Abdurrahman Kaan, President of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MÜSİAD), released a written statement on the occasion of July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day. Saying in his statement, "We will let neither July 15 nor the treachery committed be forgotten", President Kaan emphasized the importance of the struggle that was waged.

In his statement, President Kaan made the following remarks:

For every Turkish citizen, 15 July 2016 is the glorious date of the struggle we waged as a manifestation of the fact that we, as a nation, thwarted a treacherous attempt that sought to write a dark page in our country's history, and that we hold freedom, love of the homeland, democracy and the honour of the country above all else.

On that dark night when everyone, old and young, women and men, stood against the democracy-killing traitors with great fury, our nation once again showed the whole world its passion for democracy and gave a lesson in unity and solidarity.
As MÜSİAD, we made our reaction clear immediately after the coup attempt and, while many NGOs were still busy taking the pulse, we expressed our stance against this treacherous uprising clearly that very evening and fought against the coup plotters in the squares.

At every point where we are present, at home and abroad, we explained the treachery our nation faced. We expressed the true nature of the injustice, the plot and the destructive plans for as long as our breath allowed, and worked with all our strength to form public opinion around the world in this direction.

All our branches and representatives at 89 points at home and at 225 points in 95 countries abroad also actively supported this work through their own efforts. In all the countries where we are present, we carry out communication activities in order to explain to the public, accurately and clearly, what happened that night.

On the other hand, in order to pass on the night of July 15 and its aftermath to future generations, we created content and prepared books and informative publications.

Some of these are the book “July 15 in the Western Media”, prepared by our MÜSİAD USA Branch and setting out the perspective of the West, and our book “Who Can Stop Us”, published by Erdem Yayınları with MÜSİAD's support, which explains the coup attempt in a simple and effective way that our children can understand.

In addition, in the supplementary work of our MÜSİAD Çerçeve Magazine, we included detailed news reports, analyses and studies examining the coup attempt in all its aspects and setting out our stance as MÜSİAD.

Besides these, by signing a cooperation protocol with the July 15 Association in order to develop our close cooperation and to implement joint work together, we are organizing joint programmes.

Throughout this entire process, our Young MÜSİAD and MÜSİAD WOMEN organizations have also taken part, and we carry out awareness-raising work aimed at the young people and women in the business world.

We Will Forget Neither July 15 Nor the Treachery Committed, Nor Will We Let Them Be Forgotten

The powerful struggle for democracy that the Turkish people demonstrated on the night of July 15 has, even if it is not voiced, been inscribed on the pages of history as an example of togetherness that the whole world envies and takes as a model; of this we are certain.

FETÖ members clustered at various levels of the state, above all in the Turkish Armed Forces, are being purged as a result of the operations our state carries out meticulously. We bear witness that our state's struggle in this area has continued with determination since the very first day, without being interrupted in any way.

May God never again make us and this heavenly homeland of ours live through such treacherous attempts organized by dirty hands, or such sorrowful days and nights. We will forget neither the cruelty experienced that night nor the treacherous coup attempt, nor will we let them be forgotten.

On this occasion, I pray for God's mercy upon our martyrs who took to the squares on July 15, risking their lives in defence of the homeland, and I offer my gratitude to our veterans who will carry the sorrowful marks of that night on their bodies throughout their lives, and to each and every one of our brothers and sisters who took to the streets for their homeland without hesitating for a moment and without hiding behind any excuse.

On the anniversary of the epic our nation wrote, I congratulate our July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day.