School with 32 classrooms will host 424 students 

Starting his address by saying “let us first listen to the national anthem of Azerbaijan and then I will start by address” President Erdoğan said he views the school as a exemplary educational institution with its 32 classrooms that will host 424 students, with its dormitory for 200 students, sports hall, modern workshops, labs and all its other unites. President Erdoğan said the school symbolizes the sincere relationship between Turkey and Azerbaijan and thanked everyone who made an effort to construct it and to İlham Aliyev for leading the project. Pointing out that there are schools being constructed and named after late Haydar Aliyev all around Turkey President Erdoğan said “we always remember with deep respect the services Haydar Aliyev has performed for the people of Azerbaijan and to his contributions to Turkey-Azerbaijan relations and by naming our schools around the country after him we are keeping his name alive in all corners of the country and we will do so in the future.”

“The 5 thousand year old common festivities of our geography” 

Congratulating the Nowruz festivities that will be celebrated on March 21 President Erdoğan said “I wish that the 5 thousand year old common festivities of our geography led by Azerbaijan and that covers the lands between the Balkans and Central Asia contributes to our solidarity, to our unity and to our brotherhood. I deeply wish that Nowruz which heralds the arrival of Spring will also bring peace and tranquility to our region and the world.”

“The sons of the mother are the two arms of the action”

Erdoğan read out the poem by Azeri poet and writer Bahtiyar Vahapzade  who said “The sons of the mother are the two arms of the action. One son is almighty, so is the other son Azerbaijan-Turkey. Our religion is the same, our language is the same, our moon is the same, our land is the same, our affection is the same, and our path is one Azerbaijan-Turkey.  I set my home in the motherland; I gave my heart to the land of the ancestors. My motherland, my ancestral land Azerbaijan-Turkey.”  Stressing that Azerbaijan is not just any old state among the states and that the Azeri nation is not any old nation for Turkey Erdoğan said “we are people who talk the same language, belong to the same faith, who share the same common history, we are brothers and sisters not in words but in fact and we are two states but one nation.”  

“Every brother and sister here has felt the pains suffered by Azerbaijan” 

Erdoğan recalled that the Caucasus Islamic Army which liberated Baku from occupation in 1918 was comprised half from the people of Anatolia and the other half from the people of Azerbaijan and added “Believe it that today also all your brothers and sisters in Anatolia share deep sadness because of the plights of the people of Azerbaijan who are subjected to pain in Karabağ (Nagorno-Karabakh). For us there is no difference between our brothers and sister in Kars, or Iğdır or Erzurum and the people of Nakhichevan. For us Baku is the same as İzmir, İstanbul, Ankara and Antalya. In the same way for us Batumi and Tbilisi are the same as Trabzon and Samsun. We felt deep sorrow over the incidents in Georgia just as we feel sorrow for the incidents in southeastern Turkey today because history wrote us down as brothers and sisters with those living there. We feel no enmity to anyone but we do have an obligation to defend the rights of our brothers and sisters and ask for an account from those who have spilled their blood and who have given them pain. That is why until now we have stood by our brothers as in the world of poet Vahapzade we are the two sons of the same mother.

Turkey no longer has a Kurdish problem

President Erdoğan said “Turkey does not have a Kurdish problem. Like all the different people in Turkey our Kurdish brothers and sisters also have problems. They have a problem of the recognition of their identity. They have a problem that their beliefs are not respected. They have a problem of being left behind, of underdevelopment and of negligence and being looked down upon.”

The president said Kars holds all the colors of Turkey, all the riches of Turkey and it reflects all the potentials of Turkey.

“Those who want to see how unity can be achieved amid abundance should come to Kars…” 

President Erdoğan said “Those who want to see how unity can be achieved amid abundance should come to Kars and see what our brothers and sisters have achieved here. Those who want to see how a one thousand year old togetherness has become the guarantee of another one thousand years of togetherness should some to Kars. Those who want to experience the value of the lands they live upon, the air of liberty and freedom they breathe and appreciate the riches we enjoy should come to Kars. They should talk to our brothers and sisters in Kars because these lands have been a witness to too many things.”  Saying Kars has witnessed victory, occupation, the incredible struggle at the walls surrounding the city Erdoğan said the city is well aware of what Sarıkamiş (where thousands of soldiers perished while defending the lands in the First World War) stands for, the sacrifices made and the determination displayed by our nation against the enemy.  

President Erdoğan “My grandfather became a martyr at Sarıkamiş”

President Erdoğan said “My grandfather was martyred at Sarıkamış and I heard his stories from my grandma and my other grandfather. Saying the Castle of Kars and the late Hazrat Harakani were the witnesses of the struggles on these lands “we kept alive the fire of fraternity in Kars by naming a hospital after Hazrat Harakani and we will continue to do so in the future.”

Saying his administration had started the peace and reconciliation process with the Kurds to spread peace and tranquility across Eastern and Southeastern Turkey and firmly establish it around Anatolia and went on to say:

“I want to repeat once again here that there is no Kurdish problem in Turkey.  Our Kurdish brothers and sisters have problems just like all sectors of our society have problems. They have a problem of the recognition of their identity. They have a problem that their beliefs are not respected. They have a problem of being left behind, of underdevelopment and of negligence and being looked down upon. In the past twelve years we have made an effort to find solutions to the problems not only of our Kurdish brothers and sisters but also our Turkish, Arab, Azeri, Laz, Cherkasy, Roman, Albanian, Georgian, Bosnian as well as the religious minorities, in short the problems of everyone living in this country. Today no one is facing any threat or pressure because of their origins, their beliefs, their clothing, their appearance, way of life, their views and ideals. Don’t we have some deficiencies? Don’t we have some defects? Of course there are. Nothing is perfect. But all these are being dealt with and the deficiencies are being overcome in time.   

“There is an airport on the location where they could not even put up a tent”

President Erdoğan pointed out that 12 years ago Kars was not in the state it is today and said the city is in a much better position with its airport and other facilities.  

Saying he was thankful to the Almighty as he entered the airport remembering that in the location where the airport is situated now the people could not even put up a tent in the old days.  Erdoğan said when he came to office as prime minister 12 years ago there were only 26 airports in Turkey and now there are 52 airports. “Just look at the distance we have covered in all those years” he said.

“We do not differentiate between the 78 million citizens”

President Erdoğan went on to say “We do not differentiate between the 78 million citizens. We set up everything from university to other facilities. We are constructing new facilities and we will do so in the future. Do not feel concern, everything will be much better.  Every citizen is the first class citizen of this country irrespective of where they live, what their ethnic, social, political, economic and cultural background is. They all have equal rights. Whoever denies this or tries to deny the rights of others will see that we will confront them. Do not hesitate. What are we saying now. We say the peace and reconciliation process. What do we aim with this process? We are saying unity and solidarity.

Number of universities went up from 76 to 175

Erdoğan said everything that has been achieved in the past 12 years in the fields of freedoms, democracy, human rights, economy, investments and social support are in the open. He said Turkey has reached a high level in education adding that the administration will take Turkey even further and said “in the past we had  76 universities. Now we have 175 universities in 81 provinces.”

Minister Avcı: “Common books will teach common values”

Also addressing the meeting Minister of National Education Nabi Avcı said today they are not opening just a school but that the strong fraternal bonds between Turkey and Azerbaijan is also being bolstered. Avcı said the close relations between the two countries is a gift of history and said the Haydar Aliyev Anatolian Vocation and Technical High School “is a very valuable gift” of Azerbaijan to Turkey. Avcı thanked both President Erdoğan and Aliyev for establishing bonds on such a strong footing that these ties will never be spoilt and added “the wonderful school is the product of the excellent friendship ties that they have secured for us.” Avcı said guest students will also be able to added classes at the school and that it will have Azeri teachers as well as Azeri lecturers. He also said the school will be able to establish cooperation and dialogue with Azeri schools and help to create student and teacher exchange programs. He said the school will be an intermediary for the carrying the educational relations to the highest level. He said student exchange programs with neighboring countries will be carried out through this school and added that the school will serve as a pilot application center for the Fatih Project (providing information technologies on a widespread basis at schools).

Joint work with countries that speak Turkish

Avcı said according to the decisions taken at the Turkish Council they are working on a project to jointly develop common history, geography and literature books for Turkish speaking countries. “The pilot studies will be undertaken in these schools and students will have the opportunity to share our common values by reading Turkish history, Turkish geography and Turkish grammar and literature.  This school will function as an institution where all pilot studies will be conducted.   

After the speeches President Erdoğan, President of Azerbaijan İlham Aliyev ve Georgian President  Giorgi Margvelaşvili, National Education Minister Nabi Avcı and Energy and Natural Resources Minister  Taner Yıldız cut the ribbon and inaugurated the school. As the inauguration ceremony started President Erdoğan declared “Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey hand in hand to a brighter future” and wished the Almighty bless the facility.

After the inauguration President Erdoğan toured the school. President Erdoğan left the school on board the presidential bus accompanied by Aliyev, Margvelaşvili and those accompanying them. They went on to the social facilities of the Office of the Governor of Kars for lunch.