Special Events Mark Turkey's July 15 Thwarted Coup Attempt

From Muin Abdul Majid ANKARA, July 13 (Bernama) -- Turkey has rolled out a series of events to mark one year since the July 15, 2016 coup attempt aiming to topple President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that failed after ordinary Turks stood their ground against the plotters. Their heroics, among others, are being highlighted at a photo exhibition here featuring dramatic pictures of that fateful night which saw civilians take to the streets to defend a democracy under siege. Erdogan himself visited the graves of coup victims in Istanbul's Edirnekapi cemetery as other ministers did the same elsewhere in the country, offering prayers to the victims that numbered some 250 people. There are lessons to be learned for Malaysians and those in other countries as well from this sad but significant episode in Turkish history, according to Malaysian ambassador to Turkey, Abdul Razak Abdul Wahab. The Ankara-based envoy said that people should air any grievances against the government through the proper channel rather than attempting to overthrow a democratically-elected government through undemocratic means. "What we can learn and apply to any country, including our own, is that if we don’t agree with the existing government, then use the proper channel instead of taking over power in such a manner. “We have the election system, that’s where our rights are as a responsible citizen for our country,” Abdul Razak told the Malaysian media who are here for a program organised by the Turkish government in conjunction with the anniversary for the coup attempt. The Turkish government has pointed the finger at the Fethullah Terrorist Organisation (Feto) and its United States (US)-based leader Fethullah Gulen for the botched power grab. Feto is also accused of being behind a campaign to topple the government via infiltration of Turkish institutions such as the military, police and judiciary. Ambassador Abdul Razak noted that the Turkish governnment would surely not let the perpetrators of the July 15 coup attempt go unpunished. In comments to reporters, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag described as "groundless, biased" criticism levelled by western countries of what was viewed as Turkey's harsh post-coup attempt measures. Turkish ambassador to Malaysia, Basak Turkoglu had pointed out that to date, over 300 institutions had been reopened and more than 30,000 public employees had been reinstated through administrative boards of review. In what was seen as a move to weed out Feto members from state bodies, Ankara declared a state of emergency on July 20, 2016, five days after the failed coup attempt. Erdogan hinted Wednesday that emergency rule might be lifted in the "not too distant future", when the Feto and anti-terrorism threat was completely dealt with. As part of the anniversary, mosques in Turkey's 81 provinces are holding special prayer sessions for the fallen while symposiums and conferences on the failed coup attempt will also take place. Special commemorative ceremonies have been lined up, with monuments built honouring those killed in the thwarted coup set to be unveiled here and in Istanbul where the coup attempt mainly took place. The photo exhibition in Ankara was attended by Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu. Through the event, Turkey's Directorate General of Press and Information brought together the historic photos taken by members of the Turkish Photo Journalists Association and the democracy heroes captured in those photo frames. Some 2,200 people were also injured during the July 15 coup attempt last year. -- BERNAMA