Erdoğan: We work without caring about fake environmentalists

* Photo: Murat Çetinmühürdar / Presidency, AA

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President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech at the "Breath for the Future, Breath for the World" sapling planting ceremony in the Yıldırım Beyazıt University Campus in Ankara today (November 11).

Reminding his audience that they had declared November 11 the "National Forestation Day," President Erdoğan said, "We planted 11 millions saplings so that we could leave a greener and more livable world to our daughters and sons." Indicating that their plan was to plant 11 million saplings, this number has neared 14 million since then.

"The herd who have embraced it as their principle to smear every good deed directed improper criticisms about it as well," Erdoğan said and referred to the Gezi resistance of 2013 in following words:

"Those who set the streets on fire and plundered the goods of storekeepers during Gezi incidents have now rushed to discredit our sapling planting."

Referring to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), President and AKP Chair Erdoğan also said, "If you have noticed, they are not talking about the forests set on fire by the PKK terrorists. They do not even mention the environmental terror of the separatist organization."

'Saplings have abashed them'

"Instead of expressing support, they tried to cast slurs on the deed, saying, 'How come do they plant saplings in November'," Erdoğan indicated further, adding that "those who had said that the planted saplings would dry out in a few months abashed them by holding onto soil even more."

Erdoğan also announced that they would launch a new project named "Give seeds, let them turn into saplings." According to the statement of the President, 12 million children will be given seeds and sapling pots and they will be encouraged to raise their own saplings.

"Our target is to plant 7 billion saplings until the end of 2023," the President said and added, "We keep on working without caring about fake environmentalists." (AS/SD)