Deputy recounts moments of horror and resistance in Parliament

On July 15, the fateful night that marked civilian resistance against a coup, Parliament was one of the places targeted by the coup plotters attempting to thwart democracy. They expected to find an empty Parliament and little resistance. Yet upon hearing a coup attempt was afoot, deputies from all parties in Ankara rushed to Parliament in an unprecedented move.

Bennur Karaburun, a deputy from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and deputy president of Parliament's gender equality committee, was among them. Karaburun recounted how she managed to enter the building amid airstrikes, and how heroic police officers fended off the coup soldiers.

The deputy told Anadolu Agency that she contacted fellow lawmakers when she heard loud gunshots near her residence and saw from TV reports that a coup attempt was unfolding. Karaburun recounted, "I asked my entourage to accompany me to Parliament. I said this might be the last time we would see each other as death was certain." When her car arrived near Parliament, she saw a rocket destroy the parking lot where her driver usually parked. Her bodyguard, a police officer, helped the wheelchair-bound lawmaker to get out of the car while a rocket detonate nearby. "I saw everyone running and people were taking cover. My bodyguard kept his calm and helped me enter Parliament."

Karaburun met fellow lawmakers from her party who headed to Parliament when they heard the news of a coup. As airstrikes continued to pound the building, they decided to head down to take shelter. Karaburun said, "There were only stairs to the shelter, and I couldn't go down these because of my wheelchair. I told my colleagues that I would stay behind and would be safe. They insisted that I go with them, and Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci helped to carry me to the shelter. We went through a long corridor and as we were heading to the shelter, we heard a loud explosion. A huge door used as the entrance for the parliamentary speaker was blown up by airstrikes. My bodyguard jumped on me to cover me, and we rushed to the shelter."

The deputy said she now sees how close the coup plotters were to capturing Parliament. "I see things would be very different if they captured it and broadcast their message of takeover to the public from Parliament."

Karaburun added, "While we were in the shelter, we found out that police officers guarding Parliament clashed with coup troops while the troops were trying to land in the courtyard by helicopter. The helicopter could not land due to resistance by police. If they had managed to land, they could easily have taken over Parliament. The helicopter wasn't the sole backup for troops surrounding Parliament. Two buses full of heavily-armed coup soldiers arrived later, but a small number of police officers managed to thwart their offensive. They would have either arrested or killed us. Guards clashing with troops were checking on us at times during the takeover attempt. They were sweating and exhausted, but told us they would ‘never surrender Parliament.' May Allah bless those officers."

Although Karaburun admits she was horrified, she says she never thought of giving up. "Other lawmakers and myself were not really afraid of them, because we knew the nation was against the coup plotters. The strength of people resisting the coup empowered us. I later visited civilians who were injured in confrontations with coup soldiers. A man and his son were being treated for injuries. He said his other son and his wife were on the streets for the ‘democracy watch' (rallies against the coup attempt). ‘I told them I could stay alone here.' This was beautiful and made us proud."