On 15 July 2016, an apparent coup d'état, performed by a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces who supposedly organized as the Peace at Home Council, was attempted in Turkey. The supposed council allegedly attempted to seize control of several key places in the cities of Ankara, Istanbul and elsewhere. There are skeptics as to the existence of the council, with some calling the event a false flag operation. On 16 July, the event ended when forces loyal to elected Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan controlled the theatre of operations.
The motives behind the event are unclear. The government of Turkey blamed soldiers linked to the Gülen Movement—a group designated as a terrorist organization by the incumbent government and led by Fethullah Gülen, an exile. Gülen, however, condemned the coup and denied any involvement.[20] He instead accused the Turkish president of staging the event as a false flag operation in an attempt to legitimise further curbs to civil liberties and purges to the judiciary and military, as well as to increase support for an executive presidency.[21][22][23]
At least 290 people were killed, and more than a thousand were injured. Many government buildings, including the Turkish Parliament and the Presidential Palace, were damaged.[7][8][9][10] Mass arrests followed, with at least 6,000 detained, including at least 2,839 soldiers and, for reasons that remain unclear, 2,745 judges.[24][25][26]
Reactions to the event were largely against the coup, both domestically and internationally. The main opposition parties in Turkey condemned the attempt, while several international leaders—such as those from the United States, NATO, and the European Union—called for "respect of the democratic institutions in Turkey and its elected officials."[27][28] International organizations expressed themselves against the coup as well. The United Nations Security Council, however, did not denounce the coup after Egypt, a non-permanent member of the Council, objected to language used in the proposed draft.[29]
Contents
Background
Further information: History of the Republic of Turkey
Kemalism versus Islamism
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey
Since the establishment of multiparty democracy in Turkey in 1946, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), together with the judiciary, have viewed themselves as guardians of Kemalist ideals and the secular Turkish nationalist state established under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk against political parties that have promoted a larger role for Islam in public life. The military and judiciary have regularly intervened in politics to block or ban popular parties representing conservative Muslim Turks attempting to relax the restrictions on traditional religious practices, like women's wearing of headscarves. The military has toppled four elected governments by coups in 1960 and 1980 and by military decisions in 1971 and 1997, and in addition banned several major political parties. In 1998, Erdoğan, who was the mayor of Istanbul at the time, was banned for life from politics and jailed because of a poem he read several years ago at a public meeting. In 2007, the military expressed its opposition to the election of Abdullah Gül of the AKP as the president by issuing an e-memorandum but Gül was eventually elected when the AKP won a referendum on the issue and a snap election and returned with a larger majority in the parliament.[30]
Ergenekon trials
In the years leading up to the 2016 coup attempt, the Ergenekon trials took place, which were seen as a bid by Turkey's civilian leaders under President Erdoğan to establish dominance over the military.[30][31] In these trials in 2013—viewed as "sensational"[30] and "one of the biggest in recent Turkish history"[31]—275 people, including senior military officers, journalists, lawyers and academics, were accused of plotting a coup in 2003 and 2004 as part of a secret network named "Ergenekon" against Erdoğan, who was prime minister at the time.[31] Additionally, some military officers were accused of involvement in a separate alleged plot, Sledgehammer.[31] Simultaneously, Erdoğan promoted lower-ranking officers up the chain of command, ensuring that the military chief of staff was loyal to him, thereby demoralizing the army.[32]
After the break between the Gülenist factions and Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) party, Erdoğan decided it would be advantageous to rehabilitate the army.[32] The "Ergenekon" convictions were overturned in April 2016 by Turkey's highest appeals court, which ruled that the existence of the network was unproven.[31][33] The November 2015 election was re-held amidst controversy of a crackdown on the media, as well ongoing hostilities with the PKK, amidst the Syrian Civil War, and relations with the country's Kurds.
Role of alleged corruption
In 2013, law enforcement efforts to fight corruption that led to the 2013 corruption scandal in Turkey were faulted by Erdoğan. The anti-corruption efforts were noted as a source of tension between the Gülenists, Erdoğan, and the AKP.[34] In political analysis in the months prior to the coup attempt, the incidence of corruption was reportedly noted to be "rife" in Erdoğan's Turkey.[35] Following the coup attemp, it was further noted that some coup leaders cited corruption as a reason for their actions.[36]
"Immunity bill"
On 13 July, less than two days before the coup was launched, Erdoğan signed a bill giving Turkish soldiers immunity from prosecution while taking part in domestic security operations, requiring cases against commanders to be approved by the prime minister, while cases against lower-ranking soldiers may be signed off on by district governors. The immunity bill was seen as part of the détente between the government and the Armed Forces, while the latter have increasingly been taking over the military operations in the Kurdish-inhabited areas from police and paramilitary units.[37]
Events
Attempted takeover
News report showing tanks approaching Istanbul's Atatürk Airport
On 15 July 2016, as reported just before 11:00 p.m. EEST (UTC+3), military jets were witnessed flying over Ankara, and both the Fatih Sultan Mehmet and Bosphorus bridges in Istanbul in the direction of Anatolia to Europe were closed.[38][39][40]
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said military action was being "taken outside the chain of command" and it was an "illegal attempt" to seize power by "part of the military".[41] He further said that those involved "will pay the highest price."[42] Local media also reported tanks in Istanbul's Atatürk Airport.[43] It was reported that Internet users within Turkey were blocked from accessing Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.[44][45] Twitter later claimed that they "have no reason to think we've been fully blocked".[46] Some hostages were taken at military headquarters, including the Turkish Chief of the General Staff Hulusi Akar.[47] At around 21:00, the coupists had invited Salih Zeki Çolak, the commander of the Turkish Land Forces to the military headquarters. When he arrived, he was immediately apprehended.[48] Abidin Ünal, head of the Turkish Air Force, who had been attending a wedding in Istanbul, was abducted from there by soldiers who descended from a helicopter.[49] The coupists then tried to force Akar to sign the coup declaration, almost strangling him using a belt in the process. He refused and was then taken to the Akıncı Air Base along with other commanders at the headquarters.[50] The military also entered the Justice and Development Party's offices in Istanbul and asked people to leave.[51]
Early reports said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was safe in Marmaris, south-west Turkey, where he had been on holiday,[39] while reports also alleged that he had fled the country in a private jet.[52][53]
At around 11:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m., helicopters bombed the police special forces headquarters and police air force headquarters in Gölbaşı, just outside of Ankara. The attacks left 42 dead and 43 injured. Türksat headquarters in Gölbaşı was also attacked, killing two security personnel.[54][55]
At around 11:50 p.m., soldiers occupied Taksim Square in central Istanbul.[56]
At 12:02 a.m., it was reported by Reuters that Turkish soldiers were inside the buildings of the Turkish state broadcaster, the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), in Ankara.[57] During the coup attempt, soldiers forced anchor Tijen Karaş to read out a statement saying that "the democratic and secular rule of law has been eroded by current government" and that Turkey was now led by a "peace council" who would "ensure safety of the population."[45][58] The statement read in part, "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 general security that was damaged. […] All international agreements are still valid. We hope that all of our good relationships with all countries will continue."[57][59] The plotters said they had "done so to preserve democratic order, and that the rule of law must remain a priority". The statement also ordered temporary martial rule, and claimed a new constitution would be prepared "as soon as possible".[60][61] TRT was then taken off air.[57]
Peace at Home Council
Main article: Peace at Home Council
The "peace council" reportedly was chaired by Muharrem Köse.[62]
The name of the "Peace at Home Council" - Yurtta Sulh Konseyi - "is derived from Atatürk's famous saying 'Peace at Home, Peace in the World' ", according to a BBC article by Turkish journalist and scholar Ezgi Başaran.[63] She also noted that "the statement of the junta, that was [...] read on the [...] government TV [channel] as the coup got under way, bore a strong resemblance to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's famous address to the Turkish Youth. [...] On the other hand, given that these references are too obvious, they may have been intentionally included to insinuate a Kemalist junta rather than a Gülenist one."[63]
Government response and conflict
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım
The Turkish Presidential office said President Erdoğan was on holiday outside Turkey and safe, and condemned the coup attempt as an attack on democracy.[57][43] A presidential source also said Erdoğan and his government are still in power.[60] The first messages from Erdoğan were transmitted at around 12:23 a.m.[64] At about 1:00 a.m., Erdoğan did a FaceTime interview with CNN Türk, in which he called upon his supporters to take to the streets in defiance of the military-imposed curfew, saying "There is no power higher than the power of the people. Let them do what they will at public squares and airports."[30][65] Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş appeared on live television, saying Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is still in charge of the government.[60] The mayor of Ankara, Melih Gökçek of the AKP, encouraged people to go out to the city's streets in defiance, despite a curfew imposed by the military.[45] Erdoğan's plane took off from Dalaman Airport near Marmaris at 11:47 p.m., but had to wait in the air south of Atatürk for the airport to be secured. His plane could only land at 2:50 a.m.[66]
The First Army General Command in Istanbul claimed that the TSK did not support the coup and the perpetrators represented a very small faction that were on the verge of being brought under control.[67] Istanbul Atatürk Airport was closed; all flights from the airport were cancelled.[68] There was an explosion in the TRT broadcasting headquarters and gunfire was reported in Ankara.[60] Soon after, it was stormed by a crowd of civilians and police, with four soldiers inside reportedly being "neutralised". The channel went back on air and Karaş, who had previously announced the coup, said live that she had been held hostage and forced to read the declaration of the coup at gunpoint.[69]
By 1:00 a.m., it was reported that the military had pulled its forces from the Atatürk airport and people were coming inside, but by 1:13 a.m., it was reported that tanks were inside the airport and gunfire was heard.[56]
Tanks opened fire near the Turkish Parliament Building.[57] The parliamentary building was also hit from the air.[7][8][70] Injuries were reported among protesters on Bosphorus Bridge following gunfire on the bridge.[60][9]
A helicopter belonging to the pro-coup forces was shot down by a Turkish military F-16 fighter jet.[60][71] There were also reports of pro-government jets flying over Ankara to "neutralize" helicopters used by those behind the coup.[60]
At 3:08 a.m., a military helicopter opened fire on the Turkish parliament.[56] At 3:10 a.m., Turkish Armed Forces claimed on their website that they had complete control over the country.[72] However, at 3:12 a.m., Yıldırım made a statement saying that the situation was under control and that a no-fly zone was declared over Ankara and that military planes that still flew would be shot down.[56][73]
It was reported that the Turkish parliament had been bombed again at 3:23 and 3:33 a.m.[74] A helicopter belonging to the pro-coup forces was also seen flying by it. Half an hour following the report of 12 deaths and 2 injuries in the parliament, soldiers entered CNN Türk's headquarters and forced the studio to go off air.[74][57][60] After an hour of interruption by the pro-coup soldiers, CNN Türk resumed its broadcast.[75] Later, İsmail Kahraman said a bomb exploded at a corner of the public relations building inside the parliament, with no deaths but several injuries among police officers.[1]
At around 4:00 a.m., after Erdoğan left his hotel at Marmaris, two or three helicopters attacked the hotel he had left. According to eyewitness accounts, ten to fifteen heavily armed men landed and started firing. In the ensuing conflict, two policemen were killed and 8 were injured.[76][64][77]
The Doğan News Agency reported that in Istanbul several individuals were injured after soldiers fired on a group of people that was attempting to cross the Bosphorus Bridge in protest of the attempted coup.[38]
Failure of the coup attempt
After Erdoğan flew in to Istanbul, he made a televised speech at first inside the airport at around 4:00 a.m., whilst thousands gathered outside. He addressed a crowd of supporters in the airport, at about 6:30 a.m.[56][78] He said, "In Turkey, armed forces are not governing the state or leading the state. They cannot." He blamed "those in Pennsylvania" (a reference to Fethullah Gülen, who lives in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, and his Hizmet Movement) for the coup attempt.[79][80][81] Erdoğan also said he had plans to "clean up" the army,[60] saying that "This uprising is a gift from God to us."[82] State-run Anadolu Agency named former Colonel Muharrem Köse, who in March 2016 was dishonorably discharged for alleged association with Gülen, as the suspected leader of the coup.[83][84] However, the Alliance for Shared Values, a non-profit organization associated with Gülen, released a statement reiterating that it condemns any military intervention in domestic politics, and saying Erdoğan's allegations against the movement were "highly irresponsible".[85] Gülen himself said in a brief statement just before midnight: "As someone who suffered under multiple military coups during the past five decades, it is especially insulting to be accused of having any link to such an attempt. I categorically deny such accusations."[86]
Reuters reported that in early hours of 16 July, the coup appeared to have "crumbled" as crowds defied pro-coup military orders and gathered in major squares of Istanbul and Ankara to oppose the coup.[78] Reuters also reported pro-coup soldiers surrendering to the police in Taksim Square, Istanbul.[78] It was reported that by 5:18 a.m., Atatürk airport had completely been recaptured by the government whilst the police had surrounded the coupists inside the Turkish army headquarters, calling for them to surrender. Between 6:00–8:00 a.m. a skirmish took place there. In Akar's absence, Ümit Dündar, head of the First Army, was appointed Acting Chief of Staff.[56]
In the early hours of the morning of 16 July, soldiers blocking the Bosphorus Bridge surrendered to the police.[87] According to the government-run Anadolu Agency, this consisted of a group of 50 soldiers. Some of these soldiers were lynched by the public despite efforts of police forces which fired into the air[88] in order to protect the soldiers from civilians.[89][90][91] The throat of one soldier was reportedly slit whilst a video emerged in which one person claimed that four soldiers had been killed.[89][92][93][94] Meanwhile, in the headquarters of the Turkish Army, 700 unarmed soldiers surrendered as the police conducted an operation into the building while 150 armed soldiers were kept inside by the police.[92] The coupists in the TRT building in Istanbul surrendered in the early morning as well.[95] Chief of Staff Akar, held hostage at the Akıncı Air Base in Ankara, was also rescued by pro-government forces.[96]
Turkish soldiers' request for political asylum in Greece
On Saturday 16 July 2016, at 12:42 a.m. EEST (UTC+3), a Turkish Black Hawk helicopter sent a distress signal and requested permission for an emergency landing to Greek authorities and landed 8 minutes later (12:50) at the Dimokritos airport in Alexandroupoli, in Greece,[97] while two Greek F-16s observed the procedure and escorted it to the airport.[98] The first reports said that the passengers were seven military personnel and a civilian. Later it turned out that all were military personnel. They had removed the badges and insignia from their uniforms, making it impossible to know their rank.[99][100] All were arrested after landing for illegal entry into the country. They were transferred to the local police station, while the helicopter was guarded at the airport by the Greek authorities. The eight passengers all requested political asylum in Greece.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey has requested extradition of the persons who escaped to Greece and the return of the Turkish helicopter to Turkey.[57][101][102] The Greek authorities answered that the Turkish military helicopter would be returned as soon as possible. Regarding the passengers, they said, "we will follow the procedures of international law.[103] However, we give very serious considerations to the fact that they are accused, in their country, of violating the constitutional order and trying to overthrow democracy."[99] The Turkish Foreign Minister made a statement, posted on Twitter, that the soldiers who landed in Greece, claiming asylum, would be extradited. A Greek government source denied this, saying the asylum process would be processed swiftly but international law and human rights would be fully respected.[104][105] At night (after 11:00 p.m. (EEST) a second Turkish Black Hawk helicopter with extra crew members arrived at the Greek airport from Turkey in order to retrieve the first helicopter, after the crew checked the helicopter, both helicopters returned back to Turkey early on the morning of 17 July.[106][107]
The lawyer assigned to four of the Turkish military officers said they were all medical crew in Istanbul and they didn’t know about the coup and that they all have families and children in Turkey. She also added that the officers received orders on the evening of 15 July to transfer some injured people with their helicopters. They followed orders without knowing that a coup was under way. At some point, police opened fire against their helicopters. By that point they were aware a coup was under way and feared they would be executed as participants if they stayed in Turkey, so they decided to board a helicopter not damaged by police fire and fly to Greece to request asylum.[108] The lawyer also added that they were “in a bad mental state” because they were afraid for both their own and their families’ lives.[109] In addition, they don't believe that they will be given a fair trial in Turkey.[110]
The eight Turkish soldiers appeared before a Greek prosecutor at Alexandroupoli on the morning of 17 July and were charged with illegal entry into the country, jeopardizing Greece's relationship with Turkey and for illegal flight.[108][111][112] [113] Seven were charged with instigating the illegal flight, while the eighth, who was piloting the helicopter, was accused of executing the illegal flight.[105] Later, the charges regarding jeopardizing Greece's relationship with Turkey removed.[114][115] According to Turkish authorities two held the rank of major and the others were more junior officers.[105] According to Athens News Agency the group consisted of three majors, three captains and two sergeants major.[109] The Guardian reports, however, that the group consisted of two colonels, four captains and two sergeants.[110]
On 18 July, they appeared before a judge in Alexandroupoli. They were in civilian clothes when they were brought to the courthouse and their faces were covered. The court has postponed the trial to 21 July 2016. The atmosphere in court was tense, Turkish officials who sat directly behind the Turkish soldiers in the courtroom threatened them until a Greek lawyer asked them to be moved away. Their lawyer said that: "My clients told me that in the court were people from Turkey, and they said bad words against them. Someone who speaks Turkish told me they called them 'dogs, traitors, we will kill you'. Something like that."[116]
Greek Deputy Defence Minister Dimitris Vitsas has noted that the group's asylum applications were being processed and a decision would be made by the Greek courts. Although the applications would be examined under both "Greek and international law", the argument for extradition is "very strong".[117]
The Turkish ambassador to Greece, has told that if the soldiers are not returned to Turkey, this would not help bilateral relations between the two countries.[118]
A Greek lawyer said that the situation is very "complicated" under Greek and international law. "I suspect that the Greek authorities want a clean and immediate extradition procedure. However, there are strong legal arguments to oppose such a thing. "We have to consider the safety of their lives. That is the first argument when granting asylum. They can't be extradited if there is the suspicion of a political or a military prosecution against them - and harsh penalties."[119]
Aftermath
Arrests and purges
Main article: 2016 Turkish purges
Citizens protesting the coup attempt in Tokat
Pop-up banners during a protest
A view of the street demonstration against the coup
Prime Minister Yıldırım announced on 16 July 2016 that 2,839 soldiers of various ranks had been arrested.[120] Among those arrested were at least 34 generals or admirals.[121] A number of students of the Kuleli Military High School, numbering enough to fill five buses, were also arrested.[122] By 18 July 2016, a total of 103 generals and admirals have been detained by Turkish authorities in connection with the coup.[123][124]
On 16 July 2016, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors of Turkey (HSYK) removed 2,745 Turkish judges from duty and ordered their detention following the attempted coup.[125][126][127] Of these judges, 541 were in administrative judiciary and 2,204 were in criminal judiciary. This amounted to approximately 36% of all judges in Turkey at the time.[128] Two judges from the Constitutional Court of Turkey, Alparslan Altan and Erdal Tercan, were detained by Turkish authorities for supposed ties with the Gülen movement,[129] while 5 members of the HSYK had their membership revoked and 10 members of the Turkish Council of State were arrested on charges of being members of the parallel state.[130] Furthermore, arrest warrants were issued for 48 members of the Council of State and 140 members of the Court of Cassation. Yasemin Özata Çetinkaya, the governor of Sinop Province, was removed from her duty and her husband, a colonel in the Turkish army, arrested.[131]
President Erdoğan had warned his opponents that "they will pay a heavy price for this." Given his consideration of "this uprising [as] a gift from God to us because this will be a reason to cleanse our army," international observers[who?] expect the president to "become more vengeful and obsessed with control than ever, exploiting the crisis not just to punish mutinous soldiers but to further quash whatever dissent is left in Turkey," as the New York Times editorial board put it, who considered the aftermath an actual "counter-coup".[132]
Additional purges continued on 18 July 2016. The Turkish government suspended 8,777 government officials across the country for alleged links to the coup perpetrators. Among those suspended include 7,899 police officers, 614 gendarmerie officers, 47 district governors and 30 regional governors.[133] Turkish military conducted a raid on the Turkish Air Force Academy in Istanbul as well.[134]
On 18 July 2016, U.S. State Secretary John Kerry urged Turkish authorities to halt the increasing crackdown on its citizens, indicating that the crackdown was meant to "suppress dissent". French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault voiced concern, warning against a "political system which turns away from democracy" in response to the purges. [135]
Following a series of arrests and purges throughout the government, Prime Minister Yıldırım announced on 18 July 2016 that annual leave for all civil servants was suspended, and all those on leave were to return to work. Over three million civil servants were affected. In addition, public sector employees were banned from leaving the country.[136]
Deputy Mayor of Istanbul's Şişli District, Cemil Candaş, was shot in the head in his office by an unidentified assailant on 18 July 2016. Meanwhile, Turkish parliament was evacuated due to unidentified security concerns.[137]
By the evening of 19 July, the number of public sector employees suspended had reached 49,321. By far the greatest purge was in the Ministry of National Education, where 15,200 teachers were suspended. The licenses of 21,000 teachers in the private sector were also cancelled. The Council of Higher Education asked all deans of state and private universities, numbering 1577, to resign. In the Ministry of Finance, more than 1500 employees were suspended. In the Prime Ministry, 257 employees, including six advisers, were suspended. The Presidency of Religious Affairs suspended 492 employees, among them three provincial muftis. The numbers of suspended personnel in the National Intelligence Organization and Ministry of Family and Social Policy were 100 and 393 respectively.[138][139] The licenses of 24 television channels and the press cards of 34 journalists accused of being linked to Gülen were revoked.[140][141] The Presidency of Religious Affairs also stated that it would not be providing religious funeral services to the dead coupists, except for "privates and low-ranking officers compelled by force and threats who found themselves in the midst of the conflict without full knowledge of anything".[142]
Mention of reintroduction of death penalty
Following the arrests, thousands of anti-coup protesters demanded instituting the death penalty against detainees connected with the coup, chanting "we want the death penalty". President Erdoğan has been open to reinstituting the death penalty, noting that "in a democracy, whatever the people want they will get." Turkish authorities have not executed anyone since 1984, but legally abolished capital punishment only in 2004 as a pre-condition to join the European Union.
European Union officials have been vocal about their opposition to purges by Turkish authorities in connection to the coup. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault noted that Turkey must work within the framework of the law to uphold Europe's democratic principles.[143] Furthermore, on 18 July 2016, Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of Foreign Affairs of the European Union, announced that no country will be admitted into the European Union "if it introduces the death penalty".[144][145] Moreover, German press secretary, Steffen Seibert, stated that reinstituting the death penalty will end Turkey's accession talks with the European Union.[146]
Turkey is a member of the Council of Europe, and ratified the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as part of its terms of membership. The ECHR is an international treaty that includes the abolition of the death penalty among its terms. As such, Turkey is legally bound not to reintroduce the death penalty.[147]
Allegations against Fethullah Gülen
Political figure Fethullah Gülen, condemned the coup attempt and denied any role in it, but was partially blamed by Turkish authorities.
Fethullah Gülen, whom President Erdogan had accused as being one of the principal conspirators, vehemently condemned the coup attempt and denied any role in it. "I condemn, in the strongest terms, the attempted military coup in Turkey," he said in an emailed statement reported by The New York Times. "Government should be won through a process of free and fair elections, not force. I pray to God for Turkey, for Turkish citizens and for all those currently in Turkey that this situation is resolved peacefully and quickly. As someone who suffered under multiple military coups during the past five decades, it is especially insulting to be accused of having any link to such an attempt. I categorically deny such accusations."[86]
President Erdoğan asked the United States to extradite Gülen: "I call on you again, after there was a coup attempt. Extradite this man in Pennsylvania to Turkey! If we are strategic partners or model partners, do what is necessary."[148] Prime Minister Yildirim has threatened war against any country that would support Gülen.[149]
Regarding the AKP's allegations against exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen, who lives in Pennsylvania, Secretary of State Kerry invited the Turkish government "to present us with any legitimate evidence that withstands scrutiny," before they would accept an extradition request.[150]
Outside of Turkey, in Beringen, Belgium, aggressive supporters of Erdogan tried to attack a building of the pro-Gülen movement "Vuslat". The police brought in a water cannon to keep the attackers at bay. In news articles it was stated that the police also protected the houses of the Gülen supporters. People advocated on social media to go to Beringen once more, and there was unrest in Heusden-Zolder, elsewhere in Belgium.[151]
Incirlik Air Base
The US consulate in Turkey issued an advisory to U.S citizens to avoid the Incirlik Air Base, which houses about 50 nuclear bombs,[152] in southern Turkey until "normal operations have been restored".[104][153] They stated that local authorities were denying access to the air base and that power supplying the air base was shut off. The U.S. Air Force was operating in the Incirlik air base for the American-led intervention in Syria.[154][155] Nearly 1,500 American personnel are housed in the base.[156]
Twenty-four hours after initial reports that the air base was shut down, U.S. defense department officials confirmed that the base and its airspace had re-opened to military aircraft and that operations by American aircraft will resume.[157]
Social unrest
On 16 July, anti-coup protesters chanted against locals in areas of Istanbul with high concentration of Alevis, including Okmeydanı and Gazi. Such incidents also occurred in a quarter of Antakya with a high Alevi population, where a motorcyclist claiming to be a sharia advocate was lynched. In a neighbourhood of Ankara, shops belonging to Syrians were attacked by a mob.[158][159] In Malatya, Sunni Islamists harassed residents of an Alevi neighbourhood, particularly the women, and attempted to enter the neighbourhood en masse. Police intervened and blocked all roads leading there.[160][161] In Kadıköy, people drinking alcohol in public were attacked by a group of religious fundamentalists.[162]
Third-party reactions
Domestic
Among the Turkish opposition parties, the Republican People's Party (CHP) issued a statement expressing their public opposition to the coup, and the Hürriyet Daily News reported that Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli telephoned Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım to express his opposition to the coup.[27] The co-chairs of the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) issued a statement saying that the party was "under all circumstances and as a matter of principle against all kinds of coup..."[28] Amongst the minor parties, left-wing nationalist Patriotic Party's Doğu Perinçek seemed to back the AKP government, when he held Gülen and the Americans responsible.[163] Kurdish militant separatist organization PKK, which Turkey and its allies label as a terrorist organization, urged their supporters to stay away from the coup and rather defend their people,[164] while the Communist Party called upon the people to overthrow the AKP government which they called an "enemy of humanity".[165]
International
Main article: International reactions to the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt
The majority of countries either expressed their support for the Erdoğan government or called for restraint. On 16 July 2016, however, a proposed United Nations Security Council statement denouncing the coup was not accepted by Egypt, a non-permanent member of the Council at the time, due to textual disagreements. Egyptian diplomats argued that the Council is "in no position to qualify, or label [the Turkish] government – or any other government for that matter – as democratically elected or not".[29] The leader of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Vladimir Zhirinovsky supported the coup attempt.[166]
Mustafa Akıncı, President of the Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus, welcomed the fact that "no community in Turkey … applauded the coup as they have done in the past."[167]
European Commissioner dealing with Turkey's EU membership bid, Johannes Hahn, said it appears Turkey's government prepared arrest lists of political opponents before the coup attempt and had been waiting for the right time to act.[168]
Analysis
Reuters reported on July 15 that an EU source described the coup as "well orchestrated," and predicted that "given the scale of the operation, it is difficult to imagine they will stop short of prevailing."[169] Another EU diplomat, said that the Turkish ambassador in his capital was shocked and "taking it very seriously".[169]
Causes
According to Michael Rubin, an American analyst on the Middle East, Erdoğan had to blame himself for the coup. Following an increasingly Islamist agenda, Erdoğan had supposedly "dropped any pretense of governing for all Turks." After "fanning the flames" at the 2013 Gezi Park protests, he transformed the predominantly Kurdish-inhabited areas of southeastern Turkey "into a war zone reminiscent of the worst days of the 1980s." The biggest problem, according to Rubin, might have been Erdoğan's foreign policy, which managed to turn the initial "no problems with neighbors" doctrine into a situation where the country has problems with almost every neighbor and has even alienated some of its allies and friends.[170]
British Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk warned that "too late did Erdogan realise the cost of the role he had chosen for his country. It's one thing to say sorry to Putin and patch up relations with Netanyahu; but when you can no longer trust your army, there are more serious matters to concentrate upon." Even if this coup may have failed, Fisk expects another to follow in the months or years to come.[171]
Turkish professor Akın Ünver described the coup d'état attempt as "more of a mutiny".[172]
Timing
German Islamic studies scholar Rainer Hermann (de) claimed the putschists tried to forestall a large-scale purge of judiciary and military, the implementation of which had already started on Saturday, the day preceding the coup attempt. According to Turkish investigative journalist Ahmet Şık, a list of officials to be purged had been ready compiled by the attorney-general of Izmir, Okan Bato, and was approved by President Erdoğan. According to this version, the putschists had to quickly prepone their coup attempt, before they would be disposed and arrested.[173]
Reasons for failure
According to Naunuhal Singh, author of the coup analysis book Seizing Power, the coup attempt failed primarily because the plotters failed to secure control of the media, and shape the narrative. Successful coups require that all methods of mass communication be controlled by the rebels. This allows even small rebel contingents to portray themselves as fully in control, and their victory as inevitable. Consequently they convince the public, along with neutral and even loyalist soldiers, to defect to them, or at least not to resist. The rebels failed to properly broadcast their messages effectively across the media that they controlled.[174] Worse, they also failed to completely shut down the private television networks, mobile phone networks, and social media.[175]
Equally important to the coup's failure, according to military strategist Edward N. Luttwak, was the inability of the rebels to neutralize Erdogan and other high ranking government officials, either by killing or detaining them.[176] A unit of special forces was sent via helicopter to kill or capture the president, but missed because he had been evacuated by his security detail just minutes before. Once Erdogan landed at Atatürk International Airport (which had been recaptured from the rebels by his supporters), the coup was doomed.[177] According to a military source, several coupist F-16s targeted Erdogan's presidential jet en route to Istanbul, but they did not fire; "Why they didn't fire is a mystery," the source said.[178] A senior Turkish counter-terrorism official later revealed[179] that the jets didn’t fire after the fighter jet pilots were told by President Erdoğan's pilot over the radio that the (flight of the) Gulfstream IV[180] was a Turkish Airlines flight.
Pro-government forces sent text messages to every Turkish citizen calling for them to mobilize.[177] Mosques began broadcasting the "sela" funeral call to prayer in the middle of the night,[181][177] and loudspeakers urged the faithful to engage in jihad against the rebels.[175] Erdogan's large cadre of supporters took to the streets to defend their president. The crowds that opposed the coup were made almost entirely of males, sporting mustaches (a style that secular Turkish men avoid), and chanting religious rather than patriotic slogans (such as Allah Akbar and the Shahada).[176]
Another major reason the coup failed was because it was executed by disjointed factions rather than the entirety of the military. The highest ranking staff officers opposed the coup, and publicly ordered all personnel to return to their barracks.[174] Acting outside the military chain of command, the rebels lacked the coordination and resources to achieve their goals. The conscripted soldiers that the rebels mobilized were uninformed of the true purpose of their mission, became demoralized, and many surrendered rather than shoot demonstrators.[175] Additionally, according to a military source, the coup plotters' plans had been leaked. This forced them to attempt the coup ahead of schedule.[182] The commander of the First Army in Istanbul, General Umit Dundar, personally called Erdogan to warn him of the plot, persuading him to evacuate his hotel ahead of the plotters, and helped to secure Istanbul for Erdogan to land. [183]
Israeli analyst Yossi Melman said that the coup plotters should have first captured the Turkish leader. The ironic fact that Erdoğan used social media to call upon his supporters to take to the streets, played a substantial role in defying a coup plot that "initially appeared to be going by the book." Though the US and most NATO members condemned the coup, voicing support for Erdoğan and the elected government, international concern about this key Middle Eastern state's stability would further grow. As Melman expects Erdoğan to further increase his efforts on strengthening his grip on opponents, he sees the country tumbling into a period of uncertainty and disquiet.[184]
False flag conspiracy theories
During and after the events, several politicians and commentators, including former leader of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Deniz Baykal, expressed doubt regarding whether the coup attempt was genuine or staged by the government.[185]
Possible evidence
The facts that the coup attempt began in the early evening rather than at a more inconspicuous time, the events were largely confined to Ankara and İstanbul, no members of the government or MPs were taken hostage, and pro-government media outlets were not obstructed from broadcasting live during the events, all contributed to doubts about the authenticity of the coup attempt. Journalists and opposition politicians branded it a 'tragic comedy' and 'theatre play'.[186][187][188][189] Advocates of such theories pointed to how Erdoğan stood to gain heavily from the coup attempt in terms of increasing his popularity and support for his calls for an executive presidency, while being able to legitimise further crackdowns on civil liberties, judicial independence and the opposition in general.[190][191] Opponents of Erdoğan's regime[who?] claimed that very little stood in the way of his government eroding the founding principles of the Turkish Republic such as secularism, which the AKP has been accused of wanting to abolish, and pursuing a more authoritarian agenda.[192]
Other elements that seemed to support the coup was staged: no list of demands by the coup plotters, the organization and response of the police, the long lists of arrests that seemed to be ready surprisingly quickly (including arrests of 2,745 judges and 2,839 soldiers), and the highly visible nature of the coup actions.[193][194]
Skepticism over strategy
Fethullah Gülen, whom Erdoğan had accused as being one of the principal conspirators, commented, "I don’t believe that the world believes the accusations made by President Erdoğan. There is a possibility that it could be a staged coup and it could be meant for further accusations [against the Gülenists]."[195][196] Numerous opposition MPs such as Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet took to social media shortly after the coup attempt was underway to denounce the events as a 'theatre play', citing the unorthodox strategy that the plotters were following that did not resemble an actual coup. Former leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) Deniz Baykal, who had lived through all the previous military coups in the history of the Turkish Republic, took to Twitter to denounce the coup as a 'tragic comedy', stating that the events did not resemble a legitimate attempt to take over power.[197] Journalist Cengiz Çandar, a veteran observer of Turkey's coups, said "I have never seen any with this magnitude of such inexplicable sloppiness."[198]
Evidence of pre-planning
Skeptics[who?] also pointed to how the Adhan (call to prayer) had been called out early in large numbers of Mosques throughout the country with muezzins calling on people to take to the streets to protest the coup attempt.[199] The organisation and spontaneous synchronisation by large numbers of mosques was perceived to be unachievable unless there had been prior preparation, with journalists also pointing to how the call to prayer could have been strategically used by Erdoğan to invoke religious sentiment in a political situation as a veiled attack on state secularism.[200]
Thousands of arrests and purges were conducted by Turkish authorities between 16–18 July 2016, as noted above. The sheer number of these arrests made at such a speed could only be done so if the "Turkish government had all those lists ready", as suggested by Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, on 18 July 2016. Hahn also claimed that because these lists were already available immediately after the coup, the "event was prepared" and the lists were to be used "at a certain stage".[201]
Possible government motives
A number of social media users have compared the coup attempt to the Reichstag fire in 1933, which Adolf Hitler used as an excuse to suspend civil liberties and order mass arrests of his opponents.[202] Politico correspondent Ryan Heath speculated that the coup was staged to give Erdoğan an opportunity to purge the military of opponents and increase his grip on the country.[202] Heath used Twitter to share comments from his Turkish source, who called the events of Friday night a "fake coup" which would help a "fake democracy warrior" (referring to Erdoğan). The source noted,
"Probably we’ll see an early election [in] which he’ll try to guarantee an unbelievable majority of the votes. And this will probably guarantee another 10–15 years of authoritarian, elected dictatorship."[202]
The New York Times reported that some Turkish citizens[who?] believed the coup attempt was staged by Erdoğan to improve his public image and popularity, while cracking down on political opponents and expanding his power.[203] Certain theorists[who?] found it suspect that reportedly no government officials were arrested or harmed during the attempted coup, which—among other factors—raised the suspicion of a false flag event staged by the Turkish government to crack down on opposition parties.[189][204][205]
Politicians and journalists[who?] who were skeptical of the authenticity of the coup plot claimed that in reality, a 'civil coup' had effectively been staged against the Armed Forces and Judiciary, both of which were extensively purged of alleged Gülen supporters by the government shortly after the events. Skeptics argued that the coup would be used as an excuse for further erosion of judicial independence and a crackdown on the opposition, essentially giving the AKP greater and unstoppable power over all state institutions and paving the way for a more radical Islamist agenda at odds with the founding principles of the Turkish Republic
