Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Numan Kurtulmuş, spoke at the July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day Commemoration Ceremony, held with the theme "Our Will, Our Victory" at the Grand National Assembly Ceremony Hall with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Reminding that 10 years have passed since the treacherous coup attempt on July 15, 2016, Kurtulmuş said that it is necessary to remember what happened that night in order to never calm the anger and never lose the will to call to account.
Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Kurtulmuş, pointed out the importance of fighting together to take Türkiye to a healthier, stronger tomorrow by taking lessons from what happened before and after that night.
Remembering those who were martyred while resisting the coup on July 15, Kurtulmuş said, "We are celebrating this 10th anniversary together, with the awareness that the spirit of our martyrs is among us." he said.
Underlining that one of the most important nights in Turkish history took place on the night of July 15, Kurtulmuş continued his evaluation as follows: "It was a night where betrayal was on one side, courage was on the other, heroism was demonstrated at an extraordinarily high level on the other, and probably the greatest treachery that these lands have ever seen throughout their history was displayed. That night, there was a struggle between those who stood in front of the tanks and tried to stop the tanks with their bare hands, and those who took refuge behind the weapons the nation gave them. That night, their beliefs, values and It was the scene of a great struggle between those who sacrificed their lives without hesitation to protect their homeland and the puppets, servants and pawns of the imperialists.
Every minute of that night is filled with extremely important memories. But ultimately, the greatest legacy that night left us is the victory of democracy and national will. In fact, our nation left its mark on the morning of the night of July 15, the chain of coups that continued from the last period of the Ottoman Empire throughout the history of our Republic, and which we often see especially in our multi-party political life, which is a kind of continuation of the coup against Sultan Abdülaziz Khan on May 30, 1876, and has now thrown the tradition of coups into the dustbin of history. "This was one of the biggest gains of July 15."
Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Kurtulmuş, drew attention to the importance of 5 important powers in writing the heroic epic of July 15, and stated that a great epic struggle emerged because these forces came together.
Emphasizing that, above all, the most important power is the power of political leadership, Kurtulmuş said, "When our esteemed President connected our nation to a television channel in the most difficult, darkest hours of the coup and gave the message 'I am here, you too go to the streets, resist and give these men their place', millions took to the streets. That evening made it very clear what important results a warm message that can be established between the political leadership and the people can have, not only for the history of Turkey, but also for the history of world democracy. Once again, Mr. "I express my gratitude to our President on behalf of our nation in his presence. It was not just a phone call, it was an important message that disrupted the oppressors and traitors and encouraged the nation." made his assessment.
Emphasizing that the second greatest power in the resistance against the FETO coup attempt on July 15, 2016 was the power of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Kurtulmuş stated that a great democratic resistance was demonstrated when the then Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, İsmail Kahraman, called the Parliament to a meeting without hesitation and all political parties in the Parliament complied with this call.
Stating that a large number of deputies quickly came to the Parliament and started the session in the General Assembly, and that the traitors threw bombs while the session was continuing, Kurtulmuş said, "The fact that the Parliament gathered, and that our deputies in their jeans and sportswear enjoyed democracy, believe me, disrupted both these men, these tools, and their masters, and revealed the power of the nation and democracy." he said.
Stating that the third great power is the sound of the sala rising from the minarets of the mosques, Kurtulmuş said, "With the refreshing breath of the sounds of the sala, our nation remembered its very solid roots again, renewed its faith, went out to the streets with a renewal of faith, so to speak, and stood against these traitors by saying 'Ya Allah, Bismillah'. It was not just the sounds of the sala rising from the minarets, it was the commands given by the spirituality of this nation rising from the minarets, the commands given by the spirituality of this nation, so to speak." "He was an example of great courage demonstrated by his strong faith." he said.
Kurtulmuş emphasized that the fourth greatest power is the power of the nation who left their families aside and took to the streets without hesitation, risking death, and said, "Our nation actually showed that by taking to the streets, it was not just a crowd, but that it had regained the consciousness of being a nation, and with God's permission, it put these impudent people in their place in the strongest way." he said.
Stating that another power of that night that should not be neglected was the media, Kurtulmuş said, "Almost all of the Turkish media, the overwhelming majority, passed this test positively that night. Almost all of them stood against the coup and used the means at their disposal to ensure that many state officials were connected to television channels, thus increasing the morale of the nation." he said.
Kurtulmuş stated that they had to make a more calm assessment on the 10th anniversary of the coup attempt. "We will keep our pain alive, we will never relieve our anger, but we will continue on our way by learning lessons that will never allow our country to go down such wrong paths." "Probably the most important lesson we have learned is the fact that the state should not be the domain of any group or group of people. The state is not the property of anyone's father. The state is the common umbrella, moral strength and shelter of 86 million of us. In this context, as we see in the coup attempts we often witness in Türkiye's multi-party political life, the state is not a place to be taken over by this or that group. The state is not a place to be taken over by this or that group, for God's sake." It is a position that will be served with the votes of the nation.
Undoubtedly, one of the lessons we have learned is that the bright future of our nation depends on openness, transparency, an understanding of the system connected to its institutions and the existence of strong institutions. We understand much better how these FETO traitors weakened the Turkish Armed Forces after our Turkish Armed Forces are cleared of these traitors. Therefore, the strength of institutions lies in the understanding of transparency, openness and a rule-based system. Likewise, it is an area that can be crowned with a strong understanding of the state, a deep tradition of democracy and the rule of law. Again, our national solidarity is the basic condition of our national survival. "If our nation had not taken to the streets that evening without hesitation, leaving aside political differences, with the awareness of national solidarity, perhaps the result would have been different."
TBMM Speaker Kurtulmuş stated that they have adopted a path that fosters brotherhood, strengthens justice, enriches and expands legitimate politics, puts the national will above all else and puts it at the center, and stated that there are two important duties in order to walk this path faster and stronger while walking in this direction.
Kurtulmuş noted the following: "One of our important duties is to make the Terror-Free Turkey process, which we started under the leadership of our President and with the extraordinary guidance of Mr. Devlet Bahçeli, successful, with God's permission, and to reach the final point by preparing the laws in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Thus, we will prepare an environment in which not a single child of this country will ever take up a weapon again in the face of terrorism, in which we lost 50 years, and we will make a Terror-Free Türkiye a part of our national survival." "We will build it as one of the most important elements."
Stating that the second biggest task while walking on this path is a new, strong constitution worthy of this nation, Kurtulmuş said, "This issue, which we have been talking about for years, should be addressed with the understanding of a modern, democratic, participatory, inclusive, national constitution, and I hope that after completing our work on Terror-Free Turkey in the Turkish Grand National Assembly, we should start the process of making a new constitution as soon as possible with the joint effort of all political parties." he said.
Kurtulmuş thanked all the participants, especially President Erdoğan, who graced the ceremony, and said, "I wish God's mercy to our martyrs. I hope this nation will continue on its way as a strong Turkey, with its head held high, in brotherhood, in unity and solidarity, without heeding the words of any imperialist power. May God make our nation eternal and our state eternal." he said.
The ceremony started with a moment of silence and the reading of the National Anthem, followed by a recitation of the Holy Quran.
At the ceremony, where President of Religious Affairs Safi Arpaguş prayed for the martyrs, Erdoğan's speech in which he invited the people to the squares on live broadcast on the night of the July 15 coup attempt, images from that night and the video clip prepared from the salutes recited from the mosques were projected on cinema.
At the ceremony, July 15 Veteran Emre Doğan sat on President Erdoğan's right, and Pınar Hazan Denizcioğlu, wife of July 15 Martyr Necmi Bahadır Denizcioğlu, sat on his left.
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, members of the higher judiciary, cabinet members, Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran, MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli, AK Party TBMM Group Chairman Abdullah Güler, former Prime Minister Tansu Çiller, some former presidents of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, chairmen and representatives of some political parties, members of parliament, force commanders, families, relatives and veterans of the July 15 martyrs and many guests attended the ceremony.