Kenyan students plant 1,000 trees for Turkish martyrs

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya

Turkey’s ambassador to Kenya on Sunday joined hundreds of students in the Kenyan capital Nairobi to plant 1,000 trees to remember Turkish martyrs who died during the defeated coup of July 2016.

Ahmet Cemil Miroglu thanked Kenya for its support, as it was one of the first countries to condemn the defeated coup attempt, adding that Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta “was among the first few to show his solidarity.”

Jane Soita, principal of the Starehe Girls High School, said that the tree-planting ceremony was meant to celebrate the lives of those who died.

“We are very happy to plant the trees, which are a sign of life.”

Also present at the event was Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) coordinator Emre Yuksek, whose agency provided the trees.

The Fetullah Terrorist Organization and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen masterminded the defeated coup, which left 251 martyrs and some 2,200 wounded.