President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday laid flowers on a monument near Istanbul’s July 15 Martyrs’ Bridge as Türkiye marked the eighth anniversary of a heinous coup attempt that killed 252 people. The day has been marked as Democracy and National Unity Day since then, commemorating the victims and celebrating the unprecedented public resistance against putschists affiliated with the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
Other ceremonies were also unfolding across Türkiye and in recent days. Erdoğan is later scheduled to host an event at the Presidential Complex, while a separate ceremony is set to be held at Parliament, one of the targets of putschists. Elsewhere, large crowds visited cemeteries where martyrs of the coup attempt were buried.
Erdoğan, accompanied by first lady Emine Erdoğan, public officials, families of victims and survivors, solemnly listened as verses from the Quran, usually recited in memory of martyrs, were recited. The president himself recited several prayers as he sat inside the globe-shaped monument whose interior is adorned with the names of victims.
The president later addressed a crowd gathered next to the monument and hailed the exemplary fight against putschists.
He said he was grateful to everyone who took to the streets, long before he called the nation to take a stand against putschists on July 15.
The president then remembered 34 “sons and daughters of this country” who were martyred by putschists on the very bridge he was standing next to during the coup attempt. “Putschist traitors shed blood until the early hours (of July 16). We will never forget the images of people getting killed that day. We will also remember with pride how our nation, with bare hands, stood against tanks, against lethal weapons, in a legendary struggle,” he said.
“This nation derailed every plot aimed at its independence, its will, and will continue to do so,” Erdoğan added.
The president said they would also remember those claiming that the coup was “staged.” “We will never forget those shameless people claiming (the coup was staged).
“Those behind the ugly slander are part of dirty plots against Türkiye,” he said.
In a show of unity and respect, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya attended a ceremony at the July 15 Martyrs’ Cemetery in the capital.
Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş also marked the occasion with a powerful statement, saying: “That night, our people, with their love for the homeland and passion for independence, did not allow the coup plotters who intended to occupy.”
Marking the occasion, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said: “Our beloved nation will never allow forces, whether principal or proxy, that attempt to undermine our independence.”
He emphasized the ongoing efforts to bring FETÖ members abroad to justice and paid tribute to the martyrs and veterans of July 15.
Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
Turkish officials have requested that the U.S. extradite FETÖ leader Fetullah Gülen, who lives in Pennsylvania, to face Turkish justice, but U.S. officials have not granted the request.
Turkish embassies and consulates worldwide organize commemorative events, highlighting the international significance of the failed coup attempt.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev sent a letter to Erdoğan, expressing his respect for those who sacrificed their lives to prevent the coup attempt. Aliyev emphasized that Democracy and National Unity Day will forever symbolize the Turkish people’s solidarity, struggle and national unity. He reaffirmed Baku’s strong support for Ankara, saying: “The people and the state of Azerbaijan strongly condemned this treachery from the first minutes and, as always, stood by the brotherly Turkish state and people.”
First lady Emine Erdoğan also issued a message on the occasion. “The light at the end of that dark night is the glory of national will and unity. The hearts of the heroes of this sacred resistance are now the hearts of this nation. We will protect their sacred legacy forever,” she said in a social media post on Monday.
Devlet Bahçeli, head of the government’s main ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), issued a message of intimidation against people sharing the same goals as putschists. He defined FETÖ as “same as the PKK” and stated that the Republic of Türkiye was powerful enough to crush it. Bahçeli also warned that FETÖ was seeking a revival. He stated that opponents sought to take over Türkiye on July 15, a date when the Turkish nation faced “a barrage of attacks and assassinations not seen in past two centuries.” Bahçeli said July 15 was a turning point in Turkish history but also an occasion that would be forever remembered as a much-coveted day of unity between the state and the nation.
“The Turkish nation will crush those intending to accomplish what they could not do on July 15. By God’s will, treacherous attacks targeting the country and nation will fail,” he stated. “Anyone seeking to implement their dark plans against Türkiye should be aware of what the Turkish nation is capable of, what this nation is ready to sacrifice,” he said.
Özgür Özel, head of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), said in a message that the coup attempt and process leading to it had “lessons to be learned” so that “Türkiye will not allow such a treason to repeat.” The CHP was among the proponents of the conspiracy theory of a staged coup that Erdoğan criticized in his speech. Yet, the fight against the coup provided a rare unity between the government and opposition as Özel’s predecessor Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was among those attending a pro-democracy rally hosted by Erdoğan in the aftermath of the foiled coup attempt.
The incident on July 15 was unique in many aspects for the country, whose democratic history has been stained with major coups since 1960. For the first time, the nation braved putschists and a semi-passive resistance, ranging from unarmed people standing in the way of tanks to drivers parking their trucks on the roads to block a military convoy of putschists. Their resistance succeeded in staving off the attempt. Until the early hours of July 16, 2016, people in every city and town showed strong resistance to the surprise of putschists, who had expected an easy takeover.
FETÖ, which posed under the guise of a religious movement for decades, recruiting the youth to its ranks with the ultimate goal of seizing control of Türkiye, was already under investigation when the 2016 coup attempt took place. It first tried to topple the elected government in late 2013, but this attempt (through a false anti-graft probe targeting government officials launched by pro-FETÖ prosecutors and police) failed. The government was preparing to weed out suspected infiltrators of FETÖ from the army in August 2016 before they moved to seize power.
Investigations after the coup attempt have uncovered communication between members of FETÖ, from “civilian” members to military officers loyal to the group for planning the attempt. The group’s leader Fetullah Gülen, known for his cryptic messages to his followers, had also called on them to stage a coup in a speech in March 2016, further investigation revealed.
The coup attempt by the group calling itself the Peace at Home Council was commanded by pro-FETÖ officers at Akıncı Air Base in Ankara. F-16 jets took off from the base on July 15, 2016, to bomb strategic locations, including the Presidential Complex and Parliament. Both buildings sustained damage but ultimately endured the attacks. However, bombings killed dozens of police officers at the headquarters of a special operation branch of the police. Members of law enforcement and anti-coup soldiers were the only opponents of putschists, along with patriotic citizens armed with nothing but Turkish flags and a strong will.
Spirit of July 15
Today, those who resisted the coup attempt seek to keep the memory of the fateful day alive. In the capital Ankara, survivors of the putsch bid and families of those slaughtered by putschists established an association entitled “Veterans of Homeland and Relatives of Martyrs.” Members regularly visit each other for spiritual support. The association’s chair, Yaşar Gücenmez, who was injured when helicopters commanded by coup plotters opened fire on him outside police headquarters in Ankara on July 15, 2016, says they decided to found the association after they came together to observe trials of putschists.
Emine Aydınbelge, who was injured in the leg when a helicopter opened fire on the crowd defending army headquarters in Ankara, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the association was looking to convey the youth’s patriotism and loyalty to the state. “We have a beautiful friendship here between members,” she said.
Mehmet Celal Almaz, who survived 15 wounds inflicted by shrapnel after putschists fired upon a crowd outside the Presidential Complex on July 15, 2016, says their friendship under the roof of the association helped them to heal wounds of each other. “People looking at July 15 from a political perspective do not understand the prevalent mindset of resistance that night,” he said.
That “spirit” is also alive in 47-year-old Vahide Şefkatlioğlu, a veteran who lost her husband in an attack by putschists. The couple was crushed by a tank they confronted as they were marching to Atatürk Airport in Istanbul with fellow anti-coup civilians. The incident left Şefkatlioğlu with a disfigured leg, and she is now undergoing treatment for getting a new prosthetic leg. Şefkatlioğlu told AA that they found out about the coup attempt when her sister phoned her. “We thought there was a civil war. I was crying but I wanted to go out. I never had so much courage in my life. I did not have the slightest fear (on July 15).”
The couple started walking to an area taken over by putschists. “There were not many people around at first but within 15 minutes, a crowd emerged. I saw young people walking with us and burst into tears when I saw those patriots,” she recalled.
Şefkatlioğlu and her husband continued their walk and joined another crowd heading to the airport to welcome President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who was about to arrive in Istanbul to mobilize people against putschists. “My husband told me I could return home but I refused. I was ready to die. The crowd grew more. Tanks were ahead but the road was full of people. I thought tanks would not dare to crush us. Those people in tanks were monsters. It is sad that people wearing our army’s uniform crushed us,” she said.
Şefkatlioğlu said people started running when tanks moved toward them. “I tried to cross to the other side of the road but a tank ran us over. I remember shouting ‘Allah’ and hearing the scream of a young man calling others to “save the sister.” I heard someone saying I could die because my leg was cut off. But I did not feel any pain,” she recalled.
“I never regret going out that night. I am ready to die for my country. Everybody calls it a bloody night but for us, it was a night of glory. We had honor, pride and the power of our faith against their tanks and guns,” she said.
