Turkish parliament to hold session on defeated coup

By Emin Avundukluoglu and Alper Atalay

ANKARA

The parliament will hold a plenary session on July 15 to mark the first anniversary of Fetullah Terrorist Organization's (FETO) coup attempt in 2016 in Turkey.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also attend the session during which Parliament Speaker Ismail Kahraman and representatives of political parties are expected to address deputies, public and foreign mission representatives.

Erdogan will also address thousands of people in front of the parliament late night on July 16 following his attendance at a ceremony on the July 15 Martyrs' Bridge in Istanbul.

Fighter jets under control of coup plotters had bombed the parliament on July 16, 2016.

A number of structures and public spaces were renamed in the immediate aftermath of the coup bid, most notably Istanbul’s Bosphorus Bridge, was retitled as the July 15 Martyrs’ Bridge.

Anadolu Agency will also hold a photo exhibition on the defeated coup at the parliament.

On the night of the coup bid, tanks rolled out on the streets of Istanbul, including the bridge, in an attempt to block the crossings from the city's Asian to European sides; a group within the army also went on air to announce they had seized control of the country.

Thousands of army officers have been detained for suspected links to FETO as part of a nationwide investigation in the aftermath of the thwarted coup.

The probe has also seen hundreds of officers sacked from the military.

Turkey declared a state of emergency on July 20, 2016, after a group of rogue military officers were defeated in their coup attempt.

During a state of emergency, the Cabinet has the right to issue statutory decrees under the president of the republic without regard to routine procedures and restrictions in Article 91 of the Constitution. These decrees are first published in the official gazette and then submitted to parliament for ratification.

Under the statutory decree, the country announced wide-ranging changes in its armed forces. As part of changes, all military schools would be closed and war colleges replaced with a National Defense University.

The university will offer new institutions to train staff officers and give postgraduate education, including war academies and vocational schools that train non-commissioned officers.

At least 250 people were martyred and nearly 2,193 injured in the coup attempt, which Turkish officials have repeatedly said was carried out by FETO, led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen.