Romani citizens, who blocked the military units that set out to go to Istanbul with armored vehicles in order to support the coup attempt of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) in Kırklareli's Lüleburgaz district on July 15, are proud of the fight they gave in that dark night.
Citizens, mostly Roma, who took to the streets to defend the national will as soon as they heard about the coup attempt, blocked the progress of military vehicles under the command of former lieutenant colonel Latif Çiçek, who was arrested and expelled from the Turkish Armed Forces within the scope of FETO's coup attempt.
Citizens unloaded their motorcycles, vehicles and potato sacks in front of the military convoy and took cover, preventing the coup plotters from passing, and prevented the troops from reaching Istanbul despite Çiçek's threats that "The military has weapons, everyone should open up."
The struggle of Romani citizens on July 15 is preserved in their memories as fresh as the first day.
"We stood tall in the squares on behalf of our state and nation"
Emin Sanpur, President of the We Are Enough for Us Association, stated to the AA correspondent that they remember the resistance on the night of July 15 as if it happened yesterday.
Stating that they heard President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's call while following the situation on television on a routine evening and took action immediately, Sanpur said that that night, children, young and old, women and men barricaded themselves in front of the tanks.
Emphasizing that the Romani citizens showed a great example of unity and solidarity that night, Sanpur said, "We came together as children and friends. We stood up in the squares on behalf of our state and nation. We shouted as loud as we could that we were with our state and nation. When we heard the sounds of tanks later in the night, we took action without hesitation." he said.
Stating that the only things that came to their mind that night were homeland, state, adhan, flag and Quran, Sanpur noted that Roma people are completely devoted to their state, nation, flag and religion.
Stating that they remember July 15 as a "festival of democracy and struggle" rather than a "black night", Sanpur said, "Even though we heard that the lieutenant colonel on duty gave the 'shoot order' to the specialist sergeant there that night, we did not take a step back. We stood up for our homeland, our flag and our religion." he said.
Soner Orgun also stated that he will never forget the night of July 15 and will not let it be forgotten.
Explaining that the fight against the coup plotters remains fresh in our memories, Orgun said, "We gathered between 1000 and 1500 people in 15-20 minutes. Some of my friends came with their bicycles, motorcycles and potato trucks. I know that we got into a car with 11 people. We blocked the tanks with a large group." he said.
Stating that they did not step back against the threats of the commander, Orgun noted that they stood tall despite everything.
Stating that they have never forgotten the struggle that took place 10 years ago, Orgun said, "I did my ablution while leaving the house, my wife and daughter were lying down, God is my witness, I kissed my daughter and my wife and left with the aim of becoming a martyr. I'm sure my other friends left with the same feeling. I left without an ounce of fear." he said.
"We put our lives on the line that night, our lives."
Ömer Bayraktar also noted that although 10 years have passed since July 15, they have not forgotten that dark night.
Stating that he got goosebumps when he remembered that night, Bayraktar said, "When we think of that coup night, we, as the Romani nation, proved how loyal we are to our homeland, our nation and our flag. From 7 to 70, our mothers, fathers, children, we all tried to lie in front of the tanks. We tried to be a shield against the soldiers. We tried to shed everything we had that night. Everything was for our homeland, our nation. We risked our lives that night." he said.