According to a statement from the coup soldiers, Turkey is to be run from this point on by a “peace council”, which will ensure the safety of the Turkish population.
State-run broadcaster TRT, as part of its coup announcement, has said Turkey’s democratic and secular rule of law has been eroded by the current government, Reuters reports.
The country is now run by a “peace council” that will ensure the safety of the population, the announcer has said.
The TRT headquarters have reportedly been taken control of by soldiers from the coup forces. The majority of the operations by the Turkish troops have been occurring in Istanbul and the capital, Ankara.
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Turkey is a member of NATO, and has the second largest standing military force within NATO. Turkey holds an estimated 3-4 Syrian refugees which he rules over as a dictator. Raqqa, Syria the defacto headquarters for Islamic State is less than 100 miles from the Turkish border. The United States built a major airbase in Turkey known as Incirlik hence the West has a deep investment and concern in and over the authoritarian rule of Erdogan.
ISTANBUL—After 13 years of being methodically marginalized during Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s tenure atop Turkish politics, the army is regaining its clout as the president sidelines his political rivals.
Turkey’s military, which has forced four civilian governments from power since 1960, is re-emerging as a pivotal actor alongside Mr. Erdogan, who has long viewed the army as a potentially dangerous adversary. WSJ
There are symptoms that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan staged this coup while on vacation. A total of 1,563 military officers have been detained across #Turkey – senior Turkish official.
In 2001 Erdogan, along with long-time ally Abdullah Gul and others, founded the Islamic-rooted AKP, which had won every election since 2002 until June last year when it lost its majority for the first time.
The party bounced back in a second vote in November, boosting Erdogan’s hopes once more to consolidate his power.
“The AKP is my fifth child,” says Erdogan, who has two sons and two daughters. More background here.
The opposition forces that Erdogan targeted and worked to destroy in this concocted coup is known as the Council of Peace.
Erdogan, who had been holidaying on the southwest coast when the coup was launched, flew into Istanbul before dawn on Saturday and was shown on TV among a crowd of supporters outside Ataturk Airport. The uprising was an “act of treason”, and those responsible would pay a heavy price, he told reporters at a hastily arranged news conference. Arrests of officers were under way and it would go higher up the ranks, culminating in the cleansing of the military, he said. However, in an emailed statement from the Turkish military General Staff’s media office address, the pro-coup faction said it was determinedly still fighting. Calling itself the Peace at Home Movement, the faction also called on people to stay indoors for their own safety.
Turkey is one of the main backers of opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in that country’s civil war, host to 2.7 million Syrian refugees and launchpad last year for the biggest influx of migrants to Europe since World War Two. Celebratory gunfire erupted in Syria’s capital Damascus after the army claimed to have toppled Erdogan. People took to the streets to celebrate there and in other government-held cities.
Turkey has been at war with Kurdish separatists and has suffered numerous bombing and shooting attacks this year, including an attack two weeks ago by Islamists at Ataturk airport that killed more than 40 people. After serving as prime minister from 2003, Erdogan was elected president in 2014 with plans to alter the constitution to give the previously ceremonial presidency far greater executive powers.
Turkey has enjoyed an economic boom during his time in office and has dramatically expanded its influence across the region. However, opponents say his rule has become increasingly authoritarian. His AK Party, with roots in Islamism, has long had a strained relationship with the military and nationalists in a state that was founded on secularist principles after World War One. The military has a history of mounting coups to defend secularism, but has not seized power directly since 1980. More here.
How this came about is noted here:
At least 90 killed in attempted military coup in Turkey
The Turkish military have “taken control” of the country following an “unsuccessful coup”, a government official has said.
- A section of Turkey’s military attempted to overthrow the government on Friday evening by declaring martial law and imposing a curfew.
- Loud explosions were heard at the Turkish parliament in Ankara and near Istanbul’s Taksim Square overnight
- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a pre-dawn press conference and said the attempted coup was an act of terror and that he was “not going anywhere”
- Gunshots were heard in the capital Ankara as military jets and helicopters were seen flying overhead
- Around 50 pro-coup soldiers surrendered on the Bosphorus bridge in Istanbul on Saturday morning
- Umit Dundar has been appointed as the head of Turkey’s First Army after coup bid
- A Turkish official said 29 colonels and five generals have been removed from posts
- At least 90 people have been killed and 1,154 injured during the attempt
An announcer on Turkey’s state broadcaster has said the country is now run by a “peace council” which will ensure the safety of the population.
They said the current government had “eroded” democratic and secular rule, adding:
- A new constitution will be drawn up as soon as possible
- Public order will not be damaged
- Freedom of citizens will be guaranteed regardless of religion, race and language
- Martial law will be imposed
