President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan speaks at the July 15th Democracy and National Unity Day Commemoration Program. Erdoğan's statements are summarized as follows: We are here with you on July 15th, Democracy and National Unity Day, on the ninth anniversary of the treacherous coup attempt. Today, we are at the Special Operations Department, where 51 of our brothers, each one devoted to this country and this flag, were martyred.

FETÖ traitors launched two separate attacks on this location with F-16 jets on the night of July 15. In the first attack, seven of our brothers on duty in our Aviation Department were martyred, and in the second attack, 44 of our brothers on duty in our Special Operations Department were martyred.

These brothers, many of whom marched to martyrdom in the prime of their lives without blinking an eye, were defenders of their homeland, both in character and in their abilities. They were all patriots, devoted to our flag and every inch of this country, passionately devoted to their homeland and nation. Each of our martyred officers was a monument to dignity, compassion, and courage.

They were Türkiye's raider lords. Greetings to the raider lords of this nation. May our lives be sacrificed for the heroic police special operations soldiers. May the graves of our heroic martyrs be filled with light. May God make them neighbors of our Prophet, God willing.

As you know, a martyr is someone who witnesses and is present. Yes, they see us right now. They hear us. God willing, they are also experiencing our Lord's grace and generosity. They occupy the highest position after prophethood. May God grant us the intercession of our martyrs.

May God protect you from any obstacle. May He always grant you victory and success. My dear brothers and sisters, on July 15, 2016, we suffered one of the gravest betrayals in our thousand-year history in these lands. Our Veteran Parliament, the Presidential Complex, the General Staff Headquarters, the Ankara Police Department, TRT and TürkSat, as well as our Special Operations Headquarters in Gölbaşı, were attacked. The vile members of FETÖ, the 21st-century assassins, laid a massive ambush for our country, our national will, and our future.

That night, 253 of our citizens were martyred in the attacks of the FETÖ traitorous horde that targeted our democracy. From young men with barely perspiring mustaches to our women who braved the gun like grannies, from our farmers who didn't hesitate to sacrifice their year's harvest to our academics who stepped forward to defend our homeland, we lost countless of our brothers, friends, and close colleagues that night. 2,740 of our citizens were wounded and became veterans. We can never repay the justice of those heroes who sacrificed their lives to keep our country alive, yet refused to surrender their homeland, which they considered more precious than their own lives, to the invaders.

Erdoğan attended the July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day commemoration program held at the Gölbaşı Special Operations Headquarters. Erdoğan expressed sadness at the event.

"THEY WILL BE REMEMBERED WITH A CURSE FOREVER"

Look, one of our martyred police officers who watered the earth with his blood that night was our son, Deputy Commissioner Cennet Yiğit. The name of Paradise is Heaven, God willing, and martyrdom is in the mind, heart, and prayers of our commissioner. Towards the end of his training at the academy, he explained to his parents over the phone why he wanted to join special operations:"Daddy, don't you want me to be a martyr? Mommy, we will be martyrs, and you will be at home in peace." Yes, these were the words of Martyr Cennet Yiğit, words that touched all our hearts.

Another martyr from our Special Operations Department, the police chief, who expressed his desire for martyrdom, was a force to be reckoned with. The day before the coup attempt, our late martyr gave a speech to his comrades, telling them not to abandon special operations; death is God's command. Martyr Akif Altay, who served in the Special Operations Department, was a patriot who told his wife,"God created you for my children, and me for the homeland." Undoubtedly, each of our martyrs here has a unique story. Each of my brothers and sisters who sacrificed themselves for our homeland, our independence, and our future had unique dreams and hopes. I want everyone, especially the families of our martyrs, to know this. Whatever they do, the FETO villains who tore these brothers and sisters from their families and from us with the weapons entrusted to them by the nation will forever be remembered with curses and hatred.

"THE FIGHT AGAINST FETO WILL CONTINUE"

Our martyrs will always be remembered fondly. They will hold a special place in the hearts of this nation. They will be remembered with prayer, gratitude, and mercy. We will never forget our debt of loyalty to our martyrs and veterans. We will ensure that younger generations always remember them. My dear brothers and sisters, heroic members of the special operations forces, we successfully overcame the greatest threats and the most serious attacks from this organization. First, on December 17-25, and then on July 15. However, we have still not been able to completely eradicate the FETÖ virus from our system. Our fight against FETÖ will continue unabated and with the same determination. We will never shed the blood of the heroes who fell here. Those who betrayed their state, those who shot their nation, those who sold their souls for a dollar will surely pay the price.