Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is further enforcing his reputation as a shrewd political operator in the aftermath of Friday’s attempted coup, arresting some 6,000 people, including a prominent military official, connected to Friday’s events.
General Bekir Ercan Van — the commander of the Incirlik Air Base — was just one of thousands of soldiers and members of the judiciary to be arrested. Erdogan said the coup was “a gift from God…because this will help us claim our military from these members of this gang.”
Analysts say Erdogan is using the coup to dispose of his known opponents in government. Erdogan and his moderate Islamist party AKP was once widely hailed as a reformist leader who helped ease tensions with Kurdish separatist groups and played a positive role in regional events. But after around a decade in power, Erdogan began attempts to consolidate his power and advance his own political values and influence in Turkey. Friday’s attempted coup will likely further embolden Erdogan to crack down on his opponents in government and beyond.
“AKP will now hunt down opponents — real or imagined — with impunity, consolidating Erdogan’s already formidable personal power and fueling his ambition to further transform Turkey,” Steven A. Cook, the Eni Enrico Mattei Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in the Washington Post. “Rather than an opportunity for democracy, the failed coup will only consolidate Turkey’s elected autocracy.”
One of Erdogan’s foremost opponents is Fethullah Gulen, leader of the powerful Gulenist movement, who resides in Pennsylvania and is wanted by Turkish authorities. Some, including Erdogan, blamed Gulen for the coup attempt because he is believed to have a strong influence over members of the police and judiciary. Many of the arrested are also military members or police — likely those who are known to support factions other than Erdogan’s AKP. Many members of the judiciary have also been arrested.
Turkish Government Cracks Down In The Wake Of Failed Coup AttemptWorld by CREDIT: AP Photo/Emrah Gurel After a deadly night of unrest, Turkey’s government defeated a coup attempt by a…thinkprogress.org“No doubt Mr Erdogan will now purge the army of any potential opponents and [start] to solidify his grip on all the security forces,” journalist Patrick Cockburn wrote in the Independent. “He will presumably use the failed coup as an excuse to eliminate all other sources of dissent and opposition.”
That opposition might include more military or police officials or even political opponents in more secular or left-leaning parties. In recent months, the Turkish government has cracked down heavily on the media too and Erdogan could further attempt to regulate the fourth estate now.
Erdogan spoke at a funeral Sunday for one of the 200 people killed over the weekend, where the crowd called for a reinstatement of the death penalty. “This right has to be evaluated by the appropriate authorities according to the constitution and a decision can be made,” Erdogan told the crowd. Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2004 but has not executed anyone since 1984. The call for a reinstatement shows the deep political divide in the country with many of the AKP supporters believing anyone against Erodgan and the presidency to be committing an act of treason against the state.
Turkey’s political division is multifaceted, and includes hardcore secularists that idolize Mustafa Kemal, widely known as Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey. Erdogan and his supporters have often shown disdain for Ataturk’s legacy. Erdogan once gave a dictate ambiguously mentioning “two drunks” and it was widely believed he was referencing Ataturk.
Secretary of State John Kerry criticized the attempted coup, saying that elections were the best way forward for democracies.
“I must say,” he said, “it does not appear to have been a very brilliantly planned or executed event. But let’s reserve judgment until all the facts are in.”