11 July 2017•Update: 12 July 2017
ANKARA
Turkey is getting ready to mark the first anniversary of last July's coup attempt by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) through various activities to be held across the nation and abroad starting on Tuesday.
July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day events to be held under the auspices of the Presidency will last till Sunday evening.
The events and ceremonies, which will be attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will be open to public.
Additionally, various activities will also be organized by non-governmental organizations, municipalities and institutions.
Highlights
On Tuesday, the tombs of the martyrs of the coup attempt will be visited, followed by Quran recitations in mosques all over the country.
On Saturday, July 15, the General Assembly of the parliament will convene at 1.00 p.m. local time (1000GMT) in Ankara with a special agenda followed by a meeting with international press members two hours later.
In Istanbul, a "National Unity Walk" will start at 6.30 p.m local time with the participation of Erdogan, veterans, and the relatives of martyrs. President Erdogan will address the public after the screening of a July 15 documentary. He will also attend the opening ceremony of a martyrs' memorial.
A "democracy watch" will begin after midnight.
Erdogan is scheduled later to depart for Ankara where he will address the parliament at 2.32 a.m., the time the parliament was bombed on the night of the coup attempt.
Sunday's program will begin with a morning prayer at Ankara's Bestepe Millet Mosque followed by the opening of the July 15 Martyrs' Monument at the presidency complex.
Throughout the week, Turkish embassies across the world will hold memorial services and issue press releases about the coup attempt. Messages will also be shared on mainstream and social media.
The "democracy watch" will end at 12 midnight on Sunday.
According to the Turkish government, the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.
Reporting by Merve Yildizalp;Writing by Meryem Goktas
