27.05.2026 20:50
"AK Party Secretary General and Izmir Deputy Eyyup Kadir Inan made a written statement on the anniversary of the May 27, 1960 coup. In his statement, Inan said, 'We once again strongly condemn everyone who imposed this dark day on the nation as a 'holiday', presenting that shameful coup mentality as a victory, and the political understanding that still carries the same distorted mentality today.'"
AK Party Secretary General and Izmir Deputy Eyyüp Kadir İnan issued a written statement on the anniversary of the May 27, 1960 military coup. İnan harshly criticized the coup, which went down as a dark stain on Turkey's multi-party political history, and the subsequent developments.
"WE CURSE THE POLITICAL MINDSET THAT PRESENTS THE COUP MENTALITY AS A VICTORY"
In his statement on social media, İnan said: "Today is the anniversary of May 27, 1960, a deep wound in Turkey's democratic memory.
We once again strongly curse all those who imposed this dark day on the nation as a 'holiday,' presenting that shameful coup mentality as a victory, and the political mindset that still harbors the same distorted mentality today.
"THE DARKNESS OF THAT DAY IS THE SOLE MIRROR OF HOSTILITY TO DEMOCRACY"
CHP Manisa Deputy Özgür Özel also said that if one wants to see how a political party acts under the shadow of tutelage and judicial arms, how it surrenders its will, then they should look back at May 27, 1960! Look at the gallows erected that day, the theatrical decisions made under the guise of law, and the judicial covers used to strangle the national will. The darkness of that day is the sole mirror of the hostility to democracy still lurking in some minds.
"THE WHITE REVOLUTION IS OUR TRUE HOLIDAY"
Our history has a clear 'holiday'; it is the epics written by the nation's own will. The 'White Revolution' that buried single-party oppression and that dark 'CHP fascism' at the ballot box on May 14, 1950, under the leadership of our late Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, is our true holiday.
That day, the nation took its own fate into its hands and broke the chains of tutelage. Those who carried out the coup on May 27, 1960, assaulted the nation's freedom to take back the gains of the 'White Revolution' of 1950.
"THEY ARE DEMOCRACY HEROES WHO WILL LIVE FOREVER IN THE NATION'S HEART"
In those dark days, not just a government, but the nation's honor and will were targeted. Our late Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, our Foreign Minister Fatin Rüştü Zorlu, and our Finance Minister Hasan Polatkan...
They were monuments of honor who never let the nation's trust fall to the ground, even as they walked to the gallows. They walked to martyrdom with dignity, without compromising their beliefs, their loyalty to the nation, or democracy for a single moment. They are democracy heroes who will live forever in the nation's heart.
Today, when we look at history, we see a very clear truth: The spirit of the 'White Revolution,' the legacy of our late Prime Minister Menderes and his comrades, has been embodied under the roof of the AK Party.
The flag of that honorable march that began in 1950 was taken over in 2002 with the 'Anatolian Revolution' carried out by the AK Party.
"JULY 15 IS THE DEFINITIVE CONFIRMATION THAT THE MASTER OF THE NATION IS ONLY THE NATION"
It has been exactly 24 years. In this process approaching a quarter century, with this understanding, this belief, and the strength we derive from the nation's will, we serve our country day and night, without rest. Just as Adnan Menderes made the nation the fundamental element of the state in 1950, we have written an epic of service since 2002, making the silent majority of Anatolia the true owners of this country, uprooting tutelage, and holding the nation's will above all else. May 27, 1960, was an opening parenthesis; July 15, 2016, is where that parenthesis was closed forever.
On the night of July 15, 2016, our nation not only repelled a coup but also consigned that tutelary 'coup thesis' that had persisted since 1960 to the dustbin of history forever. July 15 is our true democracy holiday; because that night, it is the definitive confirmation that coups can never flourish in these lands again, and that the master of the nation is only the nation itself.
We are the followers of that unshakable will extending from Menderes's 1950 'White Revolution' to 2002's 'Anatolian Revolution.' Against the dark mentality of May 27, we are determined to eradicate all forms of tutelage and advance democracy further on the bright path of the AK Party. We once again respectfully bow before the sacred memories of our late Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, Fatin Rüştü Zorlu, and Hasan Polatkan, and remember our July 15 heroes with gratitude.
The cry of that day, 'Enough, the Word Belongs to the Nation,' continues to echo today with 'Both the Word and the Decision Belong to the Nation.' Long live Menderes! Long live the democracy martyrs! Long live the unshakable will of the Anatolian Revolution, which has been honored to serve the nation for 24 years! Long live the national will!"