"Turkey serves as an anchor of democracy, freedom, and stability in a region in turmoil. Your own Thomas Paine once wrote, 'Those who, expect to reap the blessings of freedom must . . . undergo the fatigue of supporting it.' Let me say that in Turkey, we do not feel fatigued by our support of the Western allies because we know that by supporting the allies, we may all continue to reap the blessings of freedom."

Kenan Evren Military See all quotes by Kenan Evren →

React to this quote

More by Kenan Evren

“All freedoms provided by democracy are for those who believe in it. Can the rights and freedoms of millions of virtuous people who believe in democracy be safeguarded if those who seek to destroy it abuse rights and freedoms to achieve their goals?”

“I sometimes feel jealous of countries like the U.S. and Great Britain that have two neighbors. … When you have two neighbors, you have two problems. When you have eight neighbors, you have eight problems.”

“All my trust in the politicians had been rubbed away.”

“Many axes are being kept under cover, waiting in ambush, ready to pounce, when we resign. Have no worries. We will deliver this homeland to you perfectly clean, as it was in Atatürk's time.”

Resonant Thoughts

"We are supporting Saudi Arabia while they inflict unthinkable human rights violations on the Yemeni people. Congress must do its job and stop providing military support and arm sales to the Saudi gove…"

— Ro Khanna

Politics1976

#Human Nature

"Science has been advancing without interruption during the last three of four hundred years; every new discovery has led to new problems and new methods of solution, and opened up new fields for explo…"

— J. B. Bury

Education1861–1927

#knowledge

"I would urge that just as democracy initially meant the right of man to defend himself, to have a sword, and then meant the right to write, and then meant the right to read — so, now, democracy means …"

— Edwin H. Land

Science1909–1991

#writing

"It no longer makes me cry and die and tear myself to see her go because everything goes away from me like that now — girls, visions, anything, just in the same way and forever and I accept lostness fo…"

— Jack Kerouac

Literature1922–1969

#life