Erdoğan prepares for a bloodbath

President Erdogan and ormer general Adnan Tanriverdi
President Erdogan and ormer general Adnan Tanriverdi


Date posted: November 1, 2016

Michael Rubin

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the failed July 15 coup attempt a “gift from God.” The Turkish government immediately blamed Erdoğan’s former ally-turned-rival Fethullah Gülen for being behind the plot, the genesis of which remains unclear, but the simple fact is that none of the material Turkish officials have given to their US counterparts has yet risen to the standard of proof — let alone credible evidence — to support Erdoğan’s charges. It is noteworthy that the Turkish press purports to describe the US reaction as accepting of the Turkish material, yet no American officials have ever been quoted as saying anything near what the Turkish press describes. Indeed, alternate narratives about the July 15 coup attempt are equally compelling.

The only certainty is that the attempted coup became the excuse Erdoğan needed or crafted in order to purge those opposed to or insufficiently enthusiastic about his agenda. Much of what has been reported in the Western media has focused on the ongoing purge of teachers and university professors. Certainly, there is a newsworthy irony to a man whose university diploma appears to be forged assuming the right to appoint university presidents through a board he has staffed with his cronies. But it is what Erdoğan has done in recent days to the police which should put chills down the spines of those who care about Erdoğan’s intent and Turkey’s future.

Last week, Erdoğan appointed new police chiefs for 61 out of Turkey’s 81 provinces. He also assigned 55 police chiefs to central departments that act as police professional bodies. (On page 105 of this book chapter, Turkish academic and counter terrorism specialist Ahmet Yayla explains how these positions relate to Turkish counterterrorism). Some of the police chiefs Erdoğan fired were religious and some even supported him. None were followers of Gülen, simply because those who were had long ago been purged. Most of the chiefs whom Erdoğan has appointed are fiercely nationalist, very young, and relatively inexperienced, and so are likely to more easily defer to Erdoğan’s orders. The problem seems not that Erdoğan believed all the sacked chiefs disloyal — most were not and many he had appointed in the first place — but rather that he considered them soft, unwilling to use the extreme violence Erdoğan believes will be necessary to exert not only on Turkey’s Kurds but also many liberal or apolitical Turks as he moves to further consolidate control.

Throw into the mix that Erdoğan has also just in the past few days extended the time for which Turks can be detained without access to an attorney to six months. What this sets the stage for is a significant augmentation of torture in custody in order to extract forced confessions, a practice that has become more common since July.

Erdoğan’s ruling party has also begun issuing weapons permits to loyalists, especially through the Ottoman Youth Authority (Osmanli Ocaklari). I have previously reported Erdoğan’s appointment of former general Adnan Tanriverdi, the head of SADAT, to be his military counsel. Tanriverdi had been dismissed by the Turkish General Staff during the 1997 soft coup and appears bent on revenge against the secular order. SADAT, which has trained paramilitaries and special forces, is increasingly becoming Erdoğan’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Indeed, SADAT appears to have been behind much of the killing of civilians which Erdoğan’s media blamed, absent any evidence beyond forced confessions, upon Gülenist coup plotters.

All this hints at Erdoğan’s long game. He appears to be consolidating his own religious control through the Service for Youth and Education Foundation of Turkey (TÜRGEV, a charity on whose board Erdoğan’s son sits) and Heyrettin Karaman, Erdoğan’s favorite local Islamic leader.

But, as Erdoğan seeks to change the constitution, he also wants to win through the point of a gun what he cannot win popularly. The issue at hand is not simply the Turkish public — Erdoğan believes he has them cowed — but rather Doğu Perinçek, a former Maoist and ultranationalist. Perinçek has been the chief beneficiary of Erdoğan’s purges, as they have eliminated many of his opponents as well. Today, Perinçek is effectively the shadow defense minister. He has said he will not allow the constitutional change, which means the terms of the showdown are now clear.

Whomever wins, the only certainty is that Turkey is headed for a bloodbath. The only questions are how soon it comes, and whether Erdoğan is more prepared than Perinçek.

Source: American Enterprise Institute , October 31, 2016


Related News

Grand stage shows by Turkish Olympiad students enthrall İzmir locals

İPEK ÜZÜM, İSTANBUL Students coming to Turkey from all around the globe for the 11th International Turkish Olympiad — a festival that celebrates the Turkish language and which this year has brought together 2,000 students from 140 countries — fascinated thousands of locals in İzmir with their stage performances on Sunday night. A very large […]

Islamic lender raises capital after massive gov’t withdrawal

Turkish Islamic lender Bank Asya has made a cash capital increase on the back of claims that state-owned companies and institutional depositors have withdrawn millions of Turkish Liras of the bank’s total deposits. The lender said it had decided to make a cash capital increase of 33 percent to 1.2 billion liras ($515 million) and was selling an 18 percent stake in retailer Yeni Mağazacılık (A101) for 298 million liras.

The state, AKP, Religious Affairs Directorate, Alevis and rights

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) claimed it would minimize the space the state occupies in people’s lives and reduce bureaucracy and downsize the public sector when it was first elected to office. During the early years of its rule, it really moved to achieve these targets. But as it increased its control over the entire state apparatus, it has increasingly become yet another typical Turkish ruling party that prioritizes the state.

The gravest-ever smear

The erstwhile political Islamists — who would frequently utter the slogan “Every day is Ashura and everywhere is Karbala,” referring to the tragic incident in Islamic history when the Prophet Muhammad’s grandsons, Hasan and Husain, as well as those who accompanied them, were ambushed and slaughtered near Karbala in Iraq — apparently stick today to the formula “Every day is a lie and everywhere is a smear.”

France Urges Turkey to Respect Rights in Aftermath of Coup

France’s foreign minister urged Turkey on Monday to respect fundamental rights and freedoms in the aftermath of the country’s failed military coup, saying democracy is the best defense against those trying to defy it.

Friends of Hrant slam gov’t attempt to associate Dink murder with Gülen movement

A group called Friends of Hrant Dink, including lawmakers and activists, has harshly criticized the government’s recent attempt to associate the Dink’s murder with the Gülen movement, inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, calling on authorities to expose the real criminals behind the murder.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

3 detained Turkish educators and their families handed over to Turkey by Gabon

Former football star, İstanbul deputy says he is subject to hate crime

Istanbul police display hundreds of books among evidence of ‘terror’

Catholic University of Leuven establishes Fethullah Gülen Chair

They busted the house of a deceased teacher to take her under custody

From al-Qaeda to Amsterdam, from İstanbul to Pennsylvania

Our three-month ordeal in Turkey’s maximum prison -Nigerian students detained over coup saga

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News