Türkiye has significantly strengthened its institutions and security capacity in the decade since the defeated July 15, 2016 coup attempt, Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz has said.
On July 15, 2016, members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) attempted to overthrow Türkiye’s government through a military coup centred in Ankara and Istanbul.
The coup plotters opened fire on civilians, turned against their commanders, and bombed the Turkish Grand National Assembly and the Presidential Complex, killing 253 people and wounding thousands.
Speaking at a symposium, July 15 in its 10th Year, organised by the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) in Ankara on Monday, Yilmaz said the past decade had been a period of comprehensive restructuring and reflection for the country.
“All institutions of our state drew the necessary lessons from this grave experience and gained a stronger capacity to respond to the changing security environment and new threats,” he said.
Yilmaz described the coup attempt by the FETO as one of the most extensive attacks on Türkiye’s democratic order, aimed at replacing the will of the people with the organisation’s own hierarchy.
He said the bombing of parliament, attacks on the presidential complex and security institutions, and the targeting of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demonstrated that the plotters’ main target was the Turkish nation and its democratic will.
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