Ankara- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while paying glowing tributes to the victims of July 15 coup attempt at the presidential complex in Ankara, slammed countries which failed to show solidarity with Turkey following the putsch.

Turkish President also announced his intention to withdraw all court cases he previously opened against the chairs of opposition parties, following the solidarity shown by the opposition factions with the nation against the failed coup. “This is a patriot stance of them; all disputes were overcame then”.

Erdogan filed up to 2,000 lawsuits against politicians, journalists, students and citizens since becoming a president in 2014, due to tweets or statements on the social network websites that humiliated the president. As for public demand to restore execution penalty, Erdogan affirmed that Turkey is a democratic, legal and parliamentary country thus any law enacted by the parliament will be obeyed.

On the same occasion, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the country had succeeded in purging the military from all elements linked to opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is blamed for the failed coup attempt. “Those who show tolerance to traitors are also traitors themselves,” he said.

Yildirim noted that Turkish people were continuing to take to the streets and squares across the country for the sake of protecting democracy in Turkey. “The power of the people has overcome the power of the tanks,” he said.

Interior Minister Efkan Ala announced that more than 18,000 people were detained, around 10,000 are being followed and 3,500 were released in the aftermath of failed coup, which killed 265 people and represented the biggest threat during Erdogan presidency. Purges included business men, journalists, public employees, prosecutors and judges.