The Turkish nation, which has never bowed down to any power throughout history and has never hesitated to sacrifice its life for the sake of independence and freedom, showed once again on July 15th that the glorious crescent will wave forever and that it has not lost the spirit of Çanakkale. In the "July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day Panel" organized by Selçuk University, it was once again pointed out that this nation, which loves the homeland, cannot be chained.

The July 15th Democracy and National Unity Day Panel organized by Selçuk University was held at Sultan Alparslan Cultural Center. Firstly, the opening of the painting exhibition themed 'Turkey is Impenetrable' prepared by the Faculty of Fine Arts was held. Rector Prof. Dr. Metin Aksoy made the opening speech of the panel moderated by Dean of the Faculty of Communication Prof. Dr. Enderhan Karakoç and attended by Chief Advisor to the President Assoc. Prof. Dr. M. Mücahit Küçükyılmaz and Artist Ahmet Yenilmez as guests. Stating that on the night of the July 15 Coup Attempt, which is one of the most important turning points in the political history of our country, the Turkish nation defeated the fate of Turkish democracy, which was interrupted by coups every 10 years, by standing against the coup attempt, Prof. Dr. Aksoy said, "Since the establishment of our country, the functioning of democracy has been tried to be interrupted by coups or coup attempts. Compared to such coups or coup attempts in our history, July 15th has shown a different quality. First of all, the July 15 Coup Attempt was put forward as a large-scale coup attempt and included more elements. In this context, it can be easily argued that it was not only a coup attempt but also an international invasion attempt. In terms of methodology, the FETO coup plotters took into account the events of previous coups and harmed our nation like terrorist organizations. In this respect, in terms of planning and the alliances that emerged, it is obvious that the roots of the July 15 treacherous coup attempt go back to the past and differ from other coup attempts in Turkish political life."

"OUR BELOVED NATION WROTE AN EPIC ON JULY 15"

Prof. Dr. Aksoy stated that the FETO coup plotters put into effect a phased plan on July 15 and said, "The consolidation process that started on February 7, 2012 with the summoning of Hakan Fidan, Undersecretary of National Intelligence Organization (MIT), to testify continued with the Gezi Park Uprising on May 28, 2013, the December 17-25 judicial coup attempt and the operations against the interception of MIT trucks. The final stage of this process was the July 15 Coup Attempt. As a matter of fact, around 22:00 on July 15, 2016, FETO coup plotters disguised as soldiers with planes, tanks and rifles wanted to start the occupation process that started in 2012. As you know, the FETO gang, who attacked the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Special Forces, the Presidential Mansion and the people who took to the streets against the coup, also attempted to occupy important institutions such as TRT and TURKSAT and even forced a so-called coup declaration to be read on the TRT channel. On the night of July 15, 2016, upon the call of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, our beloved nation filled the squares, streets and avenues and wrote an unprecedented epic in the world by taking cover against tanks, cannons and rifles against the coup attempt. Our beloved nation demonstrated a historic stance against the coup attempt by showing solidarity with the members of the security forces and the members of the Turkish Armed Forces who took action against the coup plotters. Indeed, on July 15th, our beloved nation defended its will and Turkey's democracy and future by risking death. For this cause, 251 sons of our homeland were martyred and more than 2 thousand of our citizens were veterans. In the July 15 Coup Attempt, I once again commemorate our martyred citizens with mercy and wish our veterans healing and healthy long lives."

"OUR BELOVED NATION STOOD UNITED AGAINST THE COUP ON JULY 15TH"

After the July 15th attempt, Prof. Dr. Metin Aksoy emphasized that the unity of our beloved nation against the coup has strengthened the national solidarity line in terms of the interests of the country. "The only elements that create this spirit of solidarity and unity have been the independence, interests and future of the state. So much so that, going beyond the sense of political loyalty, individuals with many different political or ideological thoughts support the spirit of national solidarity and unity that emerged on July 15th. This spirit has become so strong that today, texts that hint at a coup d'état are unhesitatingly excluded and condemned. As a matter of fact, the condemnation of the so-called "Communiqué of Retired Admirals", which contains the implication of a coup d'état, not only at the state level, but also by all members of our beloved nation, shows us the stage reached by the spirit of national solidarity that emerged with July 15th. That is why July 15th is celebrated not only as a day of democracy but also as "Democracy and National Unity Day" for 5 years. I hope that our beloved nation and state will never face such a danger again. It is of great importance to inform our youth about the coup and coup attempts and to reach the members of our country through symposiums and panels in order to prevent such attempts from being repeated. Because panels, symposiums and similar events will contribute to the fact that what happened in the July 15 Coup Attempt will always be remembered and not forgotten in our minds and dreams."

"JULY 15 COUP ATTEMPT IS THE 10TH CRUSADE"

After the speech of Selçuk University Rector Prof. Dr. Metin Aksoy, the panel started. In his speech, Assoc. Prof. Dr. M. Mücahit Küçükyılmaz, Chief Advisor to the President of the Republic, said: "FETÖ organized in Turkey in the state, media, economy, education, sports and international areas because they had expectations. They believed that Turkey was given to them. They were telling this by embellishing it with metaphysical lies. On July 15th, we understand how the War of Independence was won, how Gallipoli was won, how Alparslan eliminated the Byzantine army of 200,000 with an army of 30,000 at Malazgirt. We see Fatih, Yavuz, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and this spirit. What makes July 15th different from other coups is that in this coup attempt, the coup plotters attacked not only the state but also the nation. In other coup attempts, some executive authorities of the state would have been taken under control, some executives would have been imprisoned and then a process would have begun and democracy would have been forced to return. July 15 was actually an invasion attempt. It was the 10th Crusade. Today they don't have the courage to carry out a coup, but today we are in an irregular war. This is what requires us to be vigilant and careful. Everything started with the Arab Spring. The US plan was to establish a PYD-PKK state; we did not accept this. We will talk about the mistakes made internally. There are some problems in the fight against FETÖ, but rest assured, no other state in the world would have been able to fight such a gigantic recruitment structure so successfully. It would have been captured, not even a soul would have heard of it. We have fought and we continue to fight. This struggle will not end. Throughout history, we have never colonized any society, we have never been colonized. After July 15, the conspiracy theory is over. We will be prepared for everything. July 15, 1099 is the day the Crusaders occupied Jerusalem."

"JULY 15 IS CALLED AN ATTEMPT OF OCCUPATION"

Artist Ahmet Yenilmez said, "If we had taught the two books of the late Erol Güngör, Islam's Today's Issues and Islamic Sufism's Issues, perhaps we would not have experienced many coups in this country. I believe this started with the industrial revolution. The steam engine was invented and the world started to be redesigned. I believe it is a coincidence that Pennsylvania is the place where the first oil refinery was established, but the head of the terrorist organization is also there. In England, there is the Ministry of War and Colonialism. We do not have such an office of shame in our history, alhamdulillah. They cannot even tolerate us dreaming. We have our main issues. We need to renew our sociological terminology. This befits Selçuk University. We need to renew our literature. You cannot be independent by building a fence, reading sermons and printing money. We have experienced this with very bitter experiences because concepts have lost their meaning. On the one hand, our vocabulary has fallen. We have become a society that speaks in 100 words. A society that speaks in 100 words cannot find solutions to these problems. Education is the area where a state spends the most. Brain drain needs to be discussed. Parliament was not bombed in any coup. July 15th is called an invasion attempt. In the past, it was much more difficult to stage a coup. Are we living in a period of restraint, not communication? We have to build a cultural immune system. We lost the industrial revolution. In the digital age, universities have great duties. In this age, if we don't have a few brands whose copyrights belong to us, our job will be difficult. A person without a profession is a hungry person; a hungry person is a victim; a victimized person is a prisoner; a prisoner is a slave. FETÖ is the best proof of this.  A person without a profession does not have the right to use his mind and body."

At the end of the program, Selçuk University Rector Prof. Dr. Metin Aksoy presented a gift to Presidential Advisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. M. Mücahit Küçükyılmaz, Artist Ahmet Yenilmez and Dean of Faculty of Communication Prof. Dr. Enderhan Karakoç.