Turkey remembers a coup attempt 10 years ago
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Today is a memorial day in Turkey. 10 years ago there was a coup attempt. This was on the night of July 16, 2016. Soldiers wanted to remove the government. They blocked bridges in Istanbul. They flew fighter jets over Ankara. More than 250 people died that night.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked for help. Citizens stood in front of tanks. The government stopped the rebels quickly. Erdogan called the coup a gift from God. He changed the state after that. He introduced a presidential system. Now the president has almost all the power alone.
The government blames the preacher Fethullah Gülen. Gülen lived in the USA. He said: I did not do this. The state fired many people after the coup. Over 100,000 teachers, judges and police lost their jobs. Many went to prison. Critics say: Erdogan uses this to punish enemies. Many questions about that night remain open today.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked for help. Citizens stood in front of tanks. The government stopped the rebels quickly. Erdogan called the coup a gift from God. He changed the state after that. He introduced a presidential system. Now the president has almost all the power alone.
The government blames the preacher Fethullah Gülen. Gülen lived in the USA. He said: I did not do this. The state fired many people after the coup. Over 100,000 teachers, judges and police lost their jobs. Many went to prison. Critics say: Erdogan uses this to punish enemies. Many questions about that night remain open today.
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Definitions
- Coup attempt
- A coup is a violent attempt to take power in a state. Usually the military leads a coup to remove the government.
- Presidential system
- A system where the elected president has a lot of power. The president is the head of the government.
People
- Recep Tayyip Erdogan
- He is the president of Turkey. He has much more power since the year 2016.
- Fethullah Gülen
- A preacher from Turkey. He lived in the USA. The government blames him for the coup.
Locations
- Turkey
- A country in Europe and in Asia.
- Ankara
- Ankara is the capital city of Turkey. The government works there.
- Istanbul
- The biggest city in Turkey. It connects Europe and Asia.
Sources
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