Possible Coup in Turkey

[RachelBibleStudent]

statement from the turkish military...

"Turkish armed forces have completely taken over the administration of the country to reinstate constitutional order, human rights and freedoms, the rule of law and the general security that was damaged. All international agreements are still valid. We hope that all of our good relationships with all countries will continue."

there are currently tanks and soldiers on the move in ankara...and fighter jets are flying very low over ankara...reportedly the soldiers are imposing a curfew and disarming the regular police... there are also reports that military have deployed in other cities in turkey...

the turkish prime minister insists that the government is still in control and that the 'coup attempt' comes from a rogue faction in the turkish military acting on their own initiative outside the military chain of command... he vows to put down the 'coup attempt'...

the mayor of ankara has threatened to call civilian supporters of the government onto the streets...

turkey's president is currently on vacation in a turkish coastal town...

 

[tanakh]

statement from the turkish military...

"Turkish armed forces have completely taken over the administration of the country to reinstate constitutional order, human rights and freedoms, the rule of law and the general security that was damaged. All international agreements are still valid. We hope that all of our good relationships with all countries will continue."

there are currently tanks and soldiers on the move in ankara...and fighter jets are flying very low over ankara...reportedly the soldiers are imposing a curfew and disarming the regular police... there are also reports that military have deployed in other cities in turkey...

the turkish prime minister insists that the government is still in control and that the 'coup attempt' comes from a rogue faction in the turkish military acting on their own initiative outside the military chain of command... he vows to put down the 'coup attempt'...

the mayor of ankara has threatened to call civilian supporters of the government onto the streets...

turkey's president is currently on vacation in a turkish coastal town...

10.25PM


This is avery serious situation. Turkey is part of NATO and I wonder how this will effect the area as a whole. No newa reports at time of writing. terrorist attack in Nice still main topic.

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

this would be the third time that a coup has been attempted or planned against the erdogan regime in the past several years...the first two coup plans were prematurely exposed and the conspirators were taken into custody...

turkey is currently ruled by an islamist party which holds an elected majority in the turkish parliament...

the erdogan regime has been criticized by kemalists and other secular turks for its increasingly assertive islamism...in turkey the military have traditionally been viewed as the guardians of the constitution and of constitutional secularism...

somewhat ironically the military had been seriously weakened in this role in the past two decades as turkey attempted to gain acceptance into the european union which insisted on strengthening turkey's democratic institutions at the expense of the previously formidable civic power of the turkish military...

as an islamist erdogan has thrown state support behind the 'arab spring'...backing the muslim brotherhood in egypt as well as a number of rebel factions in syria... erdogan has also been involved in a longstanding feud with israel which has proven difficult to smooth over... finally erdogan opposes all kurdish independence movements both within and outside of turkey and has moved to clamp down on turkish kurds...

in spite of the islamist leanings of turkey's current government...ISIS recently carried out an attack on turkish soil...

 

[Desdichado]

Wow. This is like Egypt all over again.

Erdogan is a slime, but I hope his government isn't exchanged for another controlled by the dregs of humanity.

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

10.25PM


This is avery serious situation. Turkey is part of NATO and I wonder how this will effect the area as a whole. No newa reports at time of writing. terrorist attack in Nice still main topic.

turkey's role in NATO is likely to be unaffected...at least two actual coups have taken place since turkey was admitted to NATO in 1952... many in NATO trust the turkish military more than they trust erdogan...

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

the military now has control of state television... an announcer read a statement that a 'peace council' will guarantee the freedoms of turks regardless of their religion or race or language... the statement also accuses the erdogan regime of undermining democracy and secularism and the rule of law and promises a new constitution... and then the station went off the air...

this sounds like an attempt to gain support or at least toleration from non islamists and from the kurdish minority...

the military also has control over airports and other locations in istanbul...

in istanbul soldiers entered the headquarters of turkey's ruling AK party and told party officials to leave the premises...

there are attempts to lock down social media...and people are beginning to move onto the streets...possibly supporters of the erdogan regime...

president erdogan maintains the official insistence that this is the work of a minority within the military and that he continues to command the loyalty of most of the military...

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

while the actual state of things in turkey is unclear right now...it is maybe telling that the military statement was released via turkish state television...while erdogan's rebuttal took place via the 'facetime' cell phone app...

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

a historical fact...erdogan's 'justice and development' or 'AK' party is a revival and rebranding of the islamist 'welfare' party that the military previously overthrew and banned in 1997...

turkey's other three major parties are a secular party in the image of kemal ataturk...an ultra nationalist party that generally backs erdogan...and a kurdish ethnic party that does not officially advocate for kurdish separatism but has been accused of doing so by the erdogan regime...

erdogan's islamist government is actually an aberration as far as most of turkey's post ataturk modern history is concerned... after several years of rule the AK party had a close call two elections ago in which they failed to win a majority...after intractable negotiations the government held another election in which the AKP won a majority...

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

in concert with ankara's mayor...president erdogan has also called for civilians to move onto the streets in defiance of the military imposed curfew...

this is the part where it could get ugly...

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

erdogan is accusing 'gulenists' of being behind the coup...

from the wikipedia article on the gulen movement...

The Gülen movement is a transnational religious and social movement led by Turkish Islamic scholar and preacher Fethullah Gülen. The movement has no official name but it is usually referred to as Hizmet ("the Service") by its followers and as Cemaat ("the Community/Assembly") by the broader public in Turkey.

The movement has attracted supporters and critics in Turkey, Central Asia, and in other parts of the world. The movement is active in education with private schools and universities in over 180 countries as well as many American charter schools operated by followers. It has initiated forums for interfaith dialogue. It has substantial investments in media, finance, and for–profit health clinics. Some have praised the movement as a pacifist, modern-oriented version of Islam, and as an alternative to more extreme schools of Islam such as Salafism.

After the 2013 corruption investigations in Turkey into alleged corrupt practices by several bureaucrats, ministers, mayors, and family members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Turkey was uncovered, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan blamed the Movement for initiating the investigations as a result of a break in previously friendly relations. The group was considered to have influence on the Turkish police force and the judiciary. The movement, currently accused of attempting to overthrow the democratically elected Turkish government through a judicial coup through corruption investigations. The government determined the movement as a national security threat for Turkey and seized the group owned newspaper (Zaman-the most circulated newspaper in Turkey before the seizure) and several companies that has ties with the group. Investigations into the group are continuing with several accusations.

in other words...erdogan has made the 'frightening' accusation that the coup is backed by moderates and reformers...

this accusation however is likely to stir up islamist opposition to the coup...

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

stateside reactions are coming in...

hillary clinton..."I am monitoring the situation closely and I call on both sides to just get along. When I am President, I promise to take firm, resolute action whenever necessary, up to and including a severe slap on the wrist."

bernie sanders..."I propose to calm the situation by offering free college to all Turks."

barack obama..."I would normally side with Erdogan, but it turns out the other side is Muslim too. I think in this situation we just have to admit that the Turkish military has too many guns."

ruth bader ginsburg..."Zzzzzzzzzzzz..."

donald trump..."I love the Turks. My chefs at Trump Tower make the best Turkish food. Just look at that picture!"


mike pence..."Whatever the boss says, I agree with it."

ann coulter..."This is what happens when a country lets too many immigrants in. If the Turks are smart they'll deport all the Mexicans and build a wall."

paul ryan..."I don't know who has the upper hand, but whoever it is I have to support them no matter how disagreeable they are because at least they aren't Hillary Clinton."

jay leno..."Let that be a lesson to you: Pay attention to those Surgeon General's warnings! President Erdogan of Turkey learned the hard way: A pack of Kemals is bad for your health."

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

back to serious news...

turkish president erdogan is in an 'undisclosed location'...his plane was refused landing in istanbul... he still claims that the government will regain control 'soon' and threatened those responsible...

the head of turkey's military has -not- made a speech...if he is a part of this then he is uncharacteristically 'laying low' for a military head in a turkish coup...

some of the police are arresting some of the soldiers...

civilians on the streets have heeded erdogan's call and are challenging the military by defying the curfew and chanting...

tank fire is being heard near the turkish parliament building...

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

addition calls from former prime minister davutoglu for civilians to go out onto the street to challenge the coup...

reports of soldiers opening fire on civilian protesters trying to force their way across the bosporus bridge in instanbul...

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

turkey's interior minister claims that military and police units are pushing back against the coup attempt...

the commander of turkey's first army claims that a small group within the first army command is responsible for the coup attempt...he argues that there is no cause for concern and that the situation is being handled...

my own note...generally a small 'officers coup' from a 'clique' of officers is incapable of action on the scale of locking down several cities as well as travel and media and internet...which is what we are seeing here... although the entire military may not be behind the coup...the first army commander seems to be overstating his case...

 

[49]

Where did you go? Do miss the play-by-plays.

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

an -actual- statement from obama and the state department has been released...supporting the turkish government... this is in line with their response to egypt's uprising in which the administration -also- took the islamist side...

the head of NATO gave a slightly more measured response...urging 'full respect' for turkey's 'democratic institutions' and constitution...

a bomb explosion hit the turkish parliament building...several were injured...

hundreds of civilians are apparently occupying the istanbul airport now...it is unclear if they are supporters of the government or supporters of the coup... some have been seen attacking soldiers while others have been seen cheering people in military uniform...

a spokesman for turkey's national intelligence agency is claiming that the coup attempt has been repelled...he is confident that everything will be over before morning... he also claims that thirteen people in military uniform were arrested trying to enter the presidential palace...

the intelligence spokesman identified those responsible for the coup as being part of the air force...

the commander of the turkish military's special forces is supporting the government...and claims that the government is in control of the situation...


my own note...it is becoming increasingly clear that the turkish military is divided and that not all are supportive of a coup... however it still appears that the erdogan regime is understating the size of the coup...if it was merely one or two dozen officers of the air force...i doubt they would have access to tanks...

the religious moderate and reformist 'gulen movement'...actually based in the united states...has denied having anything to do with the coup attempt...

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

another explosion in the turkish parliament building...

tanks are leaving their positions on streets of ankara...possibly in retreat...

the governor of istanbul province claims to have access to government loyal tanks that he can bring in if necessary to end the coup attempt...

the chief of staff of the turkish military has been alternately reported as both taken hostage in the defense department building and as continuing to perform his duties...the former report comes from the turkish government's defense minister while the latter report comes from the national intelligence organization...

the government claims that 104 'coup plotters' have been identified in istanbul...and that some of them have been arrested...

a fighter jet has shot down a helicopter over ankara... aircraft have also attacked the security department and the presidential palace and the state television headquarters...

the prime minister of turkey has imposed a no fly zone in turkey's entire air space... how capable the government is of enforcing this order is still not clear...

a news channel in cyprus has reported that erdogan has requested permission to enter germany...permission was reportedly denied...

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

a turkish government official is now reporting that erdogan's plane is landing in istanbul...

 

[Mitspa]

Fox reporting first the coup failed ...now they report the military has control of the government

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

it still isn't over yet...

a group of anti government soldiers are raiding CNN's building in turkey and arresting people... CNN turk is the news agency that interviewed erdogan via the 'facetime' cell phone app and broadcast his defiance against the coup attempt...

the soldiers are now shutting down CNN turk's broadcast...