Turkey’s Defense Ministry did not repeat the ceremony it held at its headquarters the previous year to mark the anniversary of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, issuing only a brief written message in 2022.
The ministry had organized a ceremony in 2021 attended by Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, who was chief of General Staff during the coup attempt.
Speaking at that event, Akar criticized public debate surrounding the Turkish Armed Forces.
“Everyone is saying something about the Turkish Armed Forces. There are troublemakers and there are those trying to sow discord,” he said.
Akar also attended the anniversary program held at the Turkish Parliament that year.
No separate ceremony at the Defense Ministry was announced in 2022. The ministry instead released a brief message commemorating civilians, soldiers and police officers killed while resisting the coup attempt.
The decision not to repeat the ministry ceremony drew attention because Akar was one of the central figures in the official account of July 15 and because questions about his actions that night continued to be raised in court testimony and public debate.
Akar did, however, attend the main anniversary ceremony in İstanbul’s Saraçhane Square with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other senior officials.
