Mehmet Kemal Firik and Merve Berker
13 July 2026•Update: 13 July 2026
A program was held in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on the 10th anniversary of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization's (FETO) failed coup attempt, commemorated as July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day.
The event, organized by the TRNC Representative Office of the Union of International Democrats (UID), honored those who lost their lives the July 15, 2016 defeated coup bid.
The program, held at Lefkosa National Garden, was attended by TRNC Parliament Speaker Ziya Ozturkler, Turkish Ambassador to Lefkosa Ali Murat Basceri, Cabinet ministers, lawmakers and members of the civil society.
Following a moment of silence, the Turkish national anthem and a Quran recitation, UID TRNC Regional President Fadil Sanverdi said those killed during the failed coup attempt sacrificed their lives for the nation and paid tribute to the victims while expressing gratitude to veterans.
Ambassador Basceri said FETO had manipulated people's national and spiritual values and sought to undermine the will of the people through institutions it had infiltrated.
"On July 15, 2016, FETO collided with the will of the people," Basceri said. "This nation once again proved on July 15, 2016 that no one can betray its will, its democracy, its republic founded on Ataturk's principles and reforms, or its state."
Basceri said the people of the TRNC gathered at the Turkish embassy on the night of the coup attempt to demonstrate their solidarity with Türkiye.
Ozturkler said "the treacherous coup attempt against our motherland was thwarted thanks to the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the legendary resistance of the Turkish nation."
The Turkish Cypriot people, as always, he added, stood by Türkiye and supported those defending democracy against the coup plotters.
The program also featured a conversation with Cevat Olcok, brother of Erol Olcok, a July 15 victim, followed by a musical performance by Turkish folk singer Ugur Isilak.
