Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the "Zionist ideology based on genocide, occupation and expansion" is not only targeting him personally, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) or the People's Alliance, but all the Turkish people.

In a speech delivered on Saturday (June 27th) in the province of Sakarya, excerpts of which were published by Anadolu Agency, he explained that confronting this ideology is not a personal or partisan battle, but a struggle for the survival of the state and the entire people.

Erdogan stressed that the Turkish people, with all its 86 million components, have a history, destiny and a common homeland that has been watered with the blood of martyrs, despite different opinions, approaches and lifestyles, stressing that this diversity does not cancel the unity of society under the same flag and the same goal.

The "Turkey Without Terrorism" Track

Speaking about national security, Erdogan stressed that the PKK terrorist organization has targeted all the Turkish people for 40 years without discrimination, and that ending terrorism today serves the entire country and not a specific group. He considered that the success of the "Turkey without Terrorism" track aims to serve the country and future generations, not to serve the government.

Erdogan touched on the failed coup attempt on July 15, stressing that the Gülen terrorist organization did not only target him personally or his government, but targeted the whole of Turkey, and that the cleansing of state institutions of the organization's elements was for the sake of the state, the people and the future of the country.

He pointed out that his government is implementing roads, bridges, tunnels, housing projects, strengthening defense industries, and achievements in education, health and energy, for the whole of Turkey and not for a specific group.

Wearing a hijab is not an extremist

The Turkish president stressed that since its establishment, the AKP has "stood on the side of reconciliation and social integration, not on the side of polarization or exclusion," and said that the party has struggled in all fields for rights, equality and justice without seeking privileges or superiority.

Erdogan pointed out that Turkey's girls, including his daughters, have been prevented for decades from studying and working because of wearing the hijab, stressing that veiled women cover their heads based on their religious beliefs. He added: "The hijab is not something that is 'unnatural, marginal or extreme' but has been part of this country's identity for a thousand years and 'will remain so'.

Erdogan criticized the CHP, saying it had turned political rivalry into rivalry and polarization into conflict, citing what he called the "ugly campaign against Syrian refugees" during the recent presidential election.