Teflon Turk Erdogan bounces back from coup attempt; Egypt accused of using UNSC seat to confound resolution condemning coup.
As the world watched on Friday, a faction within the Turkish military — which appears to have been led by officers from the Air Force, the military police and armored units, according to the AP — attempted to forcibly seize power while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was on vacation in the southwest Turkish resort Marmaris. The failed coup led to the deaths of at least 250 and the further cementing of Erdogan’s grip on Turkey, with Erdogan taking the opportunity to dismiss 2,745 judges across the country despite it being unclear what role, if any, they played in the events that transpired. More than 2,900 soldiers who took part in the attempt have also been arrested; footage over the weekend showed many of them being beaten or shot by civilians, in some cases as police watched.
How the failed coup unfolded: The first indication something was amiss was the closure of Istanbul’s Bosporus Bridge and Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge by soldiers around 19:29 GMT on Friday evening, as noted in a detailed timeline published by Reuters. This was shortly followed by residents hearing gunshots in Ankara, where military jets were spotted doing very low fly-bys (0:12), putting initial reactions that the military action was in response to a possible terror incident into question. Helicopters were also spotted overhead in Istanbul.
Battle to control the narrative: Prime Minister Binali Yildirim managed to get his statement out first before the coup plotters, saying an attempted coup was underway and that security forces (in reference to the police) would “do what is necessary.” This was shortly followed thereafter by a statement attributed to the entire Turkish military — but only representing the aforementioned faction — emailed to Turkish reporters saying the military had taken control and that international agreements would be respected. What followed was an exchange of statements from both the Turkish PM and Erdogan using social media while the coup plotters began physically seizing control of state and private broadcasters, forcing a state television anchor to read a statement at gunpoint that the military was seizing control. Several newsrooms were seized and pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak photojournalist Mustafa Cambaz was shot and killed by coup-affiliated forces, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
An authoritarian turns to the social media he previously denounced as causing social unrest: One of the more ironic details of the failed coup attempt was Erdogan’s use of the same social media, which he previously blamed for causing social unrest and had attempted to ban, to mobilize his supporters. After monitoring groups reported that Facebook, Twitter and other social media appeared to be temporarily unavailable, some functionality remained for some sites and blocked services eventually became accessible. In one of the more surreal moments of Friday evening, Erdogan called in to CNN Turk using Facetime, which the anchor held up for viewers to see and hear his message, which was often momentarily interrupted by call waiting, which we can only assume were from the anchor’s friends calling to ask to see if she was actually speaking to Erdogan on the other line, including who we assume to be one of the anchor’s friends nicknamed “Tuna.”
Later in the evening, Erdogan took to Twitter, the social media site he previously demonized, to call on his supporters to take to the streets and airports — a move that proved key to his holding on to power. Private citizens also turned to social media to counter the coup plotter’s media narrative — after soldiers stormed CNN Turk and took it off the air hours after Erdogan’s call-in, reporters turned to Facebook Live to stream what was happening from inside the studio, where pro-Erdogan supporters occupied the building and repelled coup-affiliated forces, who were then arrested by police, as shown in the following video, (3:11).
The Erd has landed: Perhaps the single most confusing aspect of the failed coup as it unfolded were multiple conflicting reports as to where Erdogan actually was before eventually landing. CNBC quoted an unnamed senior US military official as saying that Erdogan’s plane had been turned away after landing and that he was seeking asylum in Germany. This was of course later debunked when Erdogan was photographed surrounded by supporters around 01:00 GMT after landing at Istanbul airport. According to stranded Israeli tourists at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, “All of the airport staff disappeared,” leaving tourists to fend for themselves, shortly before 01:30 GMT when the airport was flooded by Erdogan supporters who answered his call. While Turkish Airlines has resumed operations at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, the US Federal Aviation Administration continues to prohibit US airline carriers to fly to or from Istanbul and Ankara airports as of time of dispatch, according to a notice by the US Embassy in Ankara.
Bombardment of military intelligence and parliament: Among some of the more dramatic scenes from the attempted coup was footage reportedly showing a helicopter opening on fire on the national intelligence (MIT) headquarters (0:07). The Turkish parliament also came under aerial bombardment (0:04) while its lawmakers were still inside (1:00).
Gulen, domestic opposition, and most world powers speak out against attempted coup as it was unfolding: US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, once one of Erdogan’s closest allies but now his most detested rival, had denounced the attempted coup as it was unfolding on Friday. Despite this, Erdogan has placed blame for the attempt squarely on Gulen’s shoulders, demanding that the United States extradite him, NBC News reported. The Turkish prime minister added that any country that stands by Gulen will be at war with Turkey. Erdogan has on numerous occasions accused Gulen and his followers of creating a parallel state in Turkey — Erdogan’s version of “the invisible hand.” US Secretary of State John Kerry says the US is willing to extradite Gulen, but requires evidence of his wrongdoing. Gulen has further accused Erdogan of orchestrating the coup attempt himself to tighten his grip on the country, a theory which is currently circulating in some quarters in Turkey. Turkey has closed the airspace around Incirlik air base, which Turkey allows the US to use to launch operations against ISIS. Commercial power was also cut off to the base which is now running on internal power supply.
… Domestic opposition parties CHP and pro-Kurdish party HDP both rejected the coup attempt on Friday, despite having been systematically harassed and marginalized by Erdogan in the past. Constanze Letsch has an excellent piece in the Guardian explaining why so many non-AKP supporters defied the attempted coup: “Activists and critical politicians have been quick to signal that joint resistance to the failed military takeover did not spell growing support for the ruling AK party (AKP) government.” A scholar who wished to remain anonymous further explained: “These people do not support Erdogan, but they oppose the idea of a military coup. Turkey has a history of very painful, traumatic military interventions, so I was not surprised to see such united opposition to this attempt.” As for the international response, nearly all world leaders spoke out against the coup attempt, with AFP mentioning Egypt and Syria as notable exceptions.
Erdogan’s supporters and police beat, whip and in some cases kill surrendered soldiers in the street: The aftermath of the failed takeover has been ugly, to say the least, as numerous images have been released by the international media showing AKP partisans and police beating and whipping coup soldiers in the street who have already surrendered, (see Al Jazeera’s image gallery for multiple photographs of soldiers being attacked). There is also a disturbing video available online showing a dead soldier lying face down in a pool of blood in the street with AKP supporters kicking the dead body.
Initial thoughts on the aftermath: A number of political observers were already noting on Friday that Erdogan will likely squander the brief moment of national unity to double down on his quest to not only consolidate power by pushing through his bid to amend Turkey’s constitution to create a presidential system, but also to further crackdown on all opposition. Ayse Kadioglu, a political science professor at Sabanci University, Istanbul, writes of the bombed-out Turkish parliament: ”Many of its major halls and corridors are in ruins. The sight was reminiscent of the Reichstag fire in Germany that took place on February 27, 1933, about a month after Adolph Hitler became the Chancellor. The similarities are not limited to the visible damage of both parliament buildings. The Reichstag fire was also a last nail in the coffin of the possibility of basic freedoms well as critical thinking in Germany… What was important was not so much who set fire to the Reichstag but rather what came out of it.” An issued decree suspended “sections of the Constitution which guaranteed individual and civil liberties. The decree authorized the government to take complete control in the federal states and impose the death penalty for a number of crimes,” echoing popular demands on Turkish social media for the re-introduction of the death penalty.
Egypt’s reaction: Egypt’s official line on the coup was that it respects the sovereignty of other nations and refuses to interfere in their internal affairs, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abou Zeid in a call-in to Ahmed Moussa’s talk show “‘Ala Mas’oolity” (Arabic, runtime: 5:07). Abou Zaid discussed the issue of Egypt being blamed for the failure of the United Nations Security Council to issue a statement on Saturday condemning the violence and unrest in Turkey. Egypt’s objections reportedly concern a part of the statement which called on all parties to “respect the democratically elected government of Turkey,” diplomats tell Reuters. While Egypt’s Foreign Ministry objected to Egypt receiving blame for the failure, it did confirm through Abou Zaid that Egypt recommended that the wording of the phrase be changed to “respect the democratic and constitutional principles and the rule of law.”
That’s it, we’re calling it: A number of state and privately owned Egyptian newspapers on Saturday morning had their own ‘Dewey defeats Truman’ moment, prematurely calling the coup successful, with many running identical headlines, a point which was not lost on the international media, reported on by the AP and AFP, and which have since been reprinted all over the world.
Effect on Egyptian-Turkish economic ties: Egyptian traders with ties to Turkey have stated that the attempted coup will have no adverse impact on trade relations, Al Masry Al Youm reports. Economic ties have remained stable between both countries despite the deteriorating diplomatic relations and should remain so as trade between stands at USD 4.5 bn, two prominent exporters told the newspaper.
Meanwhile, the ministries of Trade and Industry and International Cooperation took the opportunity to reiterate that government-to-government talks on economic relations between the two countries remain nonexistent and joint economic cooperation councils have been frozen for the past three years. The ministry stated that the free trade agreement with Turkey currently stands. A source from the Chambers of Commerce denied a Turkish trade delegation is planning a trip to Cairo, AMAY says, but noted trade relations remained stable.
Back to zero problems, or will Erdogan further retrench over Egypt’s response to the failed coup? Before the tumultuous events of last weekend, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Thursday afternoon that Turkey would like to normalize ties with Egypt if it spares former President Mohamed Morsi. “We think a statement of will by Egypt to the world in this direction is necessary both for democratization of Egypt and normalizing relations with Turkey … Turkey and Egypt are two key countries in the Middle East and north Africa, and it is natural for them to normalize friendly and brotherly relations,” Kurtulmus added. Kurtulmus’ “demands” did not stop there, he said Egypt should review the trials of Morsi and other Ikhwan members “by courts that are not impartial” and also called on holding “free, multi-party elections and to carry out democratic reforms.”
…We assume Abdel Aal did not receive the memo: House of Representatives Speaker Ali Abdel Aal had told Sputnik before the coup attempt: “Egypt is ready to cooperate with Turkey … provided it does not interfere in Egypt’s internal affairs.”