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Aftermath
of Turkey coup attempt will be bloody and repressive
Ranj Alaaldin
Saturday 16 July
2016 17.27 BST
Mob
rule will shape country’s politics as attacks on anyone seen to
oppose Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his party continue
The attempted
military coup in Turkey on Friday sent shockwaves through the country
and international community. Aimed at toppling Turkey’s strongman
president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development
party (AKP), the failed uprising threw a spotlight on a deeply
divided country embroiled in war at home and abroad.
Turkey is no
stranger to military coups, it has undergone four since 1960. Its
powerful military has historically regarded itself as the protector
of the modern Turkish state and the vision of its founder, Mustafa
Kemal Atatürk. It has also devoted itself to Atatürk’s
nationalistic and secularist vision, as well as bringing order to the
country. The constitutional, historical and cultural basis for its
actions has generated resentment and hostility. The army has often
abused its powers and has a history of repression and human rights
abuses.
When Erdoğan came
to power in 2002, one of his immediate priorities was to counter the
military. He pursued closer ties with the EU and sought to expand his
influence within the country’s institutions. In 2008, the military
was severely weakened by Erdoğan in what became known as the
Ergenekon affair, a series of trials in which military officers,
journalists and politicians were accused of forming a clandestine
organisation that plotted against the civilian government. It
resulted in prison sentences for senior military members and
weakened, if not ended, the military’s capacity to conduct coups as
it had done in the past.
In other words,
Erdoğan set himself up for another clash with the military, but few
expected it to come so soon or in the form of an attempted coup. The
most astonishing thing about Friday’s events was that the coup was
even contemplated by military factions, given Erdoğan’s grip on
the country. Friday’s coup attempt was by far Turkey’s least
effective. The military did not control the media and lacked
sufficient support both within its ranks and on the streets. It also
signified that Erdoğan’s divide-and-rule policies have worked;
that he has tamed Turkey’s once-feared military.
However, it should
not have been surprising that a move to oust Erdoğan has occurred.
In recent years, Erdoğan has alienated rivals and exacerbated
Turkey’s instability for his personal gain. He has exploited ethnic
and sectarian tensions, restarted a domestic war with the Kurds and
sought to divide the population to garner greater constitutional
powers. Erdogan’s dangerous games has brought levels of violence
and instability not seen in Turkey for decades.
As with many coups
around the world, the aftermath will be bloody and repressive. It
will be rule of the mob, rather than rule of law that will shape
Turkish politics and society. More than 1,000 members of the military
have been arrested and more than 2,000 judges have been laid off.
Pro-government mobs have brutally attacked anyone they perceive as
being anti-Erdoğan or anti-government. Darker days lie ahead for
Turkey.
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Fethullah
Gülen: Turkey coup may have been 'staged' by Erdoğan regime
Cleric
speaks to reporters including Guardian at Pennsylvania compound
Kerry:
Turkey should present ‘evidence’ to back any extradition request
Pentagon
loses airspace access crucial in airstrikes against Isis targets
Opinion:
Turkey was already undergoing a coup – by Erdoğan
Amana
Fontanella-Khan in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania
@Amanafk
Saturday 16 July
2016 21.00 BST
Fethullah Gülen,
the reclusive cleric blamed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for
the failed coup in Turkey, has said the uprising by members of the
country’s military could have been “staged” by the government.
In a rare and brief
interview on Saturday with a small group of journalists at his
residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, Gülen rejected all
accusations that he was behind the coup attempt.
“I don’t believe
that the world believes the accusations made by President Erdoğan,”
Gülen said. “There is a possibility that it could be a staged coup
and it could be meant for further accusations [against the
Gülenists].”
Gülen, who leads
from exile a popular movement called Hizmet and split from Erdoğan
over a corruption scandal in 2013, spoke in a small prayer room,
lined with woven rugs and decorated with Islamic calligraphy and
leather-bound religious books. Reporters were served Turkish tea and
sweet dry figs at his Pennsylvania compound, which he moved into
after arriving in the US in 1999.
He said he rejected
all military interventions, and said he had personally suffered after
the coups of the 1990s.
“After military
coups in Turkey,” he said, “I have been pressured and I have been
imprisoned. I have been tried and faced various forms of harassment.”
He added: “Now
that Turkey is on the path to democracy, it cannot turn back.”
Asked by the
Guardian whether he would have returned to Turkey had the coup been
successful, Gülen said: “Indeed, I miss my homeland a lot. But
there is another important factor, which is freedom. I am here, away
from the political troubles in Turkey and I live with my freedom.”
Speaking in public
in Istanbul on Saturday, Erdoğan called on Barack Obama to arrest
Gülen and deport him to Turkey. Turkey had never turned back any
extradition request for “terrorists” by its US ally, Erdoğan
said, adding: “I say if we are strategic partners then you should
bring about our request.”
No official
extradition request had been made, according to the US secretary of
state, John Kerry, who spoke to reporters in Luxembourg. “We fully
anticipate that there will be questions raised about Mr Gülen,” he
said.
“And obviously we
would invite the government of Turkey, as we always do, to present us
with any legitimate evidence that withstands scrutiny. And the United
States will accept that and look at it and make judgments about it
appropriately.”
The last time the
reclusive leader spoke live to international press was in 2014. He
rarely leaves the Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center
complex, where his movement offers religious instruction, and he is
in fragile health. Before the interview on Saturday he was attended
to by a stethoscope-carrying physician, who measured his blood
pressure.
Turkey coup attempt:
Erdoğan demands US arrest exiled cleric Gülen amid crackdown on
army – as it happened
The sprawling
compound, nestled in Pennsylvania’s Poconos region, does not seem
like the lair of a conspirator. Gülen lives in a small room in a
two-storey brick prayer hall, where visitors come for worship and
instruction. A panoramic photograph of Istanbul covers the length of
one wall.
Down a corridor lies
a small bedrooom, shown to reporters, that suggests a spartan life: a
single futon is flanked by small shelves displaying framed Arabic
calligraphy, an alarm clock and prayer beads. Over a small wooden
desk is a shelf that holds books with titles like Imploring Heart and
Renewing Islam By Service, as well as a collection of bottled
perfumes.
Opposite the
bedroom, a small “fitness” room features a treadmill and a
reclinable medical bed with a monitor attached.
Outside, past a
guardhouse that is manned around the clock, a winding asphalt road
passes landscaped gardens and large residential homes. Signs in
English and Turkish advise where cars must not park.
Alp Aslandogan,
media adviser to Gülen and executive director of Alliance for Shared
Values, the US arm of the Hizmet movement, said security was on “high
alert” following threats of violence on social media.
Near the compound, a
small protest had gathered, with a dozen Turkish Americans waving
large Turkish flags.
“You are with him;
we don’t want to speak to you,” said one man, who did not want to
be named, adding: “This is a second Bin Laden in the making and
America is protecting him.”
A woman was waving a
flag with Erdoğan’s picture on it. She said: “Senators are
getting money from him.”
Before reporters
entered on Saturday, they were instructed not to photograph the faces
of people living in the compound.
“They and their
families might face retaliation in Turkey if they are identified,”
Aslandogan said.
Regarding Erdoğan’s
calls for extradition, Aslandogan said: “The US government position
has always been that if there is any evidence of Mr Gülen breaking
the laws, they will look into it. So far, the Turkish government
hasn’t produced anything. Thank God, this is a country of laws, and
we depend on that.”
Elaborating on the
idea that Erdoğan may have staged the coup attempt, Aslandogan said
Friday’s events did not match the pattern of previous coups.
“The coup appears
to be poorly planned,” he said, “very poorly executed and
everything seems to be playing into Erdoğan’s hands. There are
many big question marks of how [this attempted coup] was executed.”
Supporters of Gülen
expressed frustration over the accusations against the leader.
“This is a usual
conspiracy against Gülen,” said Harun Gultki, who volunteers at
the center and lives in a nearby town.
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