Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan targeted elusive Western enemies on Monday during a ceremony commemorating the Ottoman victory at the Dardanelles during World War I, saying that if Westerners come with the same intention (of conquest), Turkey will again send them back in coffins.
“Your grandfathers came here. Some returned on their feet, some in coffins,” Erdoğan said, addressing Westerners, adding, “If you come with the same intention, we will send you back just like your grandfathers.”
The president added that Turks wrote history in blood at the Dardanelles. He also brought up the terrorist attack on two mosques in New Zealand on Friday, saying, “We got the message.”
According to Erdoğan, the attack was not personal, but organized.
“We understand that you think we don’t deserve to be in these lands,” Erdoğan added in reference to the white supremacist manifesto of the shooter, who was disturbed by the Muslim presence on the European side of İstanbul.