Turkish nationals in Tanzania remember victims of July 15 attempted coup

Turkish ambassador to Tanzania Ali Davutoglu

What you need to know:

  • Turkish ambassador to Tanzania Ali Davutoglu used the opportunity to share the story of the deadly event.

Friends and members of the Turkish community based Tanzania came together at the weekend at the embassy offices to commemorate nationals killed during the July 15, 2016 attempted coup.

Turkish ambassador to Tanzania Ali Davutoglu used the opportunity to share the story of the deadly event.

He said armed men in Turkish soldiers’ uniforms fired at the people using heavy weaponry, including fighter jets, helicopters and tanks.

He says 251 innocent civilian were martyred in hands of putsches and over 2,000 others were injured.

Mr Davutoglu further said Parliament building was bombed 11 times during the night of the attempted coup.

However, following the call by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, millions of Turkish people from all walks of life took to the streets to resist and stop the Gulenist coup attempt.

He said, “The Turkish people were brave enough to resist the attempted coup. They paid a high sacrifice to avert a major threat to democracy.”

According to Turkish government stand, the coup was organised by Gulen's movement Fethullah Terrorist Organisation or FETO. The group is reportedly present in nearly 160 countries and runs thousands of school and businesses.

Mr Davutoglu revealed that “In many countries, FETO schools and other entities have been closely inspected and put under state control.

“In more than 30 countries, FETO schools are either closed or taken over by the Turkish Education Foundation. In Tanzania, the Foundation is already established in Zanzibar and now it is underway to open at Mainland,” says Ambassador

The Government of Turkey has now already introduced structural reforms to prevent of any future coup after the attempt, said the ambassador.

Mr Davutoglu said following the attempted coup, Gulen has lost everything including members, schools, companies, money and more importantly support, credibility and respect in Turkey.