Foreign envoys describe Turkey's July 15 coup attempt

By Zuhal Demirci and Nazli Yuzbasioglu

ANKARA (AA) – The Turkish people put up a unique fight against coup plotters to protect their democracy and motherland following an historic call from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last July 15, the ambassadors of Afghanistan and Pakistan told Anadolu Agency.

Ahead of the first anniversary of the failed coup, the foreign diplomats reflected on the night of the overthrow attempt that martyred 249 people and left over 2,000 others injured.

“Both young and aged people tried to convince troops on tanks; they used themselves as a shield against the tanks; it needs courage.” Afghan ambassador Amanullah Jayhoon said. “[The] Turkish nation quenched the coup that night.”

Jayhoon learned of the coup attempt from televison news reported at the Esenboga International Airport. along with Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani who was scheduled to fly following special programs in Turkey’s capital.

“It was a terrible night,” Jayhoon said “I was at the Esenboga Airport to see off our Foreign Affairs Minister at that evening. We saw [on television] that tanks are on a bridge in Istanbul”, he said. “We learned that it was a coup.”

He said a coup attempt was unexpected because Turkey has “a democratically elected government who clinched 50 percent of the public approval in the general election in late 2015.

“So, how can a coup attempt be happened here,’ we asked ourselves,” he said.

“Then we watched that the TRT [a state-run broadcaster] announced the military seized the power. We truly felt very sad. Because we have long sufferings from military coups.”

He noted that Afghan FM could not fly on that night as flights were canceled.

“On our way back from the airport we saw some movement in front of TRT building,” he described.

Jayhoon said that their 11-year-old girl was so scared from the sound of fighter jets flying at low altitude.

“She was crying, I tried to come her down.”

He noted Erdogan’s call for the public to take to the streets “showed his brave and fearless side”.

“After observing three things – the determination of people, braveness of leader and sacrifice own life for their democracy, I believed that Turkish people deserve this leader.

“Though the people won the fight in that night but it was terrible, sever night for us.”

He underlined that it was significant the situation was under control in less than 24 hours.

“Jets were flying, tanks, troops went out the barrack, over 200 people martyred and everything turned into normal within one night,” he noted.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to Ankara Sohail Mahmood applauded the courage and bravery of Turkish people and its leadership.

“I was in Ankara. We initially noticed some low-flying aircrafts in Ankara and our residence at a was high altitude at Cankaya neighborhood. We saw that it was quite unusual,” Mahmood described the night.

He noted the coup attempt was “deeply concerning”. “Because, God forbid, any such attempt, if it became successful, could have very serious replications to the stability in Turkey as well as the stability in the region.

"That was a big threat to democracy."

Mahmood said Pakistan’s leadership was in communication with their counterparts, recalling that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif “issued a very strong statement in favor of the elected government and President Erdogan and also to the democratic institutions of Turkey”.

“Our Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was among the first leaders to call president Erdogan to express our strong solidarity with Turkey, its leadership, democratic institutions and with the people of Turkey,” he noted.

The coup plotters not only targeted the people on the streets but also “symbols of Turkish democracy”, according to the Pakistani diplomat.

Mahmood underlined that the most remarkable thing of that night was “the facetime call by president Erdogan to the people of Turkey”.

“We saw remarkable transformation that night.

"All major towns and city across Turkey were completely filled by people. Turkish people came out to defend democracy and not allowed this coup attempt to succeed."

He stated that the night on July 15, 2016, would be written in golden words.

“People of Turkey stablished a new example” for the rest of the world, he added.