Thousands of pro-Erdoğan supporters gathered on July 15 Martyrs Bridge in Istanbul to mark the first anniversary of Turkey’s failed coup. <br /><br />The president arrived with his wife, addressed the masses and attended the opening of a memorial located on the bridge.<br /><br />More than 240 people died before the coup was shut down on July 15, 2016.<br /><br />In shadow of crackdown, #Turkey commemorates failed coup https://t.co/WyChf4SWd9 pic.twitter.com/w9QQ6YfXnO— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) July 15, 2017<br /><br />Despite the groundswell of nationalism, the coup and subsequent government crackdown, mass arrests, a media clampdown and widespread sackings has bitterly divided the nation. <br /><br />Some 150,000 people have been sacked or suspended from jobs in the civil service and private sector and more than 50,000 detained for alleged links to the putsch.<br /><br />“2016 failed coup has become pretext for #Erdogan’s increasingly successful effort to overthrow #Turkey democracy:” https://t.co/Q9l4PSvtBp pic.twitter.com/4LyqKlyKh7— FDD (@FDD) July 15, 2017<br /><br />On Friday the government said it had dismissed another 7,000 police, civil servants and academics for suspected links to the Muslim cleric it blames for the putsch.<br /><br />Critics claim Erdoğan is using the post-coup state of emergency to target opposition figures including rights activists, pro-Kurdish politicians and journalists.<br />
