The Turkish nation made history on July 15, 2016, by defeating the treacherous coup attempt, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Friday during his address to the nation at the Democracy and National Unity Day event on July 15 from Istanbul's Saraçhane Square.
The president's comments came during an event in Istanbul marking the sixth anniversary of the coup attempt that left hundreds dead and thousands of others wounded as the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) sought to wrest control of the country using its members that had infiltrated the Turkish military.
"All those who took action to resist the putschists that night risked death," Erdoğan said and pledged, "We will resolutely continue the construction of a great and powerful Turkey so that our country will not be exposed to disasters such as July 15 again."
Turkey will do its best not to go through another coup and face the threat of captivity, Erdoğan said, adding that the resilience of the Turkish nation blocked the terror group's ill intentions.
"As the People's Alliance, we will continue to prove this struggle in the coming period, just as we proved it that night," Erdoğan also said referring to the political alliance formed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
"In the period when the political and economic power centers are restructured, we will not offer the opportunity they seek to those who want to leave our country out of the game once again," the president said.
He also reiterated that in line with Ankara's red lines, terrorist groups FETÖ, PKK and its Syrian branch YPG, were included in NATO records for the first time during the recent Madrid summit.
The defeated July 15, 2016 coup attempt marked an unprecedented resistance in Turkish history, said Erdoğan earlier in the day, marking the sixth anniversary of the defeated putsch attempt.
Saying that in the years since Turkey took the necessary measures to ward off similar threats, Erdoğan said in a video message: "We responded to the powers that unleashed not only FETÖ, but also other terrorist groups against Turkey, not by retreating, but by leaping forward."
Erdoğan stressed that the main significance of July 15 for Turkey is that it symbolizes a landmark for the glorious resistance of the Turkish people following decades of recurrent coups.
Since 2016, Turkish history has been effectively divided into two eras, "before and after July 15," he explained, proving the maturity of the country's democracy while making sure that "the power of the national will is understood."
"We ensured July 15 was emblazoned in history by declaring it Democracy and National Unity Day," he added, using the formal name for the annual holiday.
Adding that Turkey addressed the weaknesses that paved the way for coups and tutelage by adopting a presidential system of governance, Erdoğan said that after it thwarted efforts to derail the country by coup bids and terrorist groups, Turkey also pushed back attempts to undermine it through the economy.
In an April 2017 referendum, Turkish voters approved a shift to a presidential system, and Erdoğan was elected president under the new system the following year.
FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup, which left 251 people dead and 2,734 injured.
FETÖ was also behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
Standing against the threat, the Turkish people courageously showed the world that they would not tolerate any attempt to thwart their will as expressed through their democratically elected government.
