One of the most popular names among those who bravely fought against a coup attempt, Ömer Halisdemir shot to posthumous fame after the July 15, 2016 bid by military infiltrators of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). On Monday, the eighth anniversary of the attempt, which is observed as Democracy and National Unity Day, large crowds headed to his grave in central Türkiye.
Among them was retired general Zekai Aksakallı, who gave the final orders for noncommissioned officer Halisdemir while the latter was stationed in the capital Ankara. “The world should know that we will always have Ömers. We are a nation in love with independence. Networks of treason abroad and their helpers in Türkiye should know it. We are a nation raising countless Ömers ready for martryrdom,” Aksakallı told reporters after joining Halisdemir’s family for prayers by the grave in his hometown Çukurkuyu in the central province of Niğde.
Halisdemir, an aide to Gen. Zekai Aksakallı, the head of the army's elite Special Forces Command, was stationed at the Special Forces headquarters on July 15, 2016. Aksakallı was outside and had dodged an attempt to abduct him by putschists. Finding out about the coup attempt and the suspects involved, Aksakallı telephoned Halisdemir and told him to take out Gen. Semih Terzi, a putschist commander who flew in from southeastern Türkiye to take over command at Special Forces for the coup plotters.
"He simply said 'yes, sir,'" Aksakallı would later recount as the last words Halisdemir said to him in their phone call.
Showing up at the entrance of the headquarters armed only with a pistol, Halisdemir fired the shots that would kill Terzi. Pro-coup troops accompanying Terzi immediately responded with a barrage of gunshots, and Halisdemir died on the spot.
Their plan to capture the Special Forces, a key unit of the military, was thrown into disarray. The putschists were frustrated and ultimately turned themselves in as other anti-coup officers closed in on them.
