The Turkish Embassy in Libya on Wednesday celebrated the fourth anniversary of thwarting the military coup attempt against the legitimate government and Turkish state institutions in 2016.
A ceremony was held on this occasion at the embassy's HQ in the capital Tripoli in the presence of Turkish ambassador to Libya Serhat Aksen and a number of Libyan state officials.
Among the guests were the Head of the High Council of State (HCS), Khaled al-Mishri, member of the Presidential Council (PC), Abd al-Salam Kajman, and second deputy of the HCS, Muhammad al-Mansuri, in addition to residents from the Turkish community in Libya as well as media and civil activists from both countries.
The Turkish ambassador confirmed that their gathering today comes to celebrate the "Day of Democracy and National Unity" and to commemorate the martyrs who fell in the struggle for freedom and democracy.
Aksen considered the 15th of July "an important and a historic day that has no parallel in the world".
"On this day, the Turkish people fought a great epic against the putschists who intended to do harm to our country," said the Turkish diplomat.
"At the call of President Erdogan, the Turkish people of all walks of life took to the streets and protected our democracy and the unity of our homeland," he added.
Aksen indicated that the importance the Turkish government attaches to democracy and the civil state is among the multiple common denominators that unite the two brotherly countries.
He also addressed the situation in Libya, noting that Libyans today are also suffering from the putschists and the aggressors, but the Libyan people and their internationally recognized government "have taught the putschists and those supporting them the lesson they deserve, as he put it.
Today, the Turkish people celebrate the defeated military coup, which killed around 251 people and left 2,200 injured.
The coup that took place four years ago was orchestrated by Fathallah Gülen; a Turkish businessman and cleric who lives in Pennsylvania, and led by a group of military officers from the inside who were linked to his movement, according to Turkish official sources.
The conspirators announced on Friday the 15th of July, through the state-owned Turkish channel TRT a curfew and the closure of all airports. They also declared themselves as the "Peace at Home Council" and planned to seize control of several key places in Ankara, Istanbul, and elsewhere, but failed to do so after the Turkish people poured into the streets upon a call from their president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to defend their democracy and civil state, as he told them at the time.
By Saturday morning, Erdogan arrived at Istanbul International Airport amid crowds of his supporters to announce the failure of the coup.
[VIDEO::http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmFc16At_dQ]
[VIDEO::http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akHVDKuXuY8]
