200 Journalists In Turkiye As Country Marks Democracy Day

Republic of Türkiye Directorate of Communications, through its International Media Coordination Office, has invited 200 journalists to participate in the commemoration of July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day.

The event honours the memory of the martyrs who died preventing the July 15, 2016, coup and reaffirms the nation’s victory against the coup plotters.

Eighty-one local media representatives from all 81 provinces of Türkiye and 120 international journalists from 41 countries were invited.

Addressing members of the National Assembly, dignitaries and the media, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gave an emotionally charged speech at the Grand National Assembly, recalling the events that led to the coup and the eventual victory against the plotters.

Other events of the day included visits to the Presidential Complex, the 15 July Democracy Museum, and the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye.

In Istanbul, participants visited the July 15 Memory Museum and the Governorship of the region and attended various briefing sessions.

For international media representatives, the programme also seeks to provide a comprehensive account of Türkiye’s fight against FETÖ, both before and after July 15.

The date, July 15, was first declared a public holiday by President Erdogan in 2017, to commemorate the failed coup attempt and has been commemorated all across Türkiye since then, emphasising unity as well as remembering those who lost their lives standing up to the coup plotters. It was a day of bloodshed that will not be forgotten.

The bridge across the Bosphorus in Istanbul was the scene of bloody fighting between Erdogan’s supporters and renegade soldiers. To honour those who lost their lives, the bridge has been renamed the July 15 Martyrs’ Bridge.