Turkey to mark anniversary of failed coup today

A man on Friday walks past a billboard highlighting last year’s failed coup in Istanbul. (AFP)

ANKARA, Turkey: Turkey is commemorating the first anniversary of the quashed military coup that sought to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with a series of events honoring some 250 people who were killed on July 15, 2016, while trying to stop the insurrection.
The coup attempt was the greatest challenge to the rule of Erdogan, who has been in power since 2003, first as prime minister and later as president. After crushing the attempted takeover, Erdogan went on to win a referendum in April that will considerably extend the powers of his office — a move that has raised fears among opponents who say he has become increasingly authoritarian.
The rebellion unfolded on a Friday evening when a group of military officers commandeered warplanes, helicopters and tanks to attack key government buildings in the capital, including Parliament and the presidential palace complex. They held Istanbul’s main bridge and square, attacked some government buildings and tried to overtake television stations. They also tried to capture or kill the president, who was vacationing at a Mediterranean resort at the time.
Heeding a call by Erdogan broadcast on CNN-Turk through a video app, thousands of people took to the streets to stop the tanks and soldiers. Police and officers loyal to the government put down the coup, which did not have support in the military’s top echelons, within hours.
More than 2,000 people were injured in the streets, in addition to the 250 people who died and now are hailed as “martyrs” of the coup. The dead include 53 special operations police who were killed in an attack on their headquarters in Ankara. Some 30 coup plotters are also believed to have died during their failed attempt.
Tarkan Ecebalin and his 27-year-old son, Tolga, were among the hundreds of people who took Erdogan’s call to heart and rushed out to protect the Istanbul mayor’s office. A gunshot struck the younger man just below the eye and he died from the injury.





Ecebalin has turned their home in an impoverished neighbor into a museum honoring his son, saying those who were killed trying to fend off the coup-plotters should not be forgotten.