OPINION: The Facebook Post of the Son of a ‘Coup Martyr’ shows how things are dreadful in Turkey

Once the coup attempt that took place on the 15th of July was vaporized, masses had been inhabiting the squares of cities in Turkey under the name ‘democracy rallies’. Turkish flags, Islamic flags, pictures of President Recep Tayip Erdoğan were waved, anthems, the popular song ‘I will die for you my Turkey’ (Ölürüm Türkiyem) and an extended jingle, solely crying out the name of the president were played on the arenas. If you had been living around, the tunes echoed in your mind day and night.

Conversely, while the main squares of the country featured a festival like atmosphere, constriction and grief besieged the ones that have lost their lives. With the purge, almost 50,000 people were out of work of whom 10,000 are soldiers, almost 1,500 are judiciary members. The numbers of arrests have reached 9,000.

Nevertheless, the Facebook* post of Alphan Canbaz, the son of one of the casualties of the coup attempt and an AKP, more precisely an Erdoğan supporter, revealed one of the major angst, the Turkish society possess today.

A Victim of the Coup: Mustafa Canbaz

The father, Mustafa Canbaz was a photo reporter of the pro-government Yeni Şafak newspaper. He was a fierce Erdoğan supporter his close circle says. That was the reason why he went to the squares immediately after Erdoğan has asked his supporters to do so. As a journalist yet more broadly as a committed citizen he was on the frontline. Becoming ‘martry’ of the coup attempt, Canbaz lost his life while confronting the armed soldiers.

The Invitation

In the second week following the coup attempt that left almost 200 civilians dead, the state had decided to host the families of the dead -named as martyrs of democracy- to commemorate their legacy for safeguarding the nation. The Presidency had sent the Canbaz family an invitation for a memorial ceremony. As stated in the post Alphan said that back then he could not make up his mind whether to go or not. So, he consulted his mother and after thinking over they agreed that a change of air would do both good.

He stated that they did not prefer to go to Ankara via the plane that the Presidency has assigned. They conducted a car journey to the capital, passing the scenery. It felt good he wrote, but all was about to change at the commemoration.

The commemoration

Alphan and his mother entered a huge hall, sat at the back. One by one, the families of the ones that had lost a loved one in the horrible night of the coup attempt entered the hall. They were joined by the ones that got injured. The hall and the street was filled with enormous screens, live to the public.

Lastly, the officials entered the hall and eventually president Erdoğan came in. When he entered the hall excessive excitement dominated the scenery says Alphan. ‘Almost everybody stood up, there were few who sat like me’. He marks: ‘if everyone stood up in respect to the position he holds, I would have stood up as well. However, I am not a hooligan. I had the burden of a man that lost his father. I felt extremely uncomfortable. I could not unite with the environment’.

Then the show started. Live from the screens, loud in the hall. Commercials passed on the roads that were constructed in the era of the government. Cheering rose. Officials stood up one by one and made speeches.

He talked to himself and said: ‘I have to endure myself with an inner voice. I felt frustrated. How could we have internalised this state of cheering. I was waiting for Erdoğan to come to stage. Maybe he will read the Koran and will ease me with his beautiful voice I thought.’

However, he described the moment what happened after as that he had lost it. ‘The scenes of the horror that took place on the 15th with people being bombed, shoot at salas** heard from the mosques were on the screen. His mother cried, she shivered. There were children sitting in the front seats. They were crying as well. It was not a movie for them, they had experienced it’ he inscribed.

Then he took his mother and left the place. Due to the masses they could hardly escape the scenery but were out of there in short time.

After departing from the scene his last remarks were that after the commemoration people had criticised him on why he has left and said that Erdoğan had delivered a spectacular speech. ‘What if he had delivered the best speech of the World what is the point? What is the point when my mother is bursting in tears’ he wrote in response.

‘Erdoğan has a debt to my father as my father was in love with him’

‘It is very sad to see that they do not comprehend why we are angry. It is sad to see that we are labeled as ‘bad intentioned’ when we criticise a wrong that the government has done. Erdoğan has a debt to my father. My father was in love with him. I think the reason why he has not visited us yet is due to his busy schedule’ he ended his post.

Turkey is divided

Erdoğan has not visited the family yet, but his son and ex-prime minister Davutoğlu did and the celebrations continued in the country though the president has ordered a short term break recently. The country, on the other hand, remains divided ones in misery and the others in celebration.

Not solely the discomfort of Alphan but with arbitrary arrests, the disappearance of the Kurdish politician Hurşit Külter, the death of a teacher under custody supposedly linked to Gülen, lack of trust to political institutions and mainly the mass human right atrocities in Kurdish cities are undeclared.

Alphan, though he criticised the event, like is father remains as a fierce Erdoğan supporter as well. He has recently posted regarding the huge rally that took on Sunday that ‘our commander in chief is in place’, harshly criticised the opposing party HDP, in the same tone that the president did. His latter posts did not bare the sympathy for the others that were victims of the polices of state.

In broad, comprehending Turkey has become more complex before than ever while the citizens are pushed to take side with the government under the spirit of the repulse of the July 15 coup attempt. The famous nationalist phrase is in place: ‘Either love or leave’ (Ya sev ya terk et). Yet, nothing is black or white. The victims, their stories intersect and what unites the majority of Turkish citizens today is some kind of grief, hardly spoken. Alphan’s story is a small piece of the puzzle, yet demonstrates how the social environment post-coup Turkey is. Purge, is maintained.

* To see the post that Alphan published public see

** Islamic chants or announcements spread from the minarets of mosques, usually for funerals.

Photo: Begüm Zorlu

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