On the evening of July 15, while people still reeled from the shock of the Nice terror attack, news of another calamity broke. In Turkey, a military coup was underway, led by factions of the army in an attempt to overthrow the regime of President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an. It had begun with tanks rolling onto the streets of Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey’s current and former capitals. Soldiers blocked Istanbul’s Bosphorus Bridge, obstructing civilians from passing from the Asian to the Europeanside. People began gathering in Taksim Square, waving red and white flags, prematurely celebrating Erdo?an’s departure.
As mayhem ensued, Erdo?an spoke to a news anchor from his place of hiding, using Facetime to reassure the nation, and the world, that he was still in power. He even urged Turks to go out onto the streets and face the military opposition. “Give them your answer,” he said.
Although gunfire continued, and strikes on the presidential building and national intelligence headquarters, within hours the tide turned. By 4am local time, deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek told CNN by telephone that Erdo?an’s authorities had regained control, thus bringing an end to the attempted rebellion.
Unsurprisingly, there were fatalities; 294 died people died during the chaos, more than 190 of whom were civilians. A further 1,400 were wounded.
Given the status of those involved, from high-ranking police officers to senior judges and army officials, Erdo?an placed immediate blame on the self-exiled, yet highly influential cleric, Fethullah Gülen. Though US-based Gülen has publically condemned the attempted coup, Erdo?an insists he be extradited to Turkey, to be punished along with the other conspirators.
In fact, within two days of the failed coup, over 6,000 military personnel were arrested, and almost 3,000 judges were suspended and now face detainment. By the third day, around 9,000 police officers were fired.
Of grave concern is the fact that the names of those arrested hail from pre-existing lists compiled by the state. In light of this detail, and the speed in which Ankara has acted, it would appear that Erdo?an has been waiting for an excuse to quash his adversaries. Talk of the revolt being orchestrated by Erdo?an himself has erupted, intensifying further following a speech during which he called the insurgency a “gift from Allah,” as it would allow him to “purge the military” and ensure his opponents “pay a heavy price for their treason”. Many are comparing the coup to the 1933 Reichstag fire, which Hitler used as an excuse to order mass arrests and abolish civil liberties.
Using the failed coup as a pretext, the freedom and rights of the Turkish people, or lack thereof, are bound to get a whole lot worse. For instance, in recent years the country has become one of Transparency International’s worst performers in its Corruption Perceptions Index. More than 1,440 critics have been charged since 2014, and 73 journalists were murdered last year alone. Anyone who speaks out against Erdo?an’s regime can now expect nothing less than the full wrath of a tyrant. With capital punishment on the cards once again (having been abolished in 2004 in a bid for EU accession), the President has even more licence to suppress and eradicate any opposition.
In such a climate Erdo?an will continue amassing power and eradicating civil liberties, chipping away at the sham democracy currently in place. All the while, a heightening of security in the major cities will ensue, reaching the point in which they resemble police states, with military troops placed at every corner to keep an ever-vigilant eye.
Should such a scenario befall it, Turkey is still likely to preserve its instrumental ties with the US, the UK and the EU. Throughout Erdo?an’s increasingly authoritarian supremacy, his supporters in the West have continuously turned a blind eye to Turkey’s blatant violation of human rights. Despite evidence linking Turkey with support for ISIS, deals advantageous to Ankara continue to be made, seemingly out of fear of harming the so-called ‘democratic bridge’ between the West and the Middle East. And so, even when terror rains down on the Turks, Ankara will continue to leverage its geographic location and regional influence to act as it pleases and receive Western support. Certainly, with the refugee crisis and the threat of ISIS on Europe’s doorstep, Erdo?an has powerful cards to play.
Whether the events of July 15 were organised by Erdo?an, or at the least known to him, is still uncertainl, but not impossible. In any case, he will use the attempted coup, having proved time and again his inclination to deceive, plot and circumvent the law so as to consolidate his position and enhance his power. With nothing standing in his way, who knows what tyrannical heights Erdo?an will now reach, and to what degree this dictatorship will be overlooked by Western allies serving their own interests.
