ATAA Condemns the Cowardly Terrorist Attacks Against Turkish Nation
The Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) strongly condemns the continued terrorist attacks by the Marxist-Leninist terrorist organization PKK against Turkish nation. In latest PKK terror attacks, including two car bombings targeting police stations in Elazig and Van, and another remotely-detonated car bomb aimed at a military vehicle carrying soldiers in Bitlis, at least 14 people were killed and more than 280 wounded. PKK has been waging war against Turkish nation for the last 30 years, which has claimed more than 40 thousand lives so far. The deadly wave of attacks targets not only Turkey's security forces but also civilians constituting the ultimate crime against humanity.
How did it begin? On July 15th, at about 10:00 pm, the coup attempt began with shots inside the General Staff complex in Ankara. Shortly after, the Presidential Complex in Ankara came under fire by tanks and helicopters. Meanwhile, it was reported that military forces had closed Istanbul's Bosphorus and Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridges, and the Ataturk Airport was shut-down. Factions of the Turkish military took control of the state broadcasting agency TRT to officially announce the coup. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim informed the nation that a coup attempt was underway. Addressing the nation via mobile telephone, President Erdogan confirmed the coup and urged people to resist and defend Turkey’s democracy by getting out to streets.
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, after the coup attempt of the separatist terrorist organization of Fetullah Gülen (FETÖ) held a press conference with Chief of General Staff General Hulusi Akar, Interior Minister Efkan Ala, Minister of Defence Fikri Işık and Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdağ and answered the questions of the press. Yıldırım stated that the 15th of July is a “Black spot in Turkish democracy”, "The name of the noble nation, who was on democracy guard last night during the coup attempt against parallel terrorist gang but returned to normal life in the morning, is the Turkish nation. I applaud all the members of my nation, all my citizens who stood against this parallel terrorist gang and took to the squares with their flags." he continued. 
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —As an attempted military coup played out Friday a world away in Turkey, Turkish-Americans in the Sacramento area worried about their loved ones in the volatile country. During the violent and chaotic night, at least 60 people were killed and 1,000 people were wounded. A total of 1,563 military officers were detained across Turkey after some military units failed to take over the government, a source with President Recep Erdogan’s office told CNN. Several families in Northern California were split up during the unrest because family members traveled to Turkey on vacation. 
NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to Reuters reporter Ayla Jean Yackley about the attempted coup in Turkey. The Turkish prime minister said there has been "an attempted uprising from within the military." It is unclear who is in control of Turkey at this moment. The prime minister has told a television network that there is an uprising within the military, this in a country that has a history of military takeovers. There are reports of tanks and soldiers in the streets of the capital Ankara, as well as major roads closed in Istanbul. We're joined now by Reuters reporter Ayla Jean Yackley, who is in Istanbul. Welcome to the program.
US-Turkish tensions have grown after government forces put down an attempted coup on Friday night. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused exiled Turkish businessman and cleric Fethullah Gulen of orchestrating the violence and is demanding that the US extradite him. Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, denied any involvement and condemned the coup attempt. 
Turkey's bloody coup attempt plotted by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization is not seen as a threat to democracy, according to an article written by American writer Steven Cook. The article published on Thursday in U.S.-based magazine The Atlantic, which is headlined "How Erdogan Made Turkey Authoritarian Again", overlooks the people's struggle to protect the country's democracy, rushing to the streets to stop the illegal coup attempt, but rather says it "would not have brought an end to Turkey’s democracy". The article claimed that only Turkey's ruling party's progress would have been lost, ignoring the fact that coup plotters bombed the Turkish parliament, a clear intention to harm the democratic functioning of the country. 
