A commemoration program was held in Moscow, the capital of Russia, on the occasion of July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day.
Ambassador Tanju Bilgiç, Embassy counselors, representatives of Turkish institutions and organizations, Turkish business people and guests attended the program held at the Turkish Embassy in Moscow.
The program started with a moment of silence and the reading of the National Anthem, and a short video was shown about the events of July 15. After the speech made by Türkiye's Moscow Embassy Internal Affairs Counselor Erkan Çapar about the meaning and importance of the day, Religious Services Counselor Emin Patan prayed for the martyrs of July 15.
In his speech at the ceremony, Ambassador Bilgiç stated that Türkiye experienced one of the darkest days in its history on July 15, 2016, and said, "The Turkish nation's own weapons were pointed at the nation by the members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), and this treacherous terrorist organization, the house of the prophet, attempted to tarnish the name of our army, police and gendarmerie." he said.
Stating that the Turkish nation successfully passed this test, Bilgiç emphasized that July 15 was the victory of the nation.
Bilgiç said, "What happened on the night of July 15 went down in history as a bloody terrorist act aimed at overthrowing the democratically elected government, our president and the constitutional order in the Republic of Turkey, beyond a treacherous coup attempt." he said.
The fight against FETO was discussed in Russia's leading newspaper
On the other hand, Türkiye's Ambassador to Moscow, Tanju Bilgiç, wrote an article for Kommersant, one of Russia's leading newspapers, on the occasion of July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day.
In the article published with the title "15 July: Protection of state sovereignty and common resistance against new generation threats", Bilgiç reminded that on the night of 15 July 2016 in Türkiye, the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which had secretly infiltrated the strategic institutions of the state for years, attempted a bloody coup in order to eliminate the constitutional order and disable the elected President, the government and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
Stating that the Turkish nation took to the streets upon the call of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and defended the constitutional order, Bilgiç stated that 251 citizens were martyred and more than 2 thousand citizens were injured in the coup attempt of FETO.
Pointing out that this organization, which has been operating under the guise of education and civil society for many years, is actually a secret structure aiming to seize the state mechanism from within, Bilgiç stated that the organization is trying to establish its own hierarchy instead of the legitimate state order by systematically infiltrating the army, police, judiciary and bureaucracy.
Bilgiç said, "In this respect, July 15 contains important lessons regarding the new generation security threats faced by today's states. Terrorist organizations are now trying to penetrate state institutions not only through armed methods, but also through civilian-looking structures. For this reason, the institutional resilience of states has become an integral part of national security." he said.
Emphasizing that no sovereign state can remain indifferent to an organization that points guns at its own parliament and citizens, Bilgiç noted that Turkey continues its fight against FETO with determination within the framework of the principles of the rule of law, and public institutions have been cleared of this structure.
Common understanding between Türkiye and Russia in the fight against FETO
Stating that there is an important common understanding between Turkey and the Russian Federation at this point, Bilgiç said, "Russia has been one of the countries that saw the real nature of FETO under the guise of education and civil society in the early period and took the necessary measures. One of the first leaders to call our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on the night of July 15 and convey his support was the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin. Following Mr. Putin's support for the protection of the constitutional order and the coup attempt, our President made his first foreign visit to Russia." "His meeting with Mr. Putin in St. Petersburg on August 9, 2016 was among the important indicators of the trust between the two countries." He stated:
Bilgiç stated that Turkey and Russia share the view that state sovereignty, protection of constitutional order and non-interference in internal affairs from outside are the basic principles of the international system, and emphasized that discrimination between terrorist organizations and the instrumentalization of some structures for geopolitical calculations will threaten the security of all countries in the long term.
Bilgiç said, "Terrorism has no geography or border. Of course, Turkey and Russia do not have to think alike on every issue. However, thanks to the strong dialogue between our leaders, our differences can be managed on the basis of mutual respect; our developing cooperation in the fields of energy, trade, tourism, transportation and regional security is progressing on a solid ground. In the intervening 10 years, July 15 has not weakened Türkiye's state capacity, on the contrary, it has made our country a more resilient and self-confident actor." he said.