Ahead of the sixth anniversary of a brutal coup attempt perpetrated by military infiltrators of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), a nongovernmental organization staged an exhibit to remember its victims in the United States, where the leader of FETÖ resides.
The Turkish American National Steering Committee (TASC) placed 251 pairs of shoes in New York City's Times Square on Tuesday to commemorate those who were killed during the July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Turkey. The event, titled "The Last Walk," exhibited the empty shoes symbolizing the fallen citizens of Turkey who battled putschists on the night of the defeated coup. The TASC offered its condolences to the families of the victims, who it said defended freedom and democracy in Turkey.
The coup attempt left 251 people dead and more than 2,200 others injured. Turkey marks July 15 as Democracy and National Unity Day with events nationwide to commemorate those who lost their lives and to remember the bravery of the nation.
The TASC also said the Turkish people want the U.S. government to hold Gülen and his cronies accountable for the bloody coup attempt. The U.S. has long been a haven for FETÖ members, especially after its leader Gülen settled in the country more than two decades ago. Gülen lives in a posh compound run by a foundation linked to the terrorist group in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania and had given interviews to several media outlets following the 2016 coup attempt. Turkey had repeatedly sought his extradition from Washington but the case was entangled in an apparent bureaucratic hurdle, with no formal approval of extradition or preventive arrest. Gülen's residence in the U.S. and the presence of other prominent FETÖ members in the country remain a source of a rift between otherwise close allies.
Turkey has been looking for the extradition of hundreds of FETÖ members from abroad and lodged formal requests following the 2016 coup attempt. So far, at least 121 FETÖ members were extradited from 29 countries.
