 |
| Dictator Erdogan: How much longer will Turkey have to suffer? |
Early in the morning of July 16, as the world woke up to news
of an ongoing coup d’état in Turkey, by a group that identified itself
as “Peace in the Country Council,” it was soon clear that the government
of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would beat back the attempted
takeover, which lacked support of the top military brass.
As early as 7
a.m. IST, it was clear the regime had carried the day.
The coup could to be the handiwork of anti-ISIS soldiers as the
regime’s support to the ultra-radical Islamic State and its excessive
violence against Kurdish rebels even while peace negotiations were going
on with Abdullah Öcalan at Imrali Island, has been the subject of
considerable resentment within the ranks of the military. Serving
officers have at times spoken their mind on the subject, albeit on
condition of anonymity.
However, the Turkish media’s sharp criticism of the Erdogan regime’s
support to rebels fighting for regime change in Syria, including a
daring (and embarrassing) expose of arms shipments for the rebels,
couldn’t have been possible without military inputs. In retrospect, the
coup was likely a response to military exasperation with Erdogan’s
policies.
Erdoğan himself blamed the followers of US-based scholar Fethullah
Gülen for the attempt. While this has yet to be confirmed, it is
interesting that the Canada-based politician and Islamic scholar,
Tahir-ul Qadri, who launched a futile “Pakistan Spring” against the
Nawaz Sharif government in January 2013, has significant connections to
Gülen. Both governments being targeted (Turkey, Pakistan) are popularly
elected.
The coup
failed because it was badly planned; possibly it lacked sufficient
support to be effective. Neither the President, vacationing in the
southern resort of Marmaris, or Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, was
arrested. Instead, despite the curbs placed by his own regime on the
social media,
Erdoğan managed to appeal to the people to resist the coup
– they came out on the streets in large numbers, waving Turkish flags,
and attacking police, soldiers, and the tanks that rolled out on the
streets.
Erdogan managed to land his plane at Istanbul’s Atatürk airport –
though tanks were stationed there – and claimed to be fully in charge.
The regime survived as top military leaders backed it. Gen. Zekai
Aksakalli, commander of the military special forces, took to television
to condemn the action and order troops back to the barracks.
By the time the plotters reached and bombed Marmaris, Erdogan had
departed. On landing, he said he did not know the whereabouts of Chief
of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar. However, Turkish National
Intelligence spokesperson Nuh Yilmaz informed CNN Turk that the coup
attempt had been quashed and that Gen. Hulusi Akar was back in control.
The coup began late Friday night with a bomb explosion at Parliament and
other places in Ankara, air battles and gunfire across the capital.
While the number of casualties is as yet unknown, 17 policemen were
killed in an attack on Gölbaşı Special Forces Department headquarters
besides two employees of the Turkish satellite operator TÜRKSTAT.
Observers blamed Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian rule for the
crisis, which saw the exit of former Prime Minister Davutoglu and
extremely harsh treatment of dissidents, opposition leaders (taking away
the parliamentary immunity of Kurd MPs) and opposition media (Turkey
has the highest number of journalists in jail in the ‘free’ world).
The regime
has come under international scrutiny for permitting the free flow of
jihadis and weapons to rebel groups fighting the government in Syria
(the ‘jihad highway’), which resulted in the rise of the brutal
insurgent group, Islamic State, which is fast spreading its tentacles
worldwide.
The anti-Shia strategy of promoting regime change in Syria
and cornering its Iranian ally through (Sunni) Islamic terror backfired
when America forced Turkey to take an active role in the US-led
coalition against the ISIS. A series of deadly bombings followed on
Turkish soil, all attributed to ISIS.
Washington reacted with concern for its ally in the fight against
terror.
US Secretary of State John Kerry called Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu to express Washington’s “absolute support for Turkey’s
democratically-elected, civilian government and democratic
institutions.” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also spoke to
Cavusoglu and called for respect for democracy.
The coup leaders issued a statement late Friday saying they had
seized control “to reinstall the constitutional order, democracy, human
rights and freedoms, to ensure that the rule of law once again reigns in
the country, for law and order to be reinstated.”
Those behind the coup
can expect harsh justice, but there is no gainsaying that the regime is
safe from another attempt in the future.
A major reason for failure is that coup plotters lacked the resources
to grab all vantage points in the capital simultaneously. Turkey’s
state-run news agency remained on air and announced that military
helicopters had attacked the headquarters of TURKSAT satellite station
on the outskirts of Ankara and the Ankara police headquarters. It said
tanks were moving toward a palace used by Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım
and deputy prime ministers.
A car that tried to stop one of the tanks
was rammed through but the occupants escaped.
Erdogan
might have escaped death this time, but as one demonstrator said
"sooner or later a bullet will catch up with him and deliver Turkey from
this dictator ".
EU-Digest
