21st Century Wire says…
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is claiming victory over a fail coup d’etat with many hundreds of military already being arrested, with some fighting continuing between military coup hold-outs and state security police.
Erdoğan returned to Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport early this morning from a holiday in Marmaris, and took to national TV to condemn the coup attempt and vowed to punish those involved.
FULL TIMELINE OF LAST NIGHT & THIS MORNING’S EVENTS HERE
URGENT: Turkey's President Has Emerged At Istanbul's Airport.
WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/lhHUhoAnnf pic.twitter.com/LBMHHSZimc
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 16, 2016
In total, at least 90 people were killed, including civilians, with a further 1,154 people wounded.
According to The Guardian, a t least 1,563 members of the armed forces have been arrested so far, including 29 colonels and five generals.
“Rear Admiral Nejat Atilla Demirhan and General Memduh Hakbilen, the chief of staff of Turkey’s command for the Aegean region, are said to be among those detained.”
‘Government and Military Purge’
Many are looking to Erdogan to further consolidate his power now in the wake of the failed coup – which many feel will result in a major purge of dissenters within the military and government establishment.
Presently, there are a number of ‘show trials’ scheduled in order to jail dissent within government, and many believe that with Erdogan’s triumphant return, he will use this wave of media support to push for swift and heavy ‘justice’ for those who have been awaiting trial – completing efforts to “purge” dissent throughout civil and military society.
#Erdogan calls into TV station insisting he's in control & urges people to revolt LOL pic.twitter.com/EKSlITcA9f#CNN https://t.co/WibfoVzESN
— Michael (@Canine_Rights) July 15, 2016
‘The Theory of Democratic Relativity’
Interestingly, when finding himself under fire, Erdogan took to social media via FaceTime to call for the people to “reject the coup and take to the streets” and to show support for the “democratically elected government,” even though an authoritarian Erdogan government has been seen to crack down on social media dissent against his rule:
It’s ironic that #erdogan wants total control of all social media. Now he discovers why that wasn’t such a good idea.
— Datavetaren (@Datavetaren) July 15, 2016
Despite the fact that Erdogan has been steadily undermining democracy within his own country by arresting and jailing dissenting academics, journalists and even members of parliament – the embattled Turkish leader still turns to his people, its institutions and the international community by demanding they, ‘respect democracy and recognize me, the democratically-elected leader of Turkey.’
A number of pundits have pointed out this inherent hypocrisy of the Erdogan government:
This is an unfortunately common dilemma now: support the military or support a democracy that has turned authoritarian?
— Nicholas Thompson (@nxthompson) July 16, 2016
Not surprisingly, statements are already coming out about possible executions of leading members of the military coup:
Turkey’s Problems Persist
The reality of the coup is that it indicates a country that is heavily divided, and still potentially very unstable politically and socially.
Far from out of the woods, Erdogan still has many serious problems at home and internationally – problems that still persist because of a number of risky policies and agenda undertaken by him and his government.
In addition to democratic concerns, the Erdogan leadership has also been synonymous with the Islamitisation of Turkey by placing a Muslim Brotherhood radical social agenda ahead of the ‘Kemalist’ secular principles which the Turkish republic was founded on.
This is explained by writer Jim Geraghty via the National Review here:
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“There are reports that a military coup is underway in Turkey: Military vehicles are in the streets, the bridges of Istanbul are shut down, and state television just stopped broadcasting. If you’re concerned about the Islamist drift in Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his allies, a military takeover looks pretty appealing right now! Military coups are almost regularly scheduled in Turkey; the country had coups in 1960, 1971, 1980, and a near-coup in 1997. It’s a regular habit in Turkish politics; an elected leader accumulates too much power and drifts away from the secular, statist, Western-oriented philosophies and traditions of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and the military intervenes. His final remarks to the Turkish military gave them the duty of protecting the country from enemies foreign and domestic (I’m paraphrasing) and the Turkish military has not hesitated to include elected politicians among those enemies. Quite a few times in the past decade, foreign correspondents and Turkey-watchers have wondered if a coup was imminent. It wasn’t . . . until, perhaps, tonight.”
Writer Victor Davis Hanson adds here:”When the Muslim Brotherhood tried to dismantle secular government in Egypt, Erdogan egged them on and was instrumental in persuading the Obama administration to adopt a disastrous policy of support for the Brotherhood. Erdogan used to visit Europe and chide its leaders over their supposed mistreatment of Islamic immigrants. But at home, he has increasingly marginalized the few Turks who are not Muslims.”
“Under Erdogan, the new Turkish model is not the secular modern state of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Instead, Erdogan praises the ancient Ottoman Caliphate, whose theocratic empire once ranged from the Persian Gulf to southern Europe.”
#Turkey is torn between Islamism and secularism. A democratically elected terrorist regime is still a terrorist regime.
— Prafulla Pathak (@TheKnownymous) July 16, 2016
NATO Security Concerns
Last night and today’s domestic instability raises serious questions about Turkey’s key role as a member of NATO and a prospective member of the European Union (EU).
In addition, Turkey is now widely regarded as the primary facilitator of allowing extremist Islamist militants and mercenaries like ISIS and Al Nusra Front unhindered movement back and forth over its porous border with Syria – in effect fueling the ISIS crisis and the Syrian Conflict, as well as damaging relations with Russia over Turkey’s rogue action shooting down a Russian jet last November.
Recent coup events will only heighten concerns over Turkey’s role in aiding the regional subterfuge.
Turkey is no stranger to coups, as we can see here…
History of coups in #Turkey19601961197119801997and now 2016very consistent, one approximately every decade#TurkeyCoup #Erdogan
— SHIA NEWS ALERT (@SNA110) July 15, 2016
Stay tuned for updates here at 21WIRE.
READ MORE TURKEY NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Turkey Files
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