Turks in Germany mark anniversary of defeated coup

BERLIN (AA) – Turks in Germany on Saturday commemorated the first anniversary of the defeated coup in Turkey with a number of events across the country.

In Berlin, Turkish ambassador Ali Kemal Aydin, hosted an event at the embassy in memory of the victims of the July 15 coup attempt.

He said the Turkish people showed great courage on that night, and won an “epic” victory against the coup plotters.

“They showed the whole world how to defend democracy and freedoms,” he said.

Aydin regretted that German politicians did not show solidarity with the Turkish people against the attempted coup.

“For us it is unacceptable that those terrorists who were involved in this coup attempt or supported it can now find shelter here,” he said.

Turkey believes the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and its U.S.-based leader, Fetullah Gulen, of orchestrating the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, that left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Germany, which hosts a 3 million strong Turkish community, is among the countries where FETO has a large network outside Turket, with dozens of private schools, businesses and media organizations.

Since the coup attempt, nearly 4,000 FETO suspects fled Turkey for Germany and other countries, according to local media.

On Saturday, leading Turkish diaspora orgazitaions held various events in major cities of Cologne, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt to condemn the FETO and commemorate the the victims of the July 15 coup attempt.

In the southern German city of Nuremberg, several hundreds of Turks gathered at a salon meeting for the "Democracy and National Unity Day”.

Hamza Dag, deputy chairman of Turkey’s ruling Justice are Development Party’s (AK Party) was among the guests speakers at the meeting, along with relatives of victims who resisted to the coup attempt.