Ten years after the defeated July 15 coup attempt by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), politicians, academics and witnesses gathered in Istanbul on Monday to reflect on the night they say reshaped Türkiye's democracy, revisiting stories of resistance, leadership and public resolve while stressing the importance of preserving its memory for future generations.
The forum, titled "Remembering July 15 on Its 10th Anniversary," was organized by Enstitü Sosyal, or the Institute Social, to examine the failed coup attempt beyond political debate, focusing instead on its historical, social and legal legacy.
For many speakers, the defining image of that night was not tanks or warplanes, but ordinary citizens confronting them.
Former Treasury and Finance Minister Dr. Berat Albayrak, who was with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Marmaris, a town in Türkiye's southwestern Muğla province, when the coup attempt began, said the public's spontaneous response remained one of the most remarkable aspects of that night.
Albayrak said the coup attempt was not an improvised operation but a meticulously planned plot prepared over a long period, while neither state institutions nor ordinary citizens had been ready for what unfolded.
