Staatsgreep in Turkije #55

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Turkey at a historic tipping point

If you look at Turkey today, in the aftermath of the failed coup plot of July 15, you can see both negative and positive signs for the future.

On the negative side, there is an enraged nation, and state, against the enemy within. The putschists and their network, the Gülen community, is now the target of major wrath. This includes the arrest of more than 10,000 people and the firing of tens of thousands of public servants. Some aspects of this great purge are certainly excessive and worrying — such as the confiscation of the financial assets of suspected Gülenist prosecutors, or the arrests of journalist who merely wrote in Gülenist media. Some statements from officials, such as Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekçi’s vow that the putschists “will beg to be killed in their prison,” is outright scary. All in all, they are very clear grounds to worry about human rights violations in the months and years to come.

On the positive side, which seems to be missed by most Western observers, there are really bright spots. First of all, putting an end to this whole story of Gülenists infiltration of the state, which was underestimated by many people including myself, will be good for Turkish democracy. While the world’s attention has been only focused on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s latter-day (and overt) authoritarianism, the Gülenists have been covertly responsible for many traumas, such as the imprisonment of secular journalists or Kurdish activists from 2007 to 2013. The coup attempt itself proved the scope of their threat, the elimination of which should be welcome.

Moreover, there are also signs of a rare national consensus between the government and the opposition. President Erdoğan and Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım have come together with the main opposition for the first time in years (I wish they came together with the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party too, an act which could even help restore the “peace process” with the Kurdish separatists). There is now a chance that a truly “New Turkey” can be built by broad national consensus, rather than a narrow Erdoğanist agenda.

I really can’t foresee how these dynamics will work in the period ahead us. Probably nobody can. Yet we can all work together to drag Turkey towards the brighter side, not the dark side.

There is a major problem at hand, though. The Western world, in other words the United States and European Union, are very unhelpful to Turkey as this critical junction. Why? Well, their reaction to the coup has been very feeble. Yes, statements came from Western capitals that they stand with Turkish democracy.

But no Western statesmen (with the exception of a U.K. minister) have visited Turkey for solidarity, no icon in Western capitals were lit with the colors of the Turkish flag, and almost no major Western newspaper gave wholehearted praise for the brave Turkish citizens who stopped putschist tanks at the expense of their lives.

For me, this Western feebleness comes from the fact that, first, they don’t “get it,” or understand the severity of the coup plot and its culprits. Secondly, they are so focused on Erdoğan’s authoritarianism or Islamism that they are unable see anything else. For most Turks, however, the simpler explanation lies in a Western conspiracy. And unless Western behavior changes significantly, this conspiratorial perception may take Turkey further away from the West, and the tipping point may prove to be a disastrous one.

August/03/2016

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 11:12 schreef Faeroer het volgende:
zit wel wat in, probleem is dat de 'gewone burgers' van Turkije en Westen elkaar nu gaan uitmaken voor van alles en nog wat, terwijl het vooral leiders zijn die politieke spelletjes spelen. het volk is altijd de dupe

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 11:32 schreef speknek het volgende:

Ik denk dat dat redelijk accuraat is, maar het heeft er ook mee te maken dat Erdogan door zijn acties de laatste jaren sowieso al op -100% krediet stond bij de Westerse leiders, en de manier waarop hij ze gegijzeld hield over de rug van twee miljoen vluchtelingen. Dat is niet zozeer dat ze de Turken een coup gunnen, als wel dat ze hem liever zien gaan op welke manier dan ook.

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 12:12 schreef ChrisCarter het volgende:

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Dit moet een variant van De Speld zijn toch? De Kebabspies? Dat kan je niet menen dit?? !!!

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 12:14 schreef ToT het volgende:

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WAT???????????

Is dit geen photoshop of zo? Is de uitzending nog ergens terug te vinden?

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 12:22 schreef ChrisCarter het volgende:

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Die denken dan dat GTA staat voor Gulen Takes Ankara?

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 12:24 schreef Loekie1 het volgende:

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Het is Erdogan die de democratie om zeep helpt. Is dat nu echt zo moeilijk om te zien? Wat voor opleiding heb je gehad?

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 12:25 schreef ChrisCarter het volgende:

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Ja, ik bedoel het ook niet echt lullig. Maar wat denk de gemiddelde Turk hier dan van denk ik dan. Die geloven dit ook?

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 12:40 schreef Loekie1 het volgende:

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Jij bent toch gewoon Nederlander?

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 12:44 schreef Loekie1 het volgende:

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Aan jou.

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 12:59 schreef Loekie1 het volgende:

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Je bent toch in Nederland opgegroeid? Weet je dan niet wat democratie zoal inhoudt?

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 12:30 schreef Slayage het volgende:

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"het verlichte westen leest de barbaarse turk de les"

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 13:02 schreef DustPuppy het volgende:

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Maar jij bent geen Turk. Dus waar hebben we het over?

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The Western response to the coup attempt is scary

I hate conspiracy theories; they are not only an expression of narrow-mindedness, but also block common sense and chart a path toward the dangerous waters of xenophobia, anti-Semitism and paranoia.

Unfortunately, they are very popular nowadays, especially in Muslim countries, and it fans the flames of anti-Westernism while fostering nationalist authoritarian politics. That is why I have been a long-time critic of the conspiratorial mind in Turkey and have written extensively on that false mindedness.

Nevertheless, I must admit that even I have started to view the recent suspicions about “U.S. or Western backing for the coup attempt” as not entirely groundless. It is not to say that I am one among those who directly accuse the U.S. of plotting against Turkey, but I find the U.S. and Western reaction toward the coup attempt in Turkey as utterly problematic.

First of all, Western governments and media outlets, from the very beginning, did not decisively denounce the coup attempt. On the contrary, international channels broke the news in an almost apologetic way on behalf of the coup plotters. Moreover, some almost legitimized the move as they claimed that the army could have been reacting against “the inefficiency of the government in the fight against ISIL.” Then, some started to imply that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan might have staged the whole thing in order to use the pretext to extend his power. Finally, some started to express their skepticism concerning the role of Gülenists in the coup. Even if there are still dark aspects of the whole affair that deserve skepticism and the possibility that the coup will be abused to attempt a severe purge, it is not sensible to focus more on the unconvincing story that Erdoğan himself staged the whole thing, than the more convincing story that it was an attempt against him and that the coup plotters were most probably Gülenists, since the struggle between them and Erdoğan has been getting very nasty.

After all, the U.S. may not approve the government’s request for Gülen’s extradition to Turkey without any legal process to prove his role in the coup, but it’s another to portray Gülen as a pious individual who lives peacefully in the U.S., or as a Sufi who has nothing to do with Turkish politics.

Finally, we know the U.S./Western obsession of acting against authoritarian nationalist leaders in other countries, either by direct intervention or by informal and murky meddling. I hope no such circle in a Western government, and especially in intelligence agencies, found an opportunity to try to do something similar for Erdoğan by meddling in the Erdoğan-Gülen rift. I am an arch critic of Erdoğan, his party and their politics, and I was the lonely first person among democrats to express concern about the authoritarian swing in Turkey as early as the end of 2009. I am someone who paid a price for being an opponent of authoritarian politics and of Kurdish politics, but it never occurred to me to change my ways when I encountered all sorts of intimidation. That is why I have no concerns about being labelled as an Erdoğan apologist, as I not only support his civilian government against any coup or plot, but also feel revolted by the Western media, which is more focused on portraying him as a mere monster behind all manner of evil than anything else. Moreover, the recent coverage of Turkish affairs does injustice to the civil society and the opposition in Turkey and tends to underestimate the democratic dynamism in the country. I think it is worthy of praise that the majority of the people and all the opposition united to react against the undemocratic attempt despite the country’s political polarization.

If our Western allies and friends want to support democracy in Turkey, they should have been supporting the general anti-coup mood and the recent reconciliatory attitude of Erdoğan and his party rather than spoiling the opportunity by pushing Turkey into an anti-Western, nationalistic and authoritarian mood.

Of course I am very concerned by the possibility of a further authoritarian swing. Of course I know that the future is still uncertain and gloomy. Of course I am not convinced that Erdoğan and his party did not and will not respond in the most democratic way. And of course I am very disturbed by the witch hunt, as I have friends and acquaintances among the arrested journalists; in short, I am not very optimistic at all. Still, I am more scared by the possibility of Western policy being shaped by the obsession with Erdoğan than anything else.

We know what happens if Western policy is shaped by the determination to get rid of nationalist/authoritarian leaders in other countries. They are all war-trodden people who are at each other’s throat, God forbid!

http://www.hurriyetdailyn(...)102311&NewsCatID=406
August/01/2016

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 13:11 schreef Loekie1 het volgende:

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Mag ik je een vraag stellen? Ben je in Nederland opgegroeid?

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 13:20 schreef zarGon het volgende:
stay stronk slayage bruur

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 13:37 schreef Wespensteek het volgende:

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Toch leuk dat ze Erdogan zo omschrijven.

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 13:39 schreef Loekie1 het volgende:

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Alleen omdat ik vraag of je in Nederland bent opgegroeid?

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 13:35 schreef speknek het volgende:

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Ik geloof absoluut dat er een zekere orientalistische, half-racistische mindset meespeelt, "die mensen in het midden-oosten kunnen toch niet goed voor zichzelf zorgen, dus zo nu en dan een coup is gewoon par for the course, en laten we er maar gewoon realpolitisch er mee omgaan". Maar dit vind ik dan ook weer iets te kort door de bocht. En de schrijver van het andere artikel, in zover als hurriyet uberhaupt nog betrouwbaar is, lijkt ook ten dele appeasement te plegen ingegeven door angst dat Erdogan nog meer macht krijgt.

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1. De westerse leiders hebben zich grotendeels uitgesproken tegen de coup terwijl deze nog bezig was (wellicht laat, natuurlijk ietwat opportunistisch, maar daar heeft Turkije het met zijn vluchtelingendeal ook naar gemaakt; als je gegijzeld wordt ga je geen stennis schoppen tegen wie je op dat moment dan ook gegijzeld houdt). Ze stonden in ieder geval niet de coupplegers aan te moedigen (voor zover we weten).

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2. De belangrijkste peilers in de Westerse democratie zij: de rechtsstaat en de vrije pers. Die laatste had Erdogan al goeddeels ontmanteld lang voor de couppoging, de eerste was hij ook al een jaar mee bezig. In de ogen van menig Westerling was er geen goed functionerende Turkse democratie meer. Tuurlijk, een couppoging is nog erger, maar verder is het lood om oud ijzer. Ongetwijfeld zal dit enigszins gechargeerd zijn geweest en ingegeven door het eerder genoemde orientalisme, maar je kunt moeilijk anders zeggen dan dat wat Erdogan nu doorvoert, toch duidelijk de tekenen van een op zijn minst Totalitaire Cronyist zijn. Dus het sentiment wat heerste is alleen maar bevestigd. Een ambivalentie is dan wellicht niet correct, maar valt ook te verwachten.

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 13:41 schreef Kyran het volgende:

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Ja, tuurlijk is het Erdogan die de democratie op zeep helpt. Echter snap ik de reactie vanuit Turkije ook wel. Iedereen in de westerse wereld zit te gillen om democratie, maar uiteindelijk willen ze Erdogan wel weg hebben, desnoods met een coup of met een kogel door de kop. Enigszins hypocriet is het dus wel.

... niet dat ik hem niet weg wil hebben

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Op woensdag 3 augustus 2016 13:51 schreef speknek het volgende:

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A few years later

[ afbeelding ]