2016 Turkish coup d'état
- Thread starter Weazel
- Start date
It's interesting, because quite a few commentators in Russia speculated that if Erdogan apologized for shooting down the Russian bomber, he'd have a hard time holding on to office. Not too long ago he sort of did that, and now we have a coup d'etat.
EDIT: To be clear, I doubt that's actually the reason, but the timing is amusing. Turkey has been going down a bad course for a long time, from an escalating civil war with the Kurds, to their messy involvement in the ISIS debacle, to their continued foreign policy problems, first getting into a spat with the EU, then with Russia, finally even barking at the US about supporting the Kurds. Erdogan needed to go. Now if someone would remove Putin too...
EDIT: To be clear, I doubt that's actually the reason, but the timing is amusing. Turkey has been going down a bad course for a long time, from an escalating civil war with the Kurds, to their messy involvement in the ISIS debacle, to their continued foreign policy problems, first getting into a spat with the EU, then with Russia, finally even barking at the US about supporting the Kurds. Erdogan needed to go. Now if someone would remove Putin too...
Musashi_kenshin
Well-Known Member
It's only just started, so very difficult to see how it will play out. My guess is that the Turkish military will have the momentum for the first few days. Past that, it will depend on:
a) how ruthless they are;
b) how much support they get from non-government political groups; and
c) how much endurance pro-government protest groups have to maintain opposition to the coup.
a) how ruthless they are;
b) how much support they get from non-government political groups; and
c) how much endurance pro-government protest groups have to maintain opposition to the coup.
Welcome to the forum cobber. Please be aware that one liners are against the rules and also please introduce yourself.
Apparently the Turkish illustrious and glorious president has, or had, intentions of militarily intervening in Northern Syria which the military publicly opposed. They have also, for some time, been concerned about his domestic and foreign policy. It is early days at the moment but since the time of Kemal Ataturk, who founded the modern Turkish state after WW1, the military have always seem themselves as the protector of the secular Turkish state.
The golpistas managed to take over state TV (but now we hear that it's off the air), & Erdogan only got on TV via mobile phone (using Facetime) to a private TV channel, but he's still out there, & the coup forces don't seem to have anything like the control over the country that the unified forces had almost immediately after previous coups. The armed forces seem to be divided.
Last time, there weren't all the social media, mobile phones, video calls, etc. that there are now, providing live pictures & video. Nor were there private TV channels galore.
Last time, there weren't all the social media, mobile phones, video calls, etc. that there are now, providing live pictures & video. Nor were there private TV channels galore.
GermanHerman
Active Member
The military seems to lose momentum already with main opposition partys taking a position against the coup.
There are pictures of soldiers shooting into crowds, helicopters shooting targets on the ground and clashes between police and military personal.
Some military commanders already distance themself and as the imam's of Istanbul and Ankara call the people to go out on the street over the mosque speakers it seems unlikely that the Coup will succeed in securing the favor of the public oppinion.
We should hope that this dosnt escalate any further.
It has turned into chaos with many deaths. I've read about many coups, this smells "failed" to me. A botched coup that will result in heads rolling. And Erdogan will have the chance to do a cleanup of his opponents and consolidate power.
He has too much popular support, police support, the high brass are his puppets and so on...
He has too much popular support, police support, the high brass are his puppets and so on...
Looks like it's over. Coup plotters being lead away and looks like coup being put down. This doesn't appear to have been well planned.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #10
Does anyone know what units are involved? I heard that the Turkish 1st Army general is against the coup but the soldiers in Istanbul have to be apart of the Turkish 1st Army... They are the only Army group located around Istanbul, that is 3rd Corps of the Turkish 1st Army.
Apparently the helo was carrying coup plotters and was shot down by an F16. Analysts on Al Jazeera are saying the coup was amateurish, very poorly planned, managed. executed and not how the Turkish army normally does its coups. Historically, they have executed their coups early in the morning starting with the arrest of the President, PM and senior govt figures. They also ensured that they had the full support of the military, intelligence services and the police and they never fired on the people which has happened in this coup.
And yet it's not over. Erdogan allegedly landed at Istanbul international, and then there was a large explosion at the airport. Also CNN Turkey has just been taken over by rebel forces. It's unclear whether these are pieces of the plot still twitching, or whether the helo wasn't carrying the plotters after all.
Erdogan addressed the media from Istanbul a few minutes ago and says that arrests of many officers is under way. This is being broadcast by Al Jazeera live. He says that the coup will be the reason to clean up the army, so expect a fairly large scale purge of the officer corp. PMs office claim more than 120 arrested so far. Erdogan has said that the coup plotters will pay a heavy price for their treason, whilst the PM has said that they will pay the ultimate price.
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I'm surprised that it hasn't happened ages ago
it was pretty evident that some snr military sirs were not happy with erdogans brand of islamic religiosity and his foreign policy interference and changes - not for the better
it was pretty evident that some snr military sirs were not happy with erdogans brand of islamic religiosity and his foreign policy interference and changes - not for the better
It's my understanding that he purged the army elites in the near past, which might explain why this coup failed, and why it seems mostly lower and medium level officers were involved.
It's also fairly awkward when the democratic president is the one islamicizing the country and corrupting the polity, while the military coup d'etat are the ones trying to restore secular rule.
It's fortunate that the units who took part in the coup chose to surrender rather than continue resisting; if they hadn't the death toll would have been higher. There is footage of a couple of Leopard 2s on a bridge at Istanbul and a ACV-15 that were taken over by the rebels. A pro-coup helicopter was also reportedly shot down by a jet. Greece is in a very uncomfortable position - if it doesn't hand over the 8 Turks who flew into its territory; relations with Turkey will suffer but if does, it'll also come under criticism from various quarters.
Turkey's coup may have failed – but history shows that it won’t be long before another one succeeds | Voices | The Independent
Turkey coup: Erdogan set to crush all opponents and purge army after surprise failed attempt | Europe | News | The Independent
Turkey's coup may have failed – but history shows that it won’t be long before another one succeeds | Voices | The Independent
Turkey coup: Erdogan set to crush all opponents and purge army after surprise failed attempt | Europe | News | The Independent
GermanHerman
Active Member
Seems like Incirlik has been cut off for now:
Turkey Interrupts U.S. Air Missions Against ISIS at Major Base
“The Turkish government has closed its airspace to military aircraft, and as a result air operations at Incirlik Air Base have been halted at this time,” Peter Cook, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement. Mr. Cook said United States officials were “working with the Turks to resume air operations there as soon as possible.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/17/world/europe/turkey-us-incirlik-isis.html?_r=0
Very unfortunate and disturbing. Sources say that the turkish gov. suspects that Incirlik was used to refule jets during the coupe.
Turkey Interrupts U.S. Air Missions Against ISIS at Major Base
“The Turkish government has closed its airspace to military aircraft, and as a result air operations at Incirlik Air Base have been halted at this time,” Peter Cook, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement. Mr. Cook said United States officials were “working with the Turks to resume air operations there as soon as possible.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/17/world/europe/turkey-us-incirlik-isis.html?_r=0
Very unfortunate and disturbing. Sources say that the turkish gov. suspects that Incirlik was used to refule jets during the coupe.
It looks like things aren't quite over yet, though the putschists have clearly lost. They've captured the frigate Yavuz and have the Turkish commander of the Navy hostage.
Also a Turkish helo fled to Greece with 8 military personnel, who have requested political asylum.
Путч 15.07.2016 в Турции: продолжение шоу - Берлога Бронемедведа
Finally it appears that many of the soldiers didn't know this was a coup d'etat, and thought these were exercises. Quite a few were beaten, at least one killed. Sadly, as always, the people on the bottom are the ones getting screwed. Be it Erdogan's supporters shot on the bridge, or Turkish conscripts dragged into this against their will.
Warning, graphic images.
ΤουÏκία: Ο ΤσαβοÏσογλου μίλησε με τον ΚÎ*Ïι, δεν ζήτησε όμως να εκδοθεί ο ΓκιουλÎ*ν | iefimerida.gr
EDIT: It looks like Erdogan is using this as an excuse to purge the justice system. 2745 judges have been fired, and detained (I wonder what exactly that means in Turkey). 5 members of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors were also fired and detained. About 1500 military personnel are also in custody.
http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/...of-2745-gulen-linked-judges-over-coup-attempt
Also a Turkish helo fled to Greece with 8 military personnel, who have requested political asylum.
Путч 15.07.2016 в Турции: продолжение шоу - Берлога Бронемедведа
Finally it appears that many of the soldiers didn't know this was a coup d'etat, and thought these were exercises. Quite a few were beaten, at least one killed. Sadly, as always, the people on the bottom are the ones getting screwed. Be it Erdogan's supporters shot on the bridge, or Turkish conscripts dragged into this against their will.
Warning, graphic images.
ΤουÏκία: Ο ΤσαβοÏσογλου μίλησε με τον ΚÎ*Ïι, δεν ζήτησε όμως να εκδοθεί ο ΓκιουλÎ*ν | iefimerida.gr
EDIT: It looks like Erdogan is using this as an excuse to purge the justice system. 2745 judges have been fired, and detained (I wonder what exactly that means in Turkey). 5 members of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors were also fired and detained. About 1500 military personnel are also in custody.
http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/...of-2745-gulen-linked-judges-over-coup-attempt