'Justice has been destroyed': Turkey commemorates failed coup in shadow of crackdown

PresidentTayyip Erdoganof Turkey andopposition members came together onSaturday to mark the anniversary of last year's failed coup, amoment of unity all but overshadowed by sweeping purges thathave shaken society and sharpened divisions since.

The gathering in parliament was one of the first in a stringof events planned through the weekend to commemorate the nightof July 15, 2016, when thousands of unarmed civilians took to thestreets to defy rogue soldiers who commandeered tanks andwarplanes and bombed parliament in an attempt to seize power.

With July 15 declared a national holiday in Turkey, Erdoganand his wifelater flew to Istanbul to jointhousands makingtheir waytowards the Istanbulbridge over theBosphoruswhere last year crowdsofcivilians stood defiant in front of tanks and troops haltingtraffic between the city's European and Asian sides.

Some 250 people died before the coup attempt was put down, a show ofpopular defiance that has likely ended decades of militaryinterference in Turkish politics.

But along with a groundswell of nationalism, the coup'sgreatest legacy has been a far-reaching crackdown that has
deepened the divide between Western-facing, secular Turks and the pious millions who back Erdogan's Islamist-rooted politics.

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In the aftermath of the coup attempt, Turkey declared a state of emergency that has been in place ever since.

Some 150,000 people have been sackedor suspendedfrom jobsin the civil service and private sector and more than 50,000detained for alleged links toU.S.-based clericFethullahGulen, who Turkey blames for orchestrating the failed coup, and other terror groups.Gulenhas denied the allegations.

In the latest government decree published Friday evening, 7,395 more state employees were fired, including teachers, academics, military and police officers, bringing the number of dismissed to more than 110,000. The government calls the crackdown necessary to purge state institutions of those linked toGulen, but critics say the dismissals are arbitrary and the victims' paths to recourse severely curtailed.

The U.S. State Department on Saturday issued a statement praising the bravery of the Turkish people who took to the streets to "preserve the rights and freedoms of their democratic society.

"The preservation of democracy requires perseverance, tolerance, dissent and safeguards for fundamental freedoms," the agency said, warning that curbs on those key freedoms erode "the foundations of democratic society."

"More voices, not fewer, are necessary in challenging times," the statement said.

Everyone who was therewith me had come there to die. Nobody was afraid of death.- Ismet Dogan, 20

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg paid homage to those who lost lives resisting the coup and said attempts to undermine democracy in any one of the allied nations was "unacceptable."

"Our people did not leave sovereignty to their enemies andtook hold of democracy to the death," Prime Minister Binali
Yildirimtold parliament, as Erdogan and members of opposition partieslooked on. "These monsters will surely receive the heaviestpunishment they can within the law."

Critics, including rights groups and some Westerngovernments, say Erdogan is using the state of emergency introduced after the coup to target opposition figures includingrights activists, pro-Kurdish politicians and journalists.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) wasrepresented by its deputy chairman as the party's two co-leadersare in jail, as are local members of rights group AmnestyInternational and nearly 160 journalists, according to theCommittee to Protect Journalists.

Parliament 'rendered obsolete'

At the parliamentary ceremony, the head of the mainopposition Republican People's Party (CHP) decried what he said
was the erosion of democracy following the coup.

"This parliament, which withstood bombs, has been renderedobsolete and its authority removed," said Kemal Kilicdaroglu, ina reference to an April referendum that Erdogan narrowly won,giving him sweeping executive powers.

"In the past year, justice has been destroyed. Instead ofrapid normalization, a permanent state of emergency has been
implemented."

• Turkey still tense 1 year after failed coup

Kilicdaroglu this month finished a 25-day, 425-km "justice march" from Ankara to Istanbul, to protest thedetention of a CHP lawmaker. The march, although largely ignoredby the pro-government media, culminated in a massive rally in
Istanbul against the crackdown.

In a statement, the U.S. State Department lauded Turks fordefending their democracy, but cautioned about the need to
preserve basic freedoms.

"More voices, not fewer, are necessary in challengingtimes," it said.

Thousands march

With the sun setting over Istanbul,many of the marchers en route to the bridge waved Turkish flags and photographs ofthose who died. Roads near the bridge,since renamed July 15Martyrs' Bridge, were thronged with marchers and some opted totake ferries rather than navigate the heavy crowds.

In the run-up to the anniversary, Turkish media has beensaturated by coverage from last year's coup, with some channelsshowing almost constant footage of young men and headscarvedmothers facing down armed soldiers and tanks.

One man, 20-year-old Ismet Dogan, said he and his friendstook to the streets, heeding the call from Erdogan to defy thesoldiers. He was shot in both legs, he told broadcaster TRTHaber.

"My friends and I said, 'We have one nation, if we are todie, let's do it like men,'" he said. "Everyone who was there
with me had come there to die. Nobody was afraid of death."