The Governor of Istanbul, Davut Gül, attended the event held in honor of the families of the martyrs of July 15.

On the occasion of July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day, an evening dinner program was organized at the Haliç Congress Center in honor of the families of July 15 martyrs by the Istanbul Governorship. During the program, Istanbul Governor Gul delivered a speech to the martyr families and the protocol attendees. The evening dinner, held at the Haliç Congress Center by the Istanbul Governorship on the occasion of July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day in honor of the martyr families, was attended by Istanbul Governor Davut Gül, 1st Army Commander General Ali Sivri, Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Major General Yusuf Kenan Topçu, Deputy Governor Özlem Bozkurt Gevrek, and many protocol members along with the martyr families. Prior to the dinner, a recitation of the Quran was performed, followed by a prayer for the martyr families. Governor Gül, speaking at the program, addressed the martyr families from the lectern, saying, ‘I greet you with respect, reverence, and love, esteemed families of our martyrs, our heroic veterans, and our esteemed guests. I am honored to be among our valued martyr families and veterans. I thank you for joining our table. I remember all our martyrs who sacrificed themselves for the sake of our homeland, nation, and our unity, with mercy and gratitude. I pray for the health and well-being of our veterans.’ He expressed that ‘On the night of July 15, 2016, our nation fell victim to the betrayal of traitors among us.’ Governor Gül, emphasizing that on the night of July 15, 2016, our noble nation, which has made these lands its home for a thousand years and sacrificed many martyrs, fell victim to the betrayal of traitors among us. These traitors aimed their guns at their own people, mothers, fathers, siblings, directing tanks and aircraft meant for the defense of the homeland against our people. Our Grand National Assembly faced an attack it had not experienced even during times of occupation.’ He also mentioned that ‘After President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s words, hundreds of thousands of our citizens rushed to the squares.’ Governor Gül, paying tribute to President Erdoğan’s words ‘I have never acknowledged a power greater than the power of the people.’ stated, ‘After President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s words on that treacherous night, ‘I have never acknowledged a power greater than the power of the people.’, men, women, young, and old, hundreds of thousands of our citizens ran to the squares. They did not take a single step back, despite the bullets raining down on them, they stood firm and protected their will. Many tales of heroism were written until dawn that night. 99 of our 253 martyrs tasted the sherbet of martyrdom from Istanbul, and more than 2,700 homeland sons were honored with the title of veteran. As stated in our holy book, ‘They planned, and Allah planned. And Allah is the best of planners.’ By the permission of Allah and the insight of our nation, all plans and traps were thwarted. He further expressed his gratitude to all the guests who honored our invitation, and extended his respect and gratitude to the esteemed mothers, fathers, siblings, spouses, and children. He prayed, ‘May God honor our martyrs with His paradise and beauty. I express my gratitude to all my brothers who have been honored with the title of veteran, and wish them a good and long life.’ He concluded his speech by saying, ‘We will continue to work with all our might to be worthy of our heroic ancestors and martyrs with this awareness. With these feelings, I respectfully remember all our heroes who rushed to martyrdom without blinking an eye for the perpetuity of our nation’s survival and the peace of our people, especially our July 15 martyrs. May God bless our martyrs with His paradise and beauty. I express my gratitude to all my brothers who have been honored with the title of veteran, and wish them a good and long life. I express my respect and gratitude once again to you, dear mothers, fathers, siblings, spouses, and children who honored us by accepting our invitation. I pray to God to always keep our state, nation, and unity prosperous. After his speech, Governor Gül circulated among the tables, greeting the guests one by one, followed by the guests and the families of martyrs having their meal.