We carried out the July 15 project in order to record July 15 as an important experience that this country has gone through, taking it out of a narrow perspective. According to many studies conducted that night, there were not hundreds or thousands, but millions of people in the streets. And each of these people witnessed history that night. The events of the night of July 15 were a turning point in terms of both our country and world history.
Dr. Fatmanur Altun, the Chairman of the Board of TÜRGEV, spoke at the introduction meeting of belleklerde15temmuz.com and provided the following information about the project:
As TÜRGEV, what do we want to achieve with this project?
We carried out the Memory of July 15 project to record July 15 as an important experience that this country has gone through, taking it out of a narrow context. According to many studies conducted that night, there were not hundreds or thousands, but millions of people in the streets. Each of these people witnessed history that night. What happened on the night of July 15 was a turning point in terms of both our country and world history.
We believe that July 15 has not been adequately explained and that people need to know more about that night. We think it is necessary to record the testimonies of each person who experienced that night to make this known.
July 15 was a significant, revolutionary event. We consider the testimonies of those who experienced that night to be not only a part of our national heritage but also a part of humanity's collective memory.
Another motivation for this project is the theatrical narrative that the planners of this coup have been bringing up for three years. Millions of people took to the streets that night, hundreds became martyrs, and thousands became veterans. There is an epic story, and since this epic cannot be erased, the narrative of it being a theater was put forward, relying on the fact that human memory is indeed prone to forgetfulness. The aim of this narrative is to defame, vilify, and belittle this great epic, and if possible, to erase it from the pages of history and even to bring the people who wrote this epic to trial. Because those who carried out this act know that they have been defeated and that this defeat is a very heavy one. We want to record the testimonies of July 15 witnesses while they are still alive and while these memories are still fresh, so that this epic can never become an object of defamation, vilification, or erasure from history and can live on forever.
As TÜRGEV, we have another motivation for dedicating ourselves to this work and starting such a project; we are a youth foundation, and we know that there were many young people who took to the streets that night. We believe it is very important for those young people to share their experiences with their peers. Because there is a great awareness and a national consciousness at stake, the young people displayed an attitude that turned the narrative of "apolitical, individualistic youth" upside down that night.
We have a very high faith in young people; we believe in them and act with the awareness that the future of our country rests on their shoulders. With this belief, we want to present the best examples to our youth. It would be correct to say that this is our greatest motivation in this work as TÜRGEV.
Dr. Fatmanur Altun answered questions about the project at the meeting as follows:
- You based your statement on the fact that July 15 was described as a theater by the planners; is the aim to prevent this by having everyone who took to the streets that night write about their experiences?
Dr. Fatmanur Altun: We know that millions of people took to the streets that night, and just as many prayed for them at home and spent that night in anxiety. In fact, a country, a homeland beat as one heart until the morning that night; people showed great resistance against tanks and cannons with their bare hands. I believe that millions of people wrote the greatest epic in human history in one night. While we have not yet finished listening to the stories of our veterans and martyrs, and while there are still many great heroics to be told, we want to continue recording these. In fact, the stories of each of our martyrs should definitely be passed on to our cultural life as poems, films, or novels. Additionally, the testimonies of everyone who lived through that night must be recorded. Thus, we want those who will learn and write history to look back and see how great an epic they are facing with great astonishment. Because no document or information can surpass a person's personal testimony. You can try to refute a historical reality with a document or any statement from a scholar, but when a personal testimony is presented, it is impossible for any ideology, opinion, or other background to overshadow that testimony. Therefore, we say that our people lived through this great night, and these experiences should be recorded so that when looking back, it becomes clear how great an epic was written.
- What do those who want to share their testimonies on the site need to do?
Dr. Fatmanur Altun: Every one of the millions of people who experienced that night has a different story; these stories are shared in our friendly conversations and discussions. We want these stories, these testimonies, to not be forgotten and remain only in friendly conversations.
They can visit the Memory to Archives July 15 site and, if they wish, reach us through our contact page or by using the email address there to send us their recordings. They can also write and share their experiences themselves or contact us to record them through an oral history project, which can also be uploaded to the site. As TÜRGEV, we invite everyone to share their experiences on this site as much as possible. We believe that these shared experiences will be a great gain for our children, grandchildren, and future generations.
