Loyalist street action keeps Erdogan in power
Publish : 17 Jul 2016, 02:17
Except that this is not Ataturk’s Turkey any more.No longer the type of society Mustafa Kemal Ataturk or Ismet Inonu envisioned, Turkey’s staunch secularism has given way to rule by parties that are outwardly democratic but espouse extremely conservative religious values.Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government has been preserved by this unprecedented outpouring of rejection of military intervention in politics, has espoused questionable causes.Causes like denouncing Bangladesh’s war crimes tribunals and the Holocaust, and restricting women from free movement and opposing contraception have left him and his brand of political Islam in doubt.So although thousands poured into the streets, faced down elements of one of the most formidable military forces in the Middle East and added a chapter to the history of civil-military relations in the region, Turkey’s failed coup is anything but a clear victory for democracy.Some observers, however, say most of those people – for who a section of the Turkish military could not succeed in overthrowing Erdogan Friday night – were his followers.The president also received huge support from international media as well as some like-minded current and former heads of states who denounced the coup attempt as unjust move against an elected democratic government when it was under way.At least 265 army personnel and civilians were killed after the army faction tried to seize power using tanks and helicopters. Some strafed the headquarters of the Turkish intelligence and parliament in the capital, Ankara, while others seized a major bridge in Istanbul, Reuters reported.Forces loyal to the government fought yesterday to crush the last remnants of the coup attempt which collapsed after crowds answered President Erdogan’s call to take to the streets and dozens of rebels abandoned their tanks. Over 2,800 rebels were arrested.Immediately after the rebels announced that they had taken over power for democratic order, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim refused to describe the move as a coup. He also warned that those who were in this “illegal act” would have to pay the highest price.Yildirim later acknowledged it as a coup attempt after gunfire was heard outside the military headquarters, fighter jets buzzed over the capital and vehicles blocked two major bridges in Istanbul. Within hours, Erdogan said that the nation must gather in squares to give response to the attempted coup.Around the same time, US President Barack Obama pledged to support the “democratically elected government” and also rejected to recognise the coup attempt. Most of the international media following the coup attempt also described it as a threat to Turkey’s democracy.However, a section of people in Turkey and other parts of the world were rejoiced in social media as they thought the “autocratic” and “anti-women” government would fall.Erdogan’s AK Party has long had strained relations with the military, which has a history of mounting coups to defend secularism although it has not seized power directly since 1980.Erdogan warns plottersThe Turkish president accused the coup plotters of trying to kill him and launched a purge of the armed forces, which last used force to stage a successful coup more than 30 years ago.“They will pay a heavy price for this,” said Erdogan, who also saw off mass public protests against his rule three years ago. “This uprising is a gift from God to us because this will be a reason to cleanse our army.”The government declared the situation fully under control, saying 2,839 people had been rounded up from foot soldiers to senior officers, including those who had formed “the backbone” of the rebellion.Erdogan, who had been holidaying on the southwest coast when the coup was launched, flew into Istanbul before dawn yesterday and was shown on television outside Ataturk Airport, Reuters reported.Addressing thousands of flag-waving supporters at the airport, he said the government remained at the helm, although disturbances continued in Ankara.He said the plotters had tried to attack him in the resort town of Marmaris. “They bombed places I had departed right after I was gone,” he said. “They probably thought we were still there.”His conservative religious vision for Turkey’s future has also alienated many ordinary citizens who accuse him of authoritarianism. Police used heavy force in 2013 to suppress mass protest demanding more freedom.