One of the most severely bombed places on the night of the July 15th coup attempt was the Special Operations Headquarters. Edip Zengin was one of the 47 police officers martyred by the traitorous FETÖ members’ assault.
Zengin, who for 20 years fought against the PKK in the Southeast region of Turkey, was on leave during the week of July 15th. He went to the Special Operations Headquarters after learning that all administrative leaves were cancelled. He spoke to a friend on the phone, “We prepared for a mission as a special operation unit of 50 members. I guess our supervisors are sending us somewhere.” It was at this moment the headquarters was bombed and Zengin was martyred in the attack.
People paid their final respects to Edip Zengin, 45 years old and father of two, with a funeral in the Darıca district of Kocaeli, which 10,000 people attended.
“My closest friends are martyrs now”
A relative of Martyr Edip Zengin, describes him, “My uncle was not from this world. He loved his country and his job. He never complained. He had friends among the Presidential Guards. They wanted to take him with them because he worked in the Southeast for so long. My uncle went to the Southeast again saying, ‘I would love to come but I have friends here. We had too many martyrs. They need me. I will come later.’ When I advised him to go to Ankara, he told me, ‘We had too many martyrs. Many of them died in front of me. How can I leave them behind? I’ve had so many close friends die in the past one-and-a-half years. My friends expect me. I need to be there with them. Some of them are really inexperienced. I’m more experienced than they are. I need to be with them.’ He loved listening more than talking when he met with his friends. He hated gossiping and he intervened whenever someone was gossiping. He performed each of his prayers in different mosques. He loved jogging. I once asked him how he performed his prayers in the Southeast. He told me, ‘There’s no water here but I’m managing with the drinking water for my ablutions.’”
The name of Martyr Dursun Acar was given to an Anatolian High School in Darıca, Kocaeli.
