Erdogan to unveil monument for 'martyrs' in Turkey a year after failed coup
Turkey commemorates the first anniversary of the 15 July failed military attempt to overthrow Erdogan, with a series of events honoring some 250 people.
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Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, attends prayers for the victims of the 2016 failed coup attempt, at the mosque of the Presidential Palace in Ankara on Friday. AP
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People visit an outdoor photo exhibition in Istanbul, featuring photographs of the takeover attempt. The attempt was the greatest challenge to the rule of Erdogan, who has been in power since 2003, first as prime minister and later as president. AP
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The rebellion unfolded on a Friday evening last year when a group of military officers commandeered warplanes, helicopters and tanks to attack key government buildings in the capital, including parliament and the presidential palace complex. This file image from 16 July 2016 shows smoke billowing from an area near the Presidential Palace in Ankara. AP
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Erdogan delivers a speech acknowledging the coup. He also is scheduled to deliver a speech in parliament at 2.32 am local time on Sunday — the exact moment the assembly was attacked a year ago. AP
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Erdogan is also set to unveil a large monument for the “martyrs” opposite his palace in Ankara and another near Istanbul’s former Bosporus Bridge, which has been renamed as the “July 15 Martyrs Bridge” to honour the people who died resisting the coup. AP
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The government has blamed the coup on the influential movement led by US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally who ran a network of schools, dormitories, media outlets and universities. In this file image, people wave Turkish flags as they gather at a pro-government rally in central Istanbul’s Taksim square, following the coup attempt. AP
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More than 2,000 people were injured in the streets, in addition to the 250 people who died and now are hailed as “martyrs” of the coup. The dead include 53 special operations police who were killed in an attack on their headquarters. Some 30 coup plotters are also believed to have died during their takeover. AP
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A prolonged state of emergency that has remained in place since the coup attempt allows the government to rule through decrees and without the initial approval from lawmakers. Over the last year, more than 50,000 people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the insurgency more than 1,00,000 others have been fired from civil service jobs. AP
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Workers put the finishing touches at a memorial to honour the victims of the failed coup attempt, ahead of its upcoming inauguration on the one-year anniversary, in Istanbul. After crushing the attempted takeover, Erdogan went on to win a referendum in April that will considerably extend the powers of his office — a move that has raised fear among opponents who say he has become increasingly authoritarian. AP
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Erdogan (centre) and Turkey’s prime minister Binali Yildirim, (centre left) attend a prayer by the grave of a victim of the failed coup attempt, in Istanbul on Tuesday. Erdogan once described the coup as a “gift from God” that had allowed the government to purge the military and public institutions of the ‘Gulenists’ who once were allied with his Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party. AP
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Erdogan, accompanied by his wife Emine, visits a photo exhibition prior to a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the failed coup attempt, in Ankara, on Thursday. Turkey has repeatedly pressed the United States to extradite Gulen, so far without success. AP
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