(İZMİR) - Within the scope of July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day, the "15 July Memory and Souvenir Exhibition" was opened at Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport with the theme "The will is ours, the victory is ours".
Within the scope of July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day, the "15 July Memory and Souvenir Exhibition", prepared in cooperation with the Presidential Directorate of Communications and the 15 July Association, was opened at Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport. The exhibition was opened to visitors simultaneously at 6 airports in Izmir, Istanbul, Sabiha Gökçen, Ankara Esenboğa, Antalya and Gaziantep.
Governor Süleyman Elban, Aegean Army and Garrison Commander General İrfan Özsert, İzmir Provincial Police Chief Celal Sel, İzmir Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Metin Düz, members of the 15 July Association and political party representatives attended the opening held at İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport.
Speaking at the opening of the event, where photographs taken by Anadolu Agency during the FETO coup attempt on the night of July 15, 2016 were displayed on digital screens, Governor Elban noted that the exhibition would keep the social memory alive.
Noting that July 15 is one of the days that should not be forgotten in the history of the country, Governor Elban said:
"When we say July 15, we are not talking about any day of July or any summer day. When we say July 15, unfortunately, we are talking about the darkest night in our history as a nation. This nation was faced with a betrayal that it had never seen in its history, and it was the betrayal itself that made this night black. And the betrayal came from within, surrounded the institutions and penetrated into humanity so much that it took a long time to understand this betrayal, repel it and fight against it. Therefore, July 15 became the longest night of July."
This uprising was suppressed and repelled in a very short time, first of all, by the strong and determined leadership of our President and, under his leadership, by our heroic nation with high foresight and wisdom. Before daylight, light began to shine all over our country and the lights of that victory began to spread everywhere. One of the main and important aspects of this story is those who carried out the coup; While they mercilessly threw the planes, anti-aircraft guns, cannons and bullets entrusted to them by this nation against this nation, this nation won this victory by fighting only with its body and heart, without using any weapons or counter tools.
Our duty is to constantly tell our people about this struggle, this heroic struggle, and keep it alive and alive in their memory. We commemorate July 15th with such different events to tell our young generations that they too will face a similar betrayal again and what kind of sacrifice their elders made, what an epic struggle they made and what a heroic epic they wrote. Today, we have an exhibition with very special selections about July 15, with the contributions of our Presidential Communications Directorate's July 15 Association. And this exhibition is also exhibited at five different airports with us. "Hopefully, everyone who comes here, especially our children and young people, will visit here after seeing these memories, to learn from the events and to take pride in the heroic saga."
Fatih Tuna, Board Member of the July 15 Association, said, "It has been exactly 10 years since the treacherous coup attempt, in which we gave a lesson of heroism to the whole world and defended our beloved homeland with the elderly and young people from 7 to 77, to the last drop of our blood. July 15 is a victory won by courage against fear, loyalty against betrayal, and national will against darkness. Our nation fought to the last drop of its blood against the traitors and the coup plotters on that lowest night in history." "He did not allow it to pass," he said.
Mehtap Kaya, Head of the Support Services Department of the Ministry of Communication, said, "With this exhibition, which is opened simultaneously in 6 important airports of our country today, we aim to remind the unique courage and sacrifice that our beloved nation made on the night of July 15, defending its democracy, independence and national will. Each photograph in this exhibition, prepared with the theme 'Our will, our victory is ours', is a strong memory record of our nation's courage, spirit of unity and solidarity, love of the homeland and devotion to the national will." "As the Presidency Directorate of Communications, we will continue to carry out the activities that keep the common memory of our nation alive and strengthen the spirit of national unity with the same meticulousness and determination," he said.