‘On night of July 15, deputies risked lives’

ANKARA

On the fateful night of July 15, 2016, deputies in Turkey’s parliament put their lives on the line to defend the nation’s sovereignty in the face of an attempted coup, a senior lawmaker of the ruling Justice and Development (AKP) said on July 14.

“Our lawmaker colleagues from parliamentary parties risked death without batting an eyelid for the sovereignty of our nation on the night of the defeated coup attempt,” Ramazan Can, a lawmaker for the Kırıkkale province, told Anadolu Agency.

Deputies in the general assembly that night took a firm stand against the coup attempt by FETÖ, Can recalled.

“The bombs that exploded over parliament, the people who were wounded that night, and the news of the people martyred did not dim our lawmakers’ resolve against the coup attempt.”

“The opening of parliament that night encouraged everyone who believes in Turkey’s democracy and sovereignty. As a result of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s leadership and the determined attitude of our parliamentary deputies, our people filled the squares of the nation in droves.”

Some sections of the Turkish parliament building were bombed during the course of the coup attempt.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen are widely believed to have orchestrated the defeated coup, which killed 251 people and injured nearly 2,200 others.

Ankara accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to infiltrate Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.