Coup Attempt in Turkey and “Democracy Watch”: A Personal Account of the Situation

In my opinion, the July 15, 2016 ‘hyper-real’ prime-time coup attempt already occupies a significant place in Turkish history, as well as the World history of coups. For the first time, a president addressed his nation through the image of his image, and for the first time in Turkey, after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s address, civilians went out on the streets to resist the military takeover. On July 21, the ongoing State of Emergency was declared, but Erdoğan and his government still invited people to “occupy” public spaces in “resistance” to the coup attempt, for what was later called “Democracy Watch” gatherings, under the notions of “togetherness” and “unity.” In this text, I try to describe and discuss my own observations, during the night of the coup, as well as the following two weeks.