April 17, 2017•Update: April 17, 2017
By Cigdem Alyanak, Lale Bildirici
ISTANBUL
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid visits to the mausoleums of late leaders of the country on Monday after winning a vote at Sunday’s referendum on constitutional changes.
Erdogan first attended a commemoration ceremony to mark the 24th anniversary of Turkey’s 8th President Turgut Ozal’s death in Istanbul’s Topkapi district, where the late president’s mausoleum is located.
He later visited the tomb of Turkey’s executed former Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and Fatin Rustu Zorlu as well as Hasan Polatkan’s graves.
Menderes was Turkey’s ninth prime minister, who was executed following a bloody coup in 1960, which came to symbolize a dark period in Turkish history.
Then Foreign Minister Fatin Rustu Zorlu and Finance Minister Hasan Polatkan were also executed.
The Turkish president later visited the grave of late Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, who died on Feb. 27, 2011.
In the Feb. 28, 1997 “post-modern coup”, the military effectively deposed Erbakan as prime minister after less than a year in office, leading to the collapse of his coalition government.
Turkey’s current ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s roots lie in part in National View, a political movement led by Erbakan.
President Erdogan also visited Eyup Sultan Mosque in Istanbul.
Turkish voters went to the polls on Sunday to decide whether to approve changes to the country’s constitution that would usher in an executive presidency.
According to unofficial results, the Yes campaign won on 51.41 percent, while the No votes stood at 48.59 percent. Voter turnout was 85.46 percent.
