Former British minister Sir Alan Duncan, the first European politician to visit Türkiye following the July 15, 2016 failed coup attempt orchestrated by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), said it was crucial to travel to the country to demonstrate support for its elected government and democratic institutions.
Duncan, who served as the UK's minister of state for Europe and the Americas between 2016 and 2019, spoke to Anadolu during a visit to the agency's London office on the 10th anniversary of the defeated coup attempt.
Recalling the events of July 15, Duncan said he heard about the coup attempt on his very first day in office and decided to travel to Ankara after speaking with then-British Ambassador to Türkiye Richard Moore, taking the initiative to show solidarity with the country.
Duncan said he first heard of the coup attempt on the evening of July 15, 2016, right after the new British government led by then-Prime Minister Theresa May was formed and on his first day serving as minister of state at the Foreign Office.
He recalled that shortly after arriving at his office, his private secretary informed him that a coup attempt was underway in Türkiye, prompting them to switch on the television and follow developments through news broadcasts.
"We got all the news, knew that there were jets flying around, and I said: ‘Get me the ambassador on the phone.’ And they said: ‘Oh, that's very unusual, minister.’ I said: ‘No, no, no. Get me the ambassador on the phone. I don't need anyone to tell me what to do,'" Duncan recalled.
“So I picked up the phone and I spoke to Richard Moore, and he explained what had been happening, and I said: ‘I'm going to come and visit.’ And he said: ‘Oh, good.’ He said: ‘Are you not going to take advice from the rest of the Foreign Office?’ I said: ‘No, I'm the minister. I'm coming.’ And that was the decision.”
Duncan said there was little chance anyone in London could have prevented the trip.
"There was no way that the government in the UK could stop me, because they were still in a bit of chaos. So, I just took an initiative and flew off to Ankara," he said.
‘It was very important’
Duncan said he became the first European minister to visit Türkiye after the failed coup attempt, noting that many European countries were slow to respond, while some even dismissed the events as staged.
"I think because some of them were saying: ‘Oh, it's a fake coup. It's just theatrical. It's not real,'" he recalled.
He said he had no doubt that the coup attempt was genuine.
"It was very important to go and say you cannot overturn a government like this with violence, with mutiny, with rebellion. If a government's been elected, you must support the elected government," he said.
"My view was that it was very important to support Turkish democracy, and to make it very clear that that was the British view."
He added that he also wanted to ensure that British Embassy staff in Ankara were safe but stressed that "the main message was to support Turkish democracy."
Duncan said visiting the Turkish Grand National Assembly after the coup attempt and witnessing the damage firsthand left a lasting impression on him.
"You know, you can see things on television, but when you actually go somewhere and you see the rubble and the twisted metal and the broken glass, then it really strikes home," he said.
He said he realised the attack was not merely against a building.
"You know, this isn't just the building. This is parliament, and parliament is the centre of any democratic system," he added.
‘This is not acceptable’
To explain the gravity of the events to people in Britain, Duncan said he compared the coup attempt to part of the British military rebelling, driving tanks across London Bridge, bombing parliament while it was in session, and attempting to assassinate the prime minister and the queen.
He said he later made that comparison in the British parliament because it clearly conveyed the scale of what Türkiye had faced.
Duncan praised the Turkish public's response to the coup attempt, saying he was deeply impressed by their composure and determination.
"I was very impressed by the composure, the measurement. I mean, there weren't great sort of riots or anything," he said.
"They said: 'Right, you know, we have a clear view. This is not acceptable. We support our democracy, and the Gulenists and everyone who tried to overturn the government are not acceptable to the Turkish people.'”
"I thought that the way the Turkish people rallied round, expressed a clear view and underpinned the principles of their democratic system was very inspiring to watch," he added.
Looking back a decade later, Duncan said history should remember that the coup attempt failed and deserved to fail.
He said Türkiye has emerged stronger over the past decade.
"Look what's happened within ... Türkiye in the last 10 years. It has become an increasingly important regional power. It is more stable. It stabilised its economy. It's more prosperous," he said.
"I hope that in the many decades that will follow, there will be similar such success for Türkiye," he added.
