UPDATES WITH OTHER EVENTS IN BRUSSELS
By Selen Valente Rasquinho
BRUSSELS (AA) - The Turkish Embassy in Brussels on Sunday hosted a commemoration ceremony marking the eighth anniversary of the 2016 defeated coup attempt in Türkiye.
The ceremony started with a moment of silence and the Turkish national anthem, followed by a Quran recitation in honor of the coup bid’s victims.
In his address, Ambassador Bekir Uysal emphasized the resilience and unity of the Turkish people.
"Thanks to the common determination of our people and state, under the leadership of our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the planners of this treacherous attempt on our democracy, thwarted by the heroic resistance of those who sacrificed their lives, were unsuccessful," Uysal said.
The defeated coup bid, in which 252 people were killed and 2,734 were wounded, was plotted and carried out by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and its US-based leader Fethullah Gulen.
He expressed his condolences for those who died defending the constitutional order and democracy.
Uysal also warned about the continued activities of the FETO abroad, describing it as an espionage network that operates under various guises.
He said FETO aims to conduct anti-Türkiye activities by gaining political and economic influence, using entities such as civil society organizations, associations, schools, and commercial enterprises as fronts.
Meanwhile, Türkiye’s representation to NATO also held a commemoration ceremony at the alliance headquarters in Brussels.
Türkiye’s permanent representative to NATO, Ambassador Levent Gumrukcu, emphasized the responsibility of Turkish citizens serving abroad to explain the true nature of FETO to their counterparts.
"We need to tell them that [FETO] is a cult organization that does not hesitate to resort to violence and terrorism. We need to explain that their sole purpose is to seize the state and impose their own way of life on everyone. We need to tell them that they have not hesitated to adopt any guise or disguise over the years," he said.
Since its designation in October 2016, every year Türkiye marks July 15 as Democracy and National Unity Day, with events held nationwide to commemorate those who lost their lives beating back the putschists and to remember the bravery of the nation.