On the anniversary of last year’s coup attempt in Turkey, domestic phone calls on Sunday were interrupted by a prerecorded message from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
With subtitles in English, here’s that remarkable Erdoğan message that people in Turkey hear whenever they make a phone call (MT @nazliavs) pic.twitter.com/J6oJXEBz1x
— JamesInTurkey.com (@jamesinturkey) July 15, 2017
The 15-second message, which played on all phone calls for 30 minutes beginning at midnight, said: “As your President, I congratulate your July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day, wish for God’ mercy on our martyrs, and health and wellbeing of our veterans.”
Some took it lightly.
https://twitter.com/daddycxmeron/status/886349485974192128
Others were more heated.
https://twitter.com/canokar/status/886336292476289025
Initially thought to be a service by Turkcell —a wireless provider with ties to the government— it was later revealed to include all calls from all providers, even to the country’s emergency phone number, 112.
A Turkish user shared this video of himself calling the emergency line and waiting for 15 seconds before Erdoğan’s message ends. Via Twitter message, he said, after learning about the recorded message, he wanted to check the emergency line and got concerned because his pregnant wife’s due date is very soon.
Bu nedir ya…Bu nedir kardeşim biri açıklasın bunu ya…112’ye ulaşamıyorsun…Böyle bi ülke tok dünya Üzerinde pic.twitter.com/Faz8qR3CzB
— Le’vent… ☭ (@ylmzlwnt) July 15, 2017
A few users reported that they didn’t hear the message at all, while some said they received it for much longer.
https://twitter.com/lisyants/status/886348728424157184
At 12:30am local time, the chair of Turkey’s Internet and Telecommunications Authority confirmed to local media that the government had coordinated the delivery of Erdoğan’s message through all operators as a “surprise” to all subscribers.
Tüm halkımız aramalarda Cumhurbaşkanımız Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’ın 15 Temmuz Demokrasi ve Milli Birlik günü mesajını dinliyor.#15Temmuz pic.twitter.com/UnizQTN6wq
— Dr. ÖMER FATİH SAYAN (@ofatihsayan) July 15, 2017
English translation: “The whole nation listens to our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s July 15 Democracy and National Unity message. #July15”
The commemoration ceremonies for the coup attempt also involved all 85,000 mosques in the country reciting Sela prayers —which was used to mobilize civilians against the army during the night of the coup attempt—and Erdoğan’s widely broadcast speech at the parliament where he promised to restore the death penalty for the putchists before a cheering audience.
His critics, however, are not celebrating. The opposition party CHP’s leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu penned an opinion piece for the Guardian in which he wrote Erdoğan exploited Turkey’s crisis to turn the country into “a near-dictatorial regime.” After hearing Erdoğan’s voice on his phone, MPs from Kılıçdaroğlu’s party were steaming on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/aykuterdogdu/status/886335936207966208
English translation: “Enough is enough… He even crops up on the phone… What the hell is this after all that insult… It is like a nightmare…”
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’ın sesini, isteğim dışında dinletmek; haberleşme özgürlüğünün gaspıdır. GSM şirketleri suç işlemiştir.
— Barış Yarkadaş (@barisyarkadas) July 15, 2017
English translation: “Making me listen to Erdoğan’s voice, without my consent, violates the freedom of communication. GSM companies have committed a crime.”
Still, some kept the spirits high.
Arkadaşımı aradım karşımda biri ! Aman Allahım ! Hemen kapattım suratına.
— Mevlüt Dudu (@MevlutDudu) July 15, 2017
English translation: “I called a friend of mine but then there was this someone! Oh my God! I hung up on him.”
