July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day Commemoration Program was held in Marmara University Göztepe Campus Dr. İbrahim Üzümcü Conference Hall, on Friday, July 14th, 2023.
The opening speech of the program was made by Marmara University Rector Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kurt, following a moment of silence and the National Anthem.
Starting his speech by saying "We cannot pay our debts to our heroes who have kneaded this land with their blood to make Anatolia our eternal homeland for a thousand years, and to our martyrs of July 15," Kurt added that there is no place for the putschist mentality that ignores democracy and tries to impose its own ideologies on the nation.
Underlining that the coups experienced by the Turkish nation throughout history have caused our nation a lot of material and spiritual suffering, Rector Kurt said “July 15 is the heaviest coup in the history of Turkey, with 251 martyrs and more than 2 thousand veterans. The 8 coup attempts in our country in 60 years are very significant and have made our nation pay a great price. As a nation, we must stand against the putschist mentality”.
Rector Kurt, who underlined that democratic values and culture of democracy should be adopted by young people, said, "Lessons that will feed our democracy culture should be included in our education curriculum and I would like to emphasize once again that it is vital for our republic to be able to stand by the young generations to adopt democratic values."
After the screening of “July 15 Documentary”, the program continued with the panel titled “New Parameters in Turkish Foreign Policy After the July 15 Coup Attempt”. Under the moderatorship of Prof. Dr. Okan Yeşilot of the Marmara University, Faculty of Letters and Director of Turkic Studies Institute; Prof. Dr. İlyas Kemaloğlu of the Marmara University Faculty of Letters, History Department, Assoc. Prof. Zuhal Mert Uzuner of the Faculty of Political Sciences, Department of Political Science and International Relations and Assoc. Prof. Serhan Afacan of the Marmara University Middle East and Islamic Countries Research Institute, Middle East Political History and International Relations Department took place as a speaker.
Stating that it has been 7 years since the July 15 Coup Attempt, Prof. Dr. İlyas Kemaloğlu talked about the change in the dynamics of Turkey-Russia relations before and after the 15 July Coup Attempt and the rapprochement of the two countries. Kemaloğlu ended his speech by describing the communication and bureaucracy between the Republic of Turkey and the Turkic Republics.
Assoc. Prof. Zuhal Mert Uzuner, addressing the humanitarian debates brought about by Turkey's foreign and domestic politics after 2016, made statements about the atmosphere of insecurity as a result of not responding to this attempt by the USA and some Western countries.
“When the coup attempt took place, our relations with Iran were at a critical time. Assoc. Prof. Serhan Afacan explained to the participants the reasons for the criticism of our relations with Iran in all aspects and the Middle East in general before and after the 2016 Coup Attempt.
Following the panel, Marmara University Faculty of Theology Department of Turkish Religious Music Research Assistant Hacı Osman Paçaoğlu and Kocaeli University Faculty of Theology Department of Turkish Religious Music Research Assistant Mehmet Zahit Karademir, Marmara University Faculty of Theology graduates Akif Kabukçu and Fatih Şentürk performed a Sufi music concert in memory of 15 July and its heroes.
After the concert, the program ended with the presentation of certificates of appreciation and plaques to the participants by Rector Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kurt and a visit to the “15 July Photography Exhibition” in the Foyer of the İbrahim Üzümcü Conference Hall.
