Victims of coup attempt honored in Istanbul

A ceremony was held on Wednesday at the heart of Istanbul to commemorate the 242 people who lost their lives during last week's failed military coup.

The chiefs or representatives of foreign missions and leaders of religious groups joined citizens in paying their tribute to the victims at Taksim Square, where a panel was set up to list the names of the killed.

The participants read a joint "democracy declaration," in which they condemned the coup attempt that was staged by a faction in the military on Friday night and early Saturday morning.

"Sovereignty belongs to the people!" a quotation from Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, was inscribed on the panel.

"Turkey owes its today and its future to its martyrs and to its heroic people," read a verse on the panel.

Adem Yavuz, a Turk aged 50, still could not believe what he saw on Friday night.

"Was it our army, our soldiers or our enemies who opened fire on its own citizens?" he remarked.

"No enemy, no tank, no weapon can stand in front of the strength of these people," added another man named Yilmaz Demir.

Thousands of Turks have been gathering in Taksim Square each night since last Friday to show "We are at the squares watching democracy." Endit