeland. The memory of 3 martyrs of democracy lie here, which has been plucked from their families, friends and nation, who have given great services to our country. On this occasion, while fighting for the way of serving the homeland, I commended Adnan Menderes, Fatin Rüştü Zorlu and Hasan Polatkan, who were forced to pay the most severe costs. May Allah make paradise their final rest, and their souls blessed.”

Stating that on President Erdoğan's instruction and patronage, the Project will play an important role in transferring the memory of the 3 democracy martyrs to future generations, Kopuz said, “Thank you, you trusted us, you believed. You have given us the task and responsibility to undertake the project to rebuild Yassıada. So, through TOBB and Customs Tourism Enterprises Inc., which was established in partnership with the commodity exchange, we undertook this important task. For decades, this was an island abandoned to its fate, where no one ever visited. We have transformed this place into a giant work where local and foreign guests will be welcomed and visitors will witness Turkey's fight for democracy. After the modernization of the land Customs Gates, I congratulate the Customs and Tourism Enterprises Inc. and those who took on the task of successfully completing this work."

Kopuz, stating that Yassıada would no longer be evoke sadness but instead hope and said, “Visitors here will remember what challenges we have overcome and reached this point as a country. Yassıada will now be commemorated with democracy and freedoms. It will become a symbol of national will and democracy. It's going to be a touchstone to achieve bigger goals.

On Yassıada, which is about 103,000 square meters, we have built a 600-seat convention center and a 4,193 square meter democracy museum, as well as hotels and bungalow structures with 123 rooms. But most of all, we turned the gym into a museum, where trials were held in a bogus court established after the May 27 coup. So our people will travel those days in their real place.

Again, we have also preserved our historical and cultural heritage, which has fallen into ruined for years due to disrepair and abandonment. We restored them. Not only did we take care of our history and culture, by landscaping an area of 62,000 square meters, we have also shown our sensitivity to nature and the environment. In this context, more than 20,000 new plants, 388 of which are trees, were planted. With our reforestation works, Yassıada has a greener and more aesthetic appearance. And finally today, we offer you and our country this giant work and open it to the service of our nation, I wish it to be auspicious.”

- President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also spoke at the Opening Ceremony of the Island for Democracy and Freedoms, saying that Turkey was subjected to the May 27th coup, one of the blackest days in its history exactly 60 years ago.

Erdoğan said that what happened after the coup from the junta within the Turkish Armed Forces was shameful not only in the name of democracy, but also in the name of justice and humanity, "In Yassıada, also known as Yaslı Ada (the Grieving Island), the proceedings went on with predetermined orders by confessed perpetrators ended with a very great tragedy.”

Erdoğan stated that the trials of the Democrat Party leaders, who served the country for years as representatives of the national will, were subjected that all kinds of insults, torture, slander, were held here.

"In fact, the work done here was not a trial, but a legal murder in which those who violated the constitution by coup disembarking the country's legitimate rulers on charges of violating the constitution. For months, a full persecution machine had operated in Yassıada. The country's president, prime minister, ministers, commanders, lawmakers, bureaucrats have been subjected to inhumane treatment of hatred, even though they were convicted of no crimes. One of the heroes of our Independence War, the president of this country was brought to the point of attempted suicide. They descended so low as to abuse a prime minister whose kindness and humanitarianism was legendary on the pretext of prostate examination even on the way to his execution. They ashamed the Chief of Staff by having a lieutenant slap him for refusing to join the coup plotters.”

President Erdoğan, noting that the decision to execute the Democratic Party Government Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and Ministers Hasan Polatkan and Fatin Rüştü Zorlu was also taken here, said:

“All three heroes marched proudly, with faith, to death row. About 16 months after the coup, these executions, which took place on 16th and 17th of September 1961, fell into the hearts of our nation like a fire. In fact, that day, law and justice were trampled and it was not just the three men sent to death row, but the will of the nation itself. The late Menderes and his friends, who were dismissed from their posts by coup and tried in the kangaroo courts established in Yassıada, were our nation with their history, culture, values and beliefs. But a handful of coup plotters didn't know they couldn’t to put out the love in the heart of the Turkish nation, to put out the fire in its heart, and to deflect from its goals. On this occasion, we also commemorate the late Alparslan Türkeş who struggled to prevent the tragedy from India where he was exiled. The black mark on the brows of those who put Menderes and his friends on death row and those who supported them will never be erased. Quite the opposite, the place of Menderes and his friends will continue to strengthen in the heart of our nation with each passing year.”

President Erdoğan said they can't change history, but they can change the way history is remembered to ensure it's interpreted correctly.

“Thus, while remembering those ill-omened days, we can show that the national will prevails under all circumstances and conditions.”

Erdoğan read a verse from the poem in the book “Dungeon Walls” by the poet Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel, who stayed in Yassıada for a long time, said:

“We owe it to the late Menderes’ memory whose last words on death row were, ‘I wish eternal happiness to my state and my nation.' We owe it to the late Fatin Rüştü Zorlu's memory who, when he was to be executed, first he took his ablution, prayed two times, and told his executioner to stand aside so that he could kick the chair under him himself. We owe it to the late Hasan Polatkan’s memory, who despite being a successful Finance Minister, was hated because he refused to concede to the coup plotters in the past. Those who overthrew them, tried and hung them had to live their lives under the hateful gaze of the nation. Although some of those who participated in this murder later confessed their crimes saying, 'We committed a massacre in Yassıada', they could not escape the rule of history and the nation.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, noted that the 8^th President Turgut Özal's efforts to move the late Adnan Menderes and his friends' graves, from Imran Island to Istanbul is an example of loyalty that came 30 years later.

Erdoğan, stating that they are together 60 years later to start a new era, to mend hearts, said:

“Our nation had turned the name of this place from Yassıada to Yaslıada. In order to relieve the suffering of the land we are focusing on, we have decided to bury Yassıada and Yaslıada in history and turn this place into an Island of Democracy and Freedoms, which we have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity. Each facility on the island was given names that were in line with the historical meaning. The name of the Officer's Casino will continue as Adnan Menderes Museum. The conference hall will also bear the name Adnan Menderes. The name of General Chief of Staff Rüştü Erdelhun will be given to the square and admiral Sadık Altıncan's name was given to the library, both of whom are on trial here. The gym, where the proceedings are held, will bear the name of Hasan Polatkan, and Fatin Rüştü Zorlu, who walked with faith unto death will be given to the mosque. With all these symbols, the Island of Democracy and Freedoms will be the expression love in the hearts of our nation and the fight for the future and independence of our country from the past to the present.”

Wishing Allah's grace upon the martyrs, President Erdoğan stressed that Turkey's transition to multi-party political life is very important. Pointing out that every member of the country, especially young people, should know this period very well, Erdoğan said:

“After the illness and death of Gazi Mustafa Kemal, the Father of our Republic, the one-party CHP administration had collapsed on the country like a nightmare. The development move initiated after our War of Independence was deliberately cut by the one-party mentality, and the progress on all the works disrupted one by one. You must learn this place well in 1950-60, 10 years, young people, you must learn the distance Turkey has come in 10 years very well. It's not about words. What Turkey gained, where its national income came from, and Turkey has doubled by doubling it up; from the dams, bridges and roads built in this country in 10 years until we get to where we are today. Young people need to research and learn about this. With all this, from aircraft production to railways, from the construction of weapons to the development of agriculture, our many critical national production projects have come to life during this period. You need to see these. The CHP, the only party that could not withstand the demands and pressure of the people, started the transition to multi-party political life only by open ballot secret sorting method due to its distrust of the nation. Could such a democracy exist? But that's what the CHP had done. In 1950, they went in with the belief that they would still dominate the polls, and even the fascist methods of the CHP could not prevent the breaking their power with the will put forth by our nation.”

President Erdoğan underlined that the 1954 and 1957 elections showed that the nation is committed to its conviction in democracy and freedoms.

Pointing out that the Democratic Party finished the 1950 elections with 53.5 percent, the 1954 elections at 56.6 percent and the 1957 elections with 47.8 percent, Erdoğan said:

“The fact that the late Menderes tripled our national income, equipping the country with dams and industrial facilities, while pleasing our nation, causing discomfort to others. Those who put everything that is indigenous and national at the center of their lives embraced a method that they would often resort to against these successive waves of democracy and development. They tried to defeat the national will with blood, with the junta planted within the guard of our borders, the source of our nation's trust, our heroic armed forces. This nation will never forgive those who committed the coup, but also those who put the coup virus in our army by provocation.”

Erdoğan expressed that the main character of all coups and junta movements in the country is hostility to the values of the nation and history, and said that the coup plotters who are the border guards of the imperialists carry water to the mill of separatists in the country.

Erdoğan stated that, the coup plotters drowned the streets in blood and fire, inflicting suffering on thousands of innocents before each coup; replacing offices with their people, causing the country to decline, said:

“The most striking examples of those who despise people, humiliate their faith, disguise, clothing, and how primitive they are in reality are coups. The coup plotters and those who guided them have always acted with the same codes. From the Democratic Party to returning the prayers to their origin, opening closed mosques, to owning the millennial accumulation of Turkish, they saw every response to the nation's demands as a slap in their faces. The nation, which had not been given a say in years, receiving democracy and freedom, was a punch in the face. They considered the implementation of the principle of 'sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation' as a loss of power which they used in an unaccountable, irresponsible manner.”

Recalling that the Democratic Party came to power with the strong support of the nation disrupting the plans of the coup plotters, Erdoğan said:

“When they despaired of suborning the national will, every road for them led to coup. They embraced a dirty sense of politics that saw fit to do everything from stirring up the streets, to tying their hopes to terrorist organizations, from toadying for imperialists to lies and slander. They never hesitated to discredit the parliament for their own benefit, to impose provocations, to call for coup. They often welcomed every disaster that happened to the country and the nation as an opportunity that would open up space for power to them, and often with joy they could not hide. They opposed every service, every work that was brought to the country, every investment, every rising construction, every success achieved. The same hatred they attacked Menderes and the late Özal, they now turn to us. During our governments, we encountered numerous manifestations of this. We built schools to strengthen education, we established universities, we employed teachers, academics. We distributed free computers and books. They criticized them all."

President Erdoğan, emphasizing that they are developing the industry with the goal of making Turkey one of the 10 largest economies in the world, said:

“We have expanded our trade, increased our exports, and continue to do so. We've increased production and employment to record levels. This mindset tried to stop them all. While the Turkish Nation struggled with traitors on the streets in the July 15 coup attempt, they were the ones who applauded the tanks and waited for the result at the television set. While implementing the biggest production reform of our country as AK Party and MHP, they were also there. They were disturbed by the prayer, the Anthem of Independence, the flag, our unity yesterday, and they are no different today. Yesterday, they were dreaming of power despite the national will, on this day they are pining after the same dream still. Yesterday they were hoping for the support of the coup, the support of the imperialists, the disasters, and today they embrace the same hopes dearly.”

Erdoğan, “I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Bahceli, all my MHP brothers and sisters on his team, for their resistance and support during this period when we are conducting one of the most challenging struggles in Turkey's history. I would like to thank our Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, its President and his team, on behalf of myself and especially my nation, who have made investments that made Yassıada an island of democracy and freedoms.”

- Speaker of the Parliament Mustafa Şentop

Speaker of the Parliament Mustafa Şentop said that the confrontation against the trauma caused by the May 27 coup is a new beginning that will eliminate this trauma, “The material of buildings rising on this symbolic island is not material elements. At the core of every building we see on this island is the will of our nation's liberation, resistance to coups, determination to defend the constitutional order. That's why this new face of Yassıada today is not just an ordinary zoning and landscaping work, it's a historical confrontation and a whole new beginning.”

Şentop, the deep pain opened in the conscience of the nation, felt for many years, this military coup took place as an assassination of democracy, the nation's will for freedom, as well as a regressive and primitive scheme to prevented the development efforts.

At the end of this scheme, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and ministers Fatin Rüştü Zorlu and Hasan Polatkan were executed, Şentop noted, these murders not only these three important citizens and their families, but also against the nation that elected them.

Speaker of the Parliament Şentop, stated that the people who want to be in power without the need for the ballot box and the national will for legitimacy, longing for the spirit of this military coup has prevented the nation and civil politics for many years, acting as the biggest obstacle to Turkey's development.

Considering military coups in Turkey, as a group of adventurous hoodlums seeking power would be incomplete, Şentop said.

“The main reason for every military coup in our country is to prevent Turkey from gaining power to develop independent policies. For this reason, whenever national staffs put Turkey in the direction of progress, the focus of these moves that see them as a threat to them takes action. Everything they declare as the justification for the coup plotters' attempts are the excuses of these assassinations, which are staged from the outside. the 27 May military coup, the first link of treacherous attempts on March 12, 1971, on September 12, 1980, on February 28, 1997, and most recently on July 15, 2016, are the result of foreign mind, an anti-nationalist stance and an incompetent political line. The clearest evidence that this is the fact that the anti-democratic interventions that took place at regular intervals since the 27 May military coup have given a result against the welfare and freedom of the nation, and that Turkey has become more open to attacks and more dependent on foreign powers after each coup.”

Şentop stated that this mindset was seen in a clear and stimulating manner in the July 15 coup attempt, always looking for opportunities, and that, “Our democracy, civil politics and the sense of protecting the law of our cherished nation have improved to the level that we will be proud of since the 27 May military coup. It has not been easy to reach these days and a very heavy price has been paid to ensure this development.”

Şentop stated that May 27 opened wounds in society and political life for many years with the military coup and Yassıada trials deepened it, noting that May 27, the law was made an instrument, a period when it hung over the national will like a sword.

Stating that Yassıada, is a center of the most severe treatment, of evil and torture for the representatives of the nation, especially Adnan Menderes, Şentop, said:

“The trials of the Yassıada and subsequent executions have caused very difficult to repair wounds in our social and political memory. The picture showing the late Menderes being taken to the death row with his hands tied is an intimidation given to politicians and our nation, who trust them. As if this despicableness was not enough, some of the oblivious who thought he was fighting the political and intellectual power of the world were sometimes able to take this photo out and impose it on the nation and politicians.”

Stating that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s statement that ‘We set foot on this path wearing our shroud’ is a determination and a strong challenge against the imposition that this photo of Menderes tried to produce, Şentop emphasized, “The share of this challenge in the national resistance that emerged in the most open form on July 15th in the defeat of coup plotters is always great enough to deserve to be remembered with gratitude.”

Şentop, stating that the island visited in its new form was the scene of a political and legal murder 60 years ago, said, “This island is the form of the guardianship erected against the national will, which has been in memory and minds for many years as a symbol. That's why the island was renamed the Island of Democracy and Freedoms in 2013. Now another step is being taken, this island meets our nation with its new face.”

- Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy also wished democracy and freedoms island to be good for the country and the nation.

Minister Ersoy said that the day of May 27, 1960 was written in the pages of the Republic of Turkey and its nation as a black stain.

Minister Ersoy emphasized that everything caused by these segments that act despite the nation is pain, destruction and backwardness, and that the end of those who try to turn the Turkish nation out of its path, to shackle its will, will end in frustration and destruction.

Ersoy pointed out that history can never be considered as a series of finished events, explaining that the effect and echo of history is always going on, “If we approach history by saying 'it's in the past, let's look ahead', we soon come face to face with the fact that our horizons are darkened and we have nothing in front of us, or we will lose our identity, character, national existence, spiritual roots.”

Ersoy said that the Island of Democracy and Freedoms is a clear expression of Turkey's change under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

"I commemorate with gratitude and respect all the heroes who stood up to collaborators, especially Adnan Menderes, Hasan Polatkan and Fatin Rüştü Zorlu, and gave their lives on this path. Those who snuffed out their lives were destroyed in darkness, and these heroes were immortalized as monuments on the horizon of strong, fully independent and leading Turkey,” Ersoy said, pointing out that the Island of Democracy and Freedoms contains the traces of Byzantine, Ottoman and Republic of Turkey.

Minister Ersoy noted that many works are awaiting visitors on the island, “Democracy and Freedoms Island boasts a conference hall for 680 people next to the historical texture, 500-seat closed restaurant, 80-seat café, 600-seat mosque, 328 people bed capacity accommodation unit. Again, many works connecting the bitter experiences of the past with its name and content to the contemporary and democratic changes of today and the future are waiting to welcome visitors.”

- MHP Chairman Bahçeli

MHP Chairman Devlet Bahceli “On the 60^th anniversary of May 27, the opening of the Island of Democracy and Freedoms, the bad memories of the past will be wiped away with the blessed goals of the future.”

Bahceli said he is fortunate to witness a meaningful opening that repaired and compensated for some of the sad memories of a dark and foggy political past.

Yassıada is not only the name of a piece of land that spikes in the middle of the sea, but also a twilight era engraved in national memory, the symbolized place of rusty chains on democracy with the guise of law, Bahceli said, “Violations of rights and law that extend to the present day by drilling the forts of time like a spear have penetrated the national hearts over the years. This jarring truth has been recorded in memory records as a historical case that we all have exclusively embraced. In Yassıada, the law was put in a straitjacket. Justice has been unplugged, and a period of Turkey has been perforated.”

The opening ceremony was attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, MHP Chairman Devlet Bahceli, Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop, Vice President Fuat Oktay, Parliament Deputy Speaker Celal Adan, AK Party Izmir Deputy Binali Yıldırım, former Parliament Speaker İsmail Kahraman, TOBB Vice President Ali Kopuz, GTİ Co. Inc. Chairman Arif Parmaksız and GTİ Co. Inc. Deputy Chair of the Board of Directors Gürsel Baran.