TİKA Created a Memorial Forest for the Martyrs of July 15 in Hungary

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) created a memorial forest in Hungary in memory of the martyrs of July 15 on the occasion of the anniversary of the coup attempt by the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).

TİKA planted 251 trees on the Gödöllő Campus of the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences in memory of 251 people who were martyred during the coup attempt of July 15.

The opening and symbolic tree planting ceremony of the Memorial Forest for the Martyrs of July 15 was attended by Prof. István Szabó, Vice Rector of the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Arkın Eken, Counsellor for Interior Affairs at the Turkish Embassy in Budapest; Özgür Ezel, the TRNC’s Representative in Budapest; Seda Dağlı, TİKA’s Budapest Program Coordinator; the academic staff of the university; and Hungarian and international students.

In his speech at the ceremony, Eken stated that they commemorated the martyrs who sacrificed their lives, and expressed their gratitude to the veterans with the memorial forest created by TİKA on the anniversary of July 15 to keep the names of the martyrs alive.

Prof. István Szabó, Vice Rector of the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, stated that he was greatly honored to attend the program, and thanked TİKA for implementing such a project on that meaningful day.

Speaking to an AA reporter, Seda Dağlı, TİKA’s Budapest Program Coordinator, noted that the Turkish people reminded the whole world that they are an ancient nation, by displaying their dedication, bravery, and honor without hesitation on July 15, 2016, as in any other difficult turning point in their history.

Dağlı said, “July 15 is the mark that our nation left on the 21^st century, symbolizing our deep-rooted history of democracy starting with the Tanzimat, our national consciousness embodied by our nation as a whole during our War of Independence, and our refusal to take a single step back from the place of the Republic of Turkey, founded on October 29, 1923, in the international arena. July 15 is an epic struggle by the saintly Turkish nation with its women, men, young people, and old people who protected their land and the values that make this land a homeland against cannons, tanks, aerial bombardment, and bullets using their bodies as shields with their flags featuring a crescent and a star in their hands. The Republic of Turkey, which was built on the core principles established and the foundations laid by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, its founder and Great Leader, showed that the way to achieve eternity in the world is to remain united as a nation, as expressed by its founder as follows: “One day, my mortal body will turn to dust, but the Turkish Republic will stand forever!” Our Martyrs of Democracy of July 15, the reason why we are gathered here today, are the representatives of this principle in the 21^st century.”

It is aimed to keep the memories of martyrs alive forever by developing the Memorial Forest for the Martyrs of July 15, created by TİKA, through the applied training programs to be conducted by the academic staff for Hungarian and international students.