Most of wars or military coups or invasions are done in the name of democracy against democracy.

–Eduardo Galeano

Turkish citizenry played a vital role in failing the military coup against Erdogan’s government.

Almost two years ago, some of the military personnel in Turkey’s army tried to overturn the government of the Recip Tayyip Erdogan. On 15th July 2016, a section of the Turkish military launched a coordinated operation in several major cities to topple the government and unseat President Recep, Tayyip Erdogan. Soldiers and tanks took to the streets, and a number of explosions rang out in Ankara and Istanbul.

Turkish fighter jets dropped bombs on their own parliament, while the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, HulusiAkar, was kidnapped by his own security detail. For several hours, it looked like Turkey was going to face the fourth devastating military coup in its 95-year political history. As news of the coup attempt spread via social media, thousands of ordinary citizens resisted tank fire and air bombardments. With the help of loyalist soldiers and police forces, they defeated the coup attempt in a matter of hours.

The coup helped Erdogan to further tighten his grip on Turkey’s political scene. From then onwards, the outlook of his government became more authoritarian. He faced resistance but little while changing the system of government from parliamentary to presidential form. The Turkish state celebrates the victory over the bloody but failed coup every year to reap maximum political benefits including curtailing political freedoms.