A commemoration ceremony was held at the 15 July Democracy Martyrdom in Edirnekapı on the 10th anniversary of the 15 July coup attempt. Minister of Commerce Ömer Bolat, Istanbul Governor Davut Gül, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Chairman Nuri Aslan, 1st Army Commander General Bahtiyar Ersay, Istanbul Provincial Police Chief Selami Yıldız, AK Party Provincial Chairman Abdullah Özdemir and relatives of the martyrs and veterans attended the ceremony. In the program, which started with the recitation of the Holy Quran, Minister Bolat and Governor Davut Gül prayed by leaving carnations on the graves of the July 15 martyrs. Later, Minister Bolat and his accompanying delegation visited the Police Martyrs' Cemetery and the grave of Mehmet Akif Ersoy and left carnations.

'IT IS AN EPIC OF DEMOCRACY AND FREEDOM WRITED IN GOLDEN LETTERS BY OUR HEROIC NATION IN WORLD HISTORY'

Minister of Commerce Ömer Bolat said, "This morning, we are together at the Edirnekapı Martyrs' Cemetery for the 10th anniversary of the July 15 treacherous coup attempt, which was repelled with an epic victory of our heroic nation and the victory of the national will. 10 years have passed. We had a promise: 'We have not forgotten July 15, we will not forget it, we will not let it be forgotten.' Indeed, even in the past 10 years, we see that our people do not let us forget July 15." On that fateful night, a handful of treacherous coup plotters, together with the activities of an organization whose roots have been abroad for many years, targeted our democracy, our national will, our homeland, our unity, our faith and our economy. They had the aim of taking our country under tutelage, disintegrating it and handing it over to the tutelage of foreign powers. But with our President's call to our nation and his command to run to the squares, our dear and noble nation rushed to the squares with helicopters and tanks. "We managed to repel and defeat these treacherous coup plotters who tried to stage a coup against our people with warplanes and heavy weapons. This is an epic victory, an epic of democracy and freedom that our heroic nation wrote in golden letters in the history of the world. This is the victory of our national will, our victory has been manifested, and indeed, our Turkey has continued on its way with its economy, army, national unity and social solidarity ever since."

'WE WILL CONTINUE THE EPIC OF JULY 15 DEMOCRACY AND NATIONAL UNITY UNTIL THE DESTINATION'

Minister Bolat said, "May God be abundantly pleased with our beloved ancestors, our heroic martyrs, our veterans, to whom we owe our living in these lands for a thousand years. Thanks to them, we live in peace in these lands, and hopefully from now on, the noble, noble Turkish nation will live in peace and well-being in this homeland until the end of time. We remember with mercy our heroic martyrs who lost their lives in this epic of national will. May God bless them with the Liva-ul of our beloved Prophet." We hope to bring them together under the flag of praise. We offer our condolences once again to their relatives and dear families. As the state, the government and the nation, we have always been there for them, and we will continue to do so. We wish our heroic veterans a long life. We, as the Aziz and Necip Turkish nation, will write many epics in line with our President's vision and goals for Turkey, and we will successfully defeat this treacherous coup, the coup attempt of Fetö, which tried to shake and destroy our economy. Thank God, our economy continues to rise steadily in the world. The last NATO summit showed the whole world what a respectable, respected and strong place Türkiye has in the world. On this occasion, we once again commemorate our martyrs. We will always keep them alive in our hearts and, as Turkey, we will continue the 15 July epic of democracy and national unity that we wrote in golden letters to the world. "We will make it happen," he said.

'I SEE THE NIGHT OF JULY 15 AS THE RESURRECTION OF OUR COUNTRY'

Gazi Bayram Ceylan said, "For myself, I see the night of July 15 as the resurrection of our country. That day and evening, treacherous insurrectionists came to tear this country apart and divide it, and the whole nation took to the streets and prevented this. Mevlam gave us and all those who took to the streets such power that he showed how valuable people are in the face of weapons. I became a veteran in Saraçhane on July 15. When we arrived in Saraçhane, a group passing in front of us said, 'They are killing people here. We all went inside with the shouts of Allah-u Akbar. While we were trying to lift the person who was shot, we realized that we had been shot. We did not feel any pain. If the same situation happened again, I would go out again today. We feel pride, joy and honor. May God grant us these days as a reward for the pain of that day. "May he grant it," he said.

Gazi Muzaffer Vardar said, "6 friends, we went with the Turkish flag in our hands. The police said, 'Don't go.' We said, 'Let's fight for the homeland.' We said, 'What will happen if you and I don't get up?' When we left at that moment, they shot my friends. In the afterlife, they will also hold them accountable, and so will I. Because, how can a person point a gun given by the state at his people? It is an indescribable pain. We went with 6 friends, I came as a veteran. Here are the traces of the bullet. "I am holding it in my hand. We are going as 6 friends, one of us is saved. I wish I were a martyr, I am ready to be a martyr for this country, for my nation."