The remarks of a writer who is a staunch supporter of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have sent shock waves across Turkey as she said she has a list of her neighbors and would kill those who are anti-government or pro-coup in the event of a new coup attempt in the country.
The writer, Sevda Noyan, was speaking during a program on the pro-government Ülke TV on May 3 when she made the controversial remarks, which were also approved of by the program’s host, journalist Esra Elönü.
Noyan was commenting on claims about a new coup attempt in the country, which many say were made up by the government to divert public attention from the poor performance of the Turkish economy, which has suffered further as part of measures taken to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
Turkey survived a military coup attempt on July 15, 2016, as a result of which 249 people lost their lives while more than 1,000 others were injured.
Noyan said she and her family were caught unprepared on July 15 and could not take sufficient action against the alleged coup supporters but that they are now fully prepared if a new coup attempt takes place.
“My family can take [kill] approximately 50 people. We are equipped very well in this respect, both materially and spiritually. We stand by our leader [Erdoğan], and let me say, we won’t allow him to be taken down. Those [aiming for a coup] should watch out. There are three to five such people in our apartment complex. My list is ready,” she said.
When her remarks attracted an outrage on social media, Noyan tweeted that she was not afraid and stands by her remarks.
“My leader is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. I am with him till the very end,” she said.
Noyan’s husband is Engin Noyan, a former musician, who quit music and began to lead an Islamic life.
In the meantime, the Kanal 7 Media Group, which owns Ülke TV, issued a statement in the wake of growing criticism over Noyan’s remarks and offered an apology for the controversial comments, which it said do not comply with the values and principles they embrace as a media organization.
For the July 15 coup attempt, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) accuses the Gülen movement of orchestrating it, although the movement strongly denies any involvement. Since then, the government has been conducting a witch-hunt against the movement’s real or alleged followers under the pretext of an anti-coup fight.