Turkey is both enjoying happiness after eluding a major attack and experiencing uneasiness stemming from that attack. Even if the slightest part of what the coup-makers did in Ankara and Istanbul on July 15 had taken place in the U.S. or an EU country, the state would take the highest level of self-protection measures for years and the paranoia would continue for months - which would affect the whole world. Indeed, rather than an attempted coup, together we experienced an attack that was aimed at the state and society.

One by one, we have started to understand how the Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ) was organized, how it enabled its followers to enter schools that they wanted to join by providing exam questions and answers to them, what mechanisms they used for illegal eavesdropping and many other things. For instance, Lieutenant Colonel Levent Türkkan, the aide of Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar, bore a very clear and detailed testimony. He explained how he received the stolen questions and answers while taking Işıklar Military Academy's examination in 1989, how he eavesdropped on former Chief of General Staff Necdet Özel, how the staff in the Gülenist community, which literally operates as a "parallel structure, " worked in many state institutions in coordination with each other.

During a recent interview with Reuters, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan explained something very creepy: The coup-makers, who took the chief of general staff of the Republic of Turkey hostage on the night of July 15, wanted him to talk to Fethullah Gülen, whom they present as their leader, on the phone, but he rejected it.

Given that Erdoğan personally expressed a clear message and cited a name, he has plenty of evidence to present the U.S., which has asked for evidence of the relationship between the attempted coup and Gülen. If the U.S. wants to, it might ask the chief of general staff himself.

As the citizens of the Republic of Turkey, all of us, regardless of whether we support the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), Republican People's Party (CHP), National Movement Party (MHP) and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), need to tell the whole world that July 15 was not an attempted coup, but an attempt to occupy Turkey by the army of a heretical cult that was disguised in the uniforms of Turkish military officers. This was the first time an attack has targeted the Turkish state and society as a whole. This is no different than the army of a foreign state attacking Turkey.

It is a disgusting act to seize power through a military coup, in other words, through arms. However, what we experienced on July 15 was an incident that went beyond this. Driven by ideological concerns, the coup-makers who believed that they would better administrator Turkey deployed tanks on the streets; bombed their own Parliament, National Intelligence Organization (MİT), presidential palace, Ankara Police Headquarters and Special Operations Command, and opened fire on the public. This was an occupation and invasion.

If we can find a common discourse against such a total threat, we can significantly undermine the social tension and polarization that we have been experiencing for the past three or four years. I think the discourse and solidarity that emerged in recent days is a glimmer of hope. If we can leave aside our differences in political views; explain the FETÖ threat, which is the common question for all of us, to the whole world, and act in unison to eliminate this threat, Turkey's democratic atmosphere and political varieties will be much stronger.