Five years after the Turkey coup: “A gift from God” for Erdogan

Five years ago, parts of the army carried out a coup against President Erdogan in Turkey. A look back at a dramatic night that turned into a turning point – and left many unanswered questions.

In the beginning – around 10 p.m. local time on July 15, 2016 – it’s just rumors. In the beginning there are circling helicopters over Istanbul and Ankara. The rumors intensify as fighter planes thunder over the two major metropolises of the country.

Soldiers seal off Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, they occupy strategically important positions and block the bridges over the Bosphorus. That was next to the first bridge at the time ARD radio studio. History in real time: The correspondents become eye and ear witnesses of the bloody events in one of the darkest nights in the history of the Turkish Republic.

A sniper shoots civilians from a bridge pier. However, that does not prevent more and more people from pouring onto the bridge. The situation threatens to escalate in a terrible way, as the demonstrators are being fired on more and more violently. At around 11.30 p.m. local time, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke on the private broadcaster “CNN Türk” via FaceTime. In a dramatic appeal, he appeals to the people to come to public places and the airports and – literally – “to stand up to this small group”.

Thousands on the street, hundreds are dying

Thousands of people answer his call. They climb on tanks, stop trucks, talk to soldiers. Combat bombers meanwhile break the sound barrier over Istanbul, windows burst, people tremble, they fear the worst for themselves and their country. In Ankara the parliament is bombed, putschists attack police stations and barracks. Helicopters fire tracer ammunition at people, at cars, at everything that moves below them.

Nationwide, 249 civilians died that night. Far more than 1,000 others are injured. The putschists soon find themselves on the defensive and give up. 130 people have been arrested and a general has been killed, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım announced in the early morning. It is the beginning of a great “purge”.

Erdogan seizes the opportunity

“This uprising and this movement,” Erdogan announced on the night of the coup, “is a gift from God for us. Why? Because this action gives us the opportunity to cleanse the Turkish armed forces.”

Not only the armed forces are being “cleaned up”. A good 180 media outlets have been shut down since then, around 150 journalists have been arrested, more than 100,000 state employees have been dismissed, and more than 20,000 members and employees of the Turkish armed forces have been officially removed from service. The most common accusation made by public prosecutors is: supporting a terrorist organization.

For the Turkish president, it was already clear on the night of the coup who was supposed to be behind the failed coup: the movement of the US-based preacher Fethullah Gülen. This assumption is not unfounded. The “Hizmet” The aforementioned movement has succeeded in filling key positions in the state and society. This was not done in secret, because after all, Erdogan admits immediately after the coup attempt, the former presidents and heads of government Turgut Özal, Süleyman Demirel and Bülent Ecevit “and even we – although we have different political views – we all have this movement with good intentions supports “.

Initially common interests

Have the Turkish leaders – above all the Islamic conservative AKP government – really unknowingly fed the snakes on their own bosom? Definitely not, according to the opposition politician Sezgin Tanrıkulu ARD interview: “They went on the path together. Erdogan openly admitted that. I quote him: ‘What do you ask that we have not already granted you?'”

Erdogan’s AKP and the Fethullah Gülens movement pursued a common goal: to transform western-oriented Turkey into an Islamic-conservative country. The pursuit of influence and power has ultimately turned partners into bitter enemies. Even before the attempted coup, the then Prime Minister Binali Yildirim frankly admitted immediately after the night of the coup, there were lists on which it was noted who should be prosecuted against. For this reason, too, the attempted coup was “a gift from God” for President Erdogan: an important competitor on the way to absolute power could be removed from the path.

Much remains in the dark

There are harrowing images from that night: skulls shattered by bullets, bodies crushed by armored chains. There are video and audio recordings in abundance. Despite everything, this night is still in the dark in many ways. A parliamentary commission of inquiry should shed light on the dark night, should clarify who knew what, when and at what time. The commission was formed a week after the coup attempt. After almost five months of work, President Erdogan abruptly dissolved it by decree. Important witnesses such as the heads of the secret service and general staff, Hakan Fidan and Hulusi Akar, were questioned, as were the heads of government, state presidents or imprisoned putschists. The processing of the coup was the responsibility of the judiciary, which had previously been “cleaned up” in Erdogan’s terms.

The night of the coup – the “gift of God” – has massively accelerated the political restructuring of Turkey. Since then, rigorous action has been taken against political opponents, critics and members of the opposition. “We believe that the parliamentary system in this country has outlived itself,” said Erdogan in the aftermath of the coup night and he announced: “We are building the ‘New Turkey’ and we believe that we will have a new constitution and an executive presidential system need.” Almost 51 percent of the electorate approved this new constitution in April 2017 – and gave President Erdogan unprecedented power.