Turkey: From failed coup to authoritarian purge

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By Y. FIKRET KAYALI A significant section of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) attempted to overthrow Presi­ dent Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AKP (Jus­ tice and Development Party) government on the night of July 15-16. Over 265 people died in fighting.

It was a serious putsch attempt, which came very close to success, but was thwarted. Erdo­ gan responded with an unprecedented purge and declared a state of emergency, which al­ lows the president and cabinet to bypass par­ liament when drafting new laws, and to restrict or suspend rights and freedoms.

The view that the coup was staged was prevalent in its early aftermath as the seemingly amateurish plans of the putschists fell apart, and pictures of hapless sol­ diers being pushed back by civilians circulated on so­ cial media. Proponents of the view that the coup was staged by Erdogan cited his ludicrous comment that “this uprising is a gift from God to us because this will be a reason to cleanse our army.”

The gravity of the situation is hardly in dispute now. A lesson learned, however, is the necessity of a sober analysis of the cracks within Turkey’s ruling elite. See­ ing Erdogan as an omnipotent dictator, one who can even fake a coup against himself, is a manifestation of a widespread misconception among leftists in Turkey and abroad. It shows a failure to see the conflicts and contractions that Erdogan strives to manage in order to stay in power.

Erdogan’s dictatorship will continue to rest on un­ stable tectonic plates, despite his current consolida­ tion of power by means of a purge of tens of thou­ sands of soldiers and public service workers. Who is behind the coup?

Erdogan quickly blamed Fethullah Gulen, his former ally and the self-exiled preacher who leads an Islamic movement from his residence in Pennsylvania. Gu­ len immediately and vehemently denied the charges. There are good reasons not to believe either one of 12 SOCIALIST ACTION AUGUST 2016 (Above) Turkish soldiers at July 16 protest in Istanbul’s Taksim Square against the coup.

army. Leading the putsch, as Sungur Savran, a Turkish socialist writes, was “an alliance of the pro-U.S. seculars and the adepts of a religious fra­ ternity under the protection of the U.S.”

Anti-Erdogan and pro-NATO secularist military officers, to the surprise of many analysts, contin­ ued to be strong within the TSK, although they were not in leadership positions, unlike when the TSK was used by NATO as a vehicle against the So­ viet Union and later against fundamentalist Islam. All in all, one thing is clear: Erdogan is not as strong as many assume.

What was Washington’s role in this?

Tensions between Turkey and the U.S. escalated fol­ lowing the attempted coup. Erdogan demands the ex­ tradition of Gulen, whom he calls a terrorist. The La­ bour minister directly blamed the United States. Many Turks, according to The New York Times, believe that “The U.S. was Behind Failed Coup.”

Turkey is a key U.S. ally, possessing the second larg­ est army in NATO. Washington pays close attention to Turkish domestic politics. Most of the putschists were NATO soldiers. They had close relations with the U.S. and sought its support. This is confirmed by Joseph Votel, head of U.S. Central Command, which leads the ISIS fight, when he said, “We’ve certainly had relation­ ships with a lot of Turkish leaders, and military lead­ ers in particular. … Some of them are in jail now.”

Now reports show that those who held Turkey’s top general hostage phoned Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and sought U.S. support. Incir­ lik, the southern Turkey base of U.S. forces, was em­ ployed in the operation. It refuelled F-16s that went into action in support of the attempted coup. Its base commander and several military personnel, working alongside U.S. soldiers, were quickly arrested for their alleged involvement.

Gulen and his supporters had been supported by the (continued on page 11, in “To save the climate, it’s ‘Time to Choose’”)