By Tuba Nur Sonmez

Turkish Ambassador to Kuwait

July 15, 2023 marks the seventh anniversary of the coup attempt in Turkey. It was an attempt by FETO (Fetullahist Terrorist Organization) to invade our country, without any doubt. It was one of the darkest nights in the history of our republic, perhaps the darkest. What happened? FetullahGulen, ringleader of a clandestine, criminal and terrorist organization, is the mastermind behind what happened on the night of July 15, 2016. Putchists, who were loyal only to him, made a vile betrayal with the invasion attempt.

His disciples within the armed forces did not hesitate to use deadly military force against innocent civilians, killing 251 and wounding thousands. They tried to assassinate the President of Turkey, attacked the Prime Minister’s vehicle, air-bombarded the Parliament, and massacred protesting citizens on streets. They did these heinous actions to our nation while carrying sacred uniforms of Turkish army, using military vehicles, aircraft, helicopters and all other lethal equipment, which belonged to the nation herself. My country had never seen such monstrous acts in this scale before.

However, our democracy-loving strong nation ended the evil ambitions of the putchists, and put them at bay at that night. Millions of people, together with President RecepTayyip Erdogan, hit the streets with firm resistance against the military infiltrators. They helped our loyal security forces, and altogether led the coup attempt failed, eventually. Traitors attempted to usurp country’s rule and law, but they could not estimate people’s strong perseverance and heroism. People from different political opinions came together, put aside their differences, and protected their democratic republic, of which they are proud citizens.

FETO’s long standing will to dominate whole country was defeated by people’s will to protect democracy. The crimes committed on the night of July 15th were just the tip of an iceberg. If the coup had succeeded, Turkey would be very different today. There would be no democracy, and fundamental rights and freedoms would be frozen indefinitely. What is FETO? At that point, it is important to underline that all started under the guise of a “charitable education effort” back in the early 1970s.

Fetullah Gulen and his followers disguised themselves as a benign education movement, when they started the campaign of establishing schools in Turkey and later around the world. They created illusions in people’s mind, showing themselves as pious and benevolent people. They picked thousands of people on and turned innocent pupils into hardliner conscripts who serve Gulen’s dark dreams. Graduates of these schools, who were brainwashed at young ages, were able to infiltrate the most critical institutions of the state by stealing exam questions. They created a massive network among themselves in order to accomplish corrupted aims.

FETO strengthened its economic and political influence by misusing the state’s resources and authority for the vile interests of the organization. Due to complexity and gravity of this betrayal, the fight against FETO in and outside Turkey has constituted one of the main priorities of our state. The perpetrators of the coup attempt have been brought to justice on the basis of the rule of law. FETO’s organizational structure within governmental institutions has been revealed; administrative and judicial procedures have been started against its members and “parallel state structure” has been brought down.

FETO’s attempts to spread across all areas of the economy via its shell entities, particularly in the education, media and banking sectors, have been thwarted. Every dark night has a bright dawn The July 15 coup attempt was the edge of the cliff for the future of our country. As the saying goes, every dark night has a bright dawn. With our epic resistance against the putschists, we have shown to all friends and enemies that Turkey can never be captured or brought to its knees. Thanks to the measures taken in the wake of the coup attempt, Turkey could consolidate its political stability, minimize its dependency in terms of foreign policy, and strengthen its regional standing.

The thwarting of the coup attempt marked a turning point in the history of democracy. It will be a source of hope and inspiration for the peoples of the world, all the nations, to stick tight to the will of nations against such enemies of democracy. For this reason, July 15 is commemorated as the “Day of Democracy and National Unity”, a day to keep collective memory alive. With these feelings, we remember with gratitude our martyrs and veterans, who defended democracy with their lives. They are the heroes of the “Century of Turkey”. May Allah almighty (swt) grant those who sacrificed their lives heroically Jannah.