Heroic veterans who participated in the "Our Will, Our Victory" loyalty march, held on the 10th anniversary of the July 15 coup attempt, spoke with emotional words about what they experienced on the historical night. Veteran Safiye Bayat, who was the first to stand in front of the tanks, said, "This was a jihad march," while veteran Zişan E Değer said, "Mevla had taken away the fear of death from us that night, and even if we had a thousand lives, we were ready to sacrifice them."
On the 10th anniversary of the treacherous coup attempt of July 15, Istanbul hosted a historical commemoration event. Thousands of citizens came together in Zincirlikuyu with Turkish flags in their hands, within the scope of the programs organized with the theme "Our Will, Our Victory" under the coordination of the Presidency's Directorate of Communications. The huge march, which started from here and continued with takbirs, ended in front of the Martyrs' Monument on the July 15 Martyrs' Bridge, one of the most critical points of the coup attempt. Citizens who witnessed the July 15 coup attempt once again emphasized the perseverance and determination of the nation by reminding them of what happened that night.
Veteran Safiye Bayat, who walked alone to the bridge and confronted the soldiers in the first hours of the treacherous coup attempt, stated that she did not hesitate even for a moment and said:
"I am the first person to walk to the bridge. I had the opportunity to talk to the traitors. We tried to tell them repeatedly that what they did was wrong. But they were people with dirty words. They beat me and even opened fire on my cheek. And then, with God's permission, I tried to express fearlessly that what they did was wrong. You know that there is no right to kill yourself knowingly in Islam. You cannot kill yourself knowingly. Now I said: Let me make one last speech, I hope innocent people will follow me. I said, 'You will be defeated. I will see this, I will not; shoot whoever you want to shoot. Even if we die here, I will be waiting for you right away.' Then I listened to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's speech on my phone. Our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, 'If I am the state, you are the nation. "I will die, come on, walk this path with me," he said. This was a jihad march. "We sacrificed our lives, our blood and our bodies for the desire to fulfill that march."
"Mevla had taken away the fear of death from us"
Zişan E Değer, who opened his hands to the sky and prayed for the martyrs during the loyalty march, conveyed the determination in defense of the homeland with the following words:
"July 15 was one of the most important days that left a mark in our lives. We will never forget it, as long as we live, and we will never let it be forgotten. What we felt that day has never been written in a book or expressed by any pen in the world. The feeling we experienced, that the homeland would collapse, was an indescribable feeling for the homeland, the nation, and this country. That night, God had taken the fear of death from us. All of us, not one, but a thousand lives; I was ready to sacrifice my life, not one Zişan, but a thousand Zişan. This homeland of the grandchildren of Fatih "We want them to know that they will never be of any use to anyone."
"I watched the bombing in Ankara live"
73-year-old Fevzi Kütük, who tried to reach Istanbul from the first moments he received the news but had to turn back due to the roads being closed, also attended the ceremony with the historical hat in his hand. Kütük said, "When we approached Kırıkkale, we started to watch the events on the bridge live. The bus dropped us off because Istanbul was confused. Then, when we came to Ankara, the situation was deplorable. Today we are watching Palestine and Gaza, but that day I watched the bombing in Ankara, the bombs rising like mushrooms, live in my country. Even though I was 73 years old, I still came. In the morning, I walked for 1.5 hours because we owe a debt to our martyrs and veterans here." "There is, we will pay for it," he said. - ISTANBUL