Military coup in Turkey

[Benny]

Thank you for the post.

It´s strange, you wouldn´t have believed this tension just a a couple of years ago, Germany has always been Turkey´s best buddy in the EU.

/B

[Benny]

Huge demo today in Istanbul with different parties, the HDP not invited though:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hundre ... sCatID=338

/B

[Anthea]

Huge demo today in Istanbul with different parties, the HDP not invited though:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hundre ... sCatID=338

/B

Millions stand for democracy in Turkey
The heading is rubbish because Erdogan is fast becoming a Muslim Dictator

The photo is a sea of red flags that from a distance looks like blood

Millions of people gathered Aug. 7 at a meeting venue in Istanbul’s Yenikapı area for a massive joint democracy rally to protest the July 15 coup attempt, putting an end to three weeks of demonstrations following the failed takeover.

The rally was a rare event in which the leaders of three political parties took the stage upon a call made by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, leaving aside their political differences.

The event begin with Mehmet Görmez, the head of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet), reciting the Quran.

“That night, I realized that I am a part of a very big nation,” said Orçun Şekercioğlu, who came to the stage on a wheelchair. He was wounded by coup soldiers on the Bosphorus Bridge as he was standing against tanks.

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said “Istanbul is great,” while addressing the crowd.

I assume that the Hurriyet Daily News is one of the newspapers under Erdogan's control

[Anthea]

Turkey widens post-coup crackdown:

28,269 detained

14,556 arrested

1,058 schools closed

151 news outlets shut down

[Anthea]

Turkey coup attempt: Nearly 82,000 sacked or suspended

Some 5,000 state employees have been sacked and 77,000 suspended in the purge since last month's failed coup in Turkey, the prime minister says.

Binali Yildirim told reporters in Ankara that more than 3,000 of those sacked were members of the military.

They are suspected of links to exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, he said.

Announcing a visit to Turkey by US Vice-President Joe Biden, he again urged the US to extradite Mr Gulen.

The cleric, a former ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, from where he runs a worldwide network of charities and schools.

He denies any knowledge of or involvement in Turkey's first coup attempt since 1997, which left 270 people dead.
'Communication network'

"The main element improving our relations with the US is the extradition of Gulen, where there is no room for negotiation," Mr Yildirim was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

"Whether or not the anti-Americanism in Turkey will continue is also dependant on this."

According to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, the Turkish prime minister added that the US stance on extradition was "getting better".

He said that since the coup attempt on 15-16 July, 76,597 civil servants had been suspended over links to the coup attempt, and 4,897 had been dismissed from their posts, bringing the total number to 81,974.

The coup plotters, he said, had their own "communication network of 50,000 people".

Mr Yildirim said Mr Biden would visit Turkey on 24 August.

In another development, reported by Reuters, the Istanbul chief prosecutor's office sent a letter to the US authorities asking for the detention of Mr Gulen.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-37070731

[Benny]

CNN also with a "one-month" status after the coup:

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/15/europ ... index.html

/B

[Anthea]

CNN also with a "one-month" status after the coup:

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/15/europ ... index.html

/B

After reading this (very interesting) article I can only conclude that Erdogan is completely and utterly

C R A Z Y

[Anthea]

Bank inspectors latest target of post-coup attempt crackdown

29 banking watchdog auditors detained for 'irregular probes' into people
and foundations close to the government - did they found Erdogan's trillions

Turkish authorities detained 29 inspectors on Friday from the BDDK banking watchdog, the state-run news agency reports, in what appeared to be the latest round-up related to the failed July 15 coup.

Anadolu Agency said 29 auditors at the agency were detained early Monday for allegedly conducting "irregular probes" in 2013 into businessmen and foundations that are close to the government.

Meanwhile, detention orders were issued for 62 academics working at Istanbul University as part of the same investigation. Police detained 44 of them Monday morning.

Turkey has so far detained around 40,000 people in its investigation following the coup bid, which it blames on followers of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who has denied the charge.

Around half of those detained have been formally arrested. The investigation has also lead to a sweeping purge of the military, civil service, police, and judiciary, with nearly 80,000 removed from public duty in post-coup purges.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/turkey-ban ... -1.3727598

[Benny]

Turkish government has replaced 28 mayors, who are being accused of terrorism:

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/11/europ ... index.html

/B

[Anthea]

Turkish court sentences 121

The 121 thought to be involved in the attempt to overthrow the Turkish government are sentenced to life in prison

A Turkish court on Friday handed down life sentences to 121 people for taking part in the 2016 attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, state media reported.

The court in Ankara sentenced 86 suspects to "aggravated" life imprisonment for "attempting to violate the constitution" while 35 individuals were given life sentences for the same crime, the official Anadolu news agency said.

An aggravated life sentence has tougher terms of detention. It was brought in to replace the death penalty which Turkey abolished in 2004 as part of its drive to join the EU.

A total of 245 suspects were on trial in the case related to events at the Gendarmerie General Command on the night of July 15, 2016 in the Turkish capital.

Another suspect, former colonel Erkan Oktem, was given nine aggravated life sentences for "wilful murder", Anadolu reported. The failed coup left 248 people dead, excluding 24 putschists killed that night.

Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul last week said 15 coup-related trials continued out of a total of 289 in what is the biggest legal process in Turkey's modern history.

After a three-month break because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, trials in Turkey resumed this month including the main coup trial focused on events at an air base in Ankara seen as the putschists' hub.

That trial began in 2017 and is expected to be completed soon.

Turkey says US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen ordered the failed coup, a claim he strongly denies.

Tens of thousands of people have been arrested over alleged links to Gulen, while over 100,000 have been sacked or suspended from the public sector due to similar suspicions.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeas ... l-26062020

[Anthea]

The so-called coup in Turkey

Turkey’s armed forces are known for their efficiency. However, officers bungled the “coup” so badly that many question whether it was staged

Critics describe the events of July 15, 2016 as a “self-coup” organized by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to justify consolidating his grip on power. According to former US Secretary of State John Kerry, “It does not seem to have been a very brilliantly planned or executed event.”

We have learned from experience the best practices to conduct a coup:

- Kill or capture the head of government

- Seize control of the media

- Rally public support

- Present someone from among the ranks of coup plotters to reassure the public

Renegade Turkish troops did not follow the script on July 15. When putschists arrived at Erdogan’s hotel in Marmaris, he was gone. They missed his check-out time. Erdogan’s presidential plane was allowed to take off from the Dalaman airport. F-16s failed to shoot it down. CNN Turk and TRT, two of the least watched news channels, were taken off the air. However, other channels were allowed to broadcast.

Social media – Twitter, Facebook and YouTube – continued to operate. The military did not present someone as the face of the rebellion to assure the public that order was maintained. And while pro-Erdogan imams used muezzins to rally popular support, the putschists instructed people to stay indoors.

Erdogan claimed that the Turkish Grand National Assembly was bombed by war planes. However, crater analysis showed that explosions came from within parliament. Upon returning to Istanbul on July 16 at 3 a.m., Erdogan stood atop a bus in Istanbul surrounded by adoring supporters who were waving Turkish flags and chanting his name. It was a made-for-television moment. “The attempted coup is a gift from heaven,” he proclaimed.

Within hours, law enforcement started arresting political opponents. Erdogan declared an open-ended state of emergency, allowing rule by decree. More than 40,000 people were detained or arrested in the immediate aftermath of the so-called coup. More than 100,000 members of the military, police and judiciary were dismissed.

The education sector, a bastion of Kemalist secularism, was targeted. More than 1,500 university deans were forced to resign and about 21,000 teachers were suspended or fired.

Erdogan also targeted the judiciary, dismissing 2,754 judges, including members of the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors, and charging a member of the constitutional court with collusion. Detainees were denied legal counsel for up to 90 days.

Pro-Kurdish HDP parliamentarians and Kurdish community leaders were held under bogus terrorism charges. At least 30 governors were fired. Article 301 of the Criminal Code, which makes “denigrating Turkishness” a felony, was used to silence dissent.

Erdogan turned Turkey into a gulag domestically and a pariah internationally. The World Justice Index ranked Turkey 99th out of 113 countries behind Iran and Myanmar.

He also took steps to dramatically redefine Turkey’s international relations, distancing Turkey from the United States. He accused the US of plotting the coup and helping to carry it out. Erdogan singled out General Joseph Votel, head of the US Central Command for “siding with coup plotters.” His incendiary remarks fueled anti-Americanism, risking the safety of US citizens in Turkey.

Erdogan raged against the US for prosecuting state-owned Halkbank, which was charged with violating US sanctions on Iran. According to Erdogan, “those who could not succeed in the military coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, are now making a different attempt against our country.”

After the “coup,” Erdogan intensified an expansionist foreign policy, sending troops to Syria, Iraq and Libya. He repeatedly questioned the Lausanne Treaty for its demarcation of Turkey’s borders. Mock dogfights with Greek air force planes and maritime confrontation in the Eastern Mediterranean have become routine.

Did Erdogan stage the “coup” to advance political goals? It’s hard to envision a hoax of such magnitude, especially when the incident resulted in 300 deaths and more than 2,000 injured. More likely, the coup was uncovered; Erdogan let it proceed so it seemed credible, then shut it down.

Erdogan proclaimed that defeating the coup was a victory for democracy. It proved, however, to be a pretext for consolidating dictatorship and purging reformers in civil society.

In 2018, Erdogan called snap presidential and parliamentary elections, leading to constitutional reform that institutionalized sweeping executive powers. Under Erdogan’s dictatorship, Turkey is inexorably declining. Its democracy is in shambles; the economy has cratered. Turkey has become an outlier in Europe and a pariah state in NATO.

https://www.ekathimerini.com/254998/opi ... 22zAd3CjDs