Gift From God: How Erdogan Turned July 15 Into Windfall


Date posted: December 6, 2016

MACIT FERHAN

Although almost five months have passed since an abortive coup that shattered and upset every aspect of political and social life in Turkey, the bloody event is still shrouded in mystery. Despite the fact that it played out live on TV on the night of July 15 and early hours of July 16 in front of the eyes of the millions of people, there is still scant evidence about its leadership, how it was planned and why it failed miserably.

The doomed putsch allowed Erdogan to launch his own coup to reshape the Turkish state by sweeping purges in all departments of the state bureaucracy. Numbers speak for itself. As of Dec. 1, more than 125,000 public officials have been dismissed.


According to an official narrative of the government, MIT learned the coup plans earlier in the day and its chief several times discussed it with army chief Akar. One fundamental contradiction was the fact that despite this early warning and intelligence, commanders of navy, ground forces and air forces attended a wedding ceremony that night.


“People flooded to streets to confront putschist elements and tanks. They successfully turned the coup to their own coup,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said while speaking at a ceremony to open a political history museum that carries the name of former President Abdullah Gul in central province of Kayseri. The president’s comments add additional suspicion that the attempted coup, executed in the most amateurish fashion possible, well might be staged by Erdogan himself.

As the coup was unfolding early July 16, Erdogan described the coup attempt as “a gift from God.” Since then, a series of actions taken by Erdogan, who is now ruling the country by decrees, shattered political foundations of the republic, left a deeply fractured army and ended rule of law by eradicating the basic tenets of judicial independence. The debilitating purge campaign included 3,500 judges and prosecutors.

While putschists were still making their push for the coup attempt, in his first reaction to the attempted takeover via FaceTime, Erdogan immediately placed the blame on U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. Regardless of the scope of scapegoating that was evidently on display in recent years, Erdogan’s handling of the post-coup era and immediate purges in the judiciary provide a cautionary tale about the coup saga in Turkey.


While the entire nation watched the whole drama on streets live on TV, perpetrators behind the coup and how it took place have largely gone unanswered. And the government’s control of media and subsequent crackdown on critical media renders it almost impossible to learn the whole truth.


Whether it was a real coup or a staged one, Erdogan, in the eyes of many, successfully converted it into his own counter-coup by orchestrating the post-coup transformation of the state. A month before his arrest, pro-Kurdish People’s Democracy Party (HDP) leader Selahattin Demirtas bluntly accused Erdogan of not acting before the attempted coup to prevent it from taking place although there was strong intelligence about preparations of some army factions.

Speaking to fellow party members in Parliament back in September, he even went to say that many lawmakers, during their private conversations in the corridors of Parliament, acknowledged that the government had prior information about the coup and even it might be staged by themselves.

Officials note that the National Intelligence Agency (MIT) obtained information about coup plans on July 15, earlier in the day around 4:00 p.m. Erdogan later said he could not reach undersecretary Hakan Fidan as the coup started (He said he learned it from his brother-in-law). If Erdogan’s account is correct, it was not clear why Fidan did not inform the president about the plans, but instead went to headquarters of General Staff and met with the military chief Gen. Hulusi Akar to discuss counter-measures to stop it.

To the surprise of many, Fidan was able to keep his position despite the lack of communication and intelligence failure.

According to an official narrative of the government, MIT learned the coup plans earlier in the day and its chief several times discussed it with army chief Akar. One fundamental contradiction was the fact that despite this early warning and intelligence, commanders of navy, ground forces and air forces attended a wedding ceremony that night. When the putschists took action, tanks rolled into streets and fighter jets flew low over Istanbul and Ankara, many commanders, according to their testimony, learned the attempt via phone or television.

While the entire nation watched the whole drama on streets live on TV, perpetrators behind the coup and how it took place have largely gone unanswered. And the government’s control of media and subsequent crackdown on critical media renders it almost impossible to learn the whole truth.

Source: Turkey Times , December 5, 2016


Related News

American pastor jailed over Gülen links asks Trump to fight for his release

An American pastor who has been jailed on bogus terrorism charges in Turkey for more than five months has asked US President Donald Trump to help secure his release. Pastor Brunson has no known ties to terrorist groups, and the Turkish government has not produced any evidence to show that he does.

Religious freedom threatened by Turkey’s response to coup

From his self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, Gulen has disavowed any association with the coup attempt. “My philosophy — inclusive and pluralist Islam, dedicated to service to human beings from every faith — is antithetical to armed rebellion,” Gulen wrote for The New York Times.

Lambsdorff: Turkish press intimidated, under pressure

A senior member of the European Parliament (EP), German Liberal Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, said the Turkish press is intimidated and under pressure, and also strongly criticized the new Internet law.

Erdoğan’s game plan for Hizmet

Erdogan may continue to demonize and even to try to criminalize the Hizmet movement in an effort to brainwash his people into believing that he is the only one who can save the nation. We will see if this brings him the additional votes he needs to be elected president.

Amnesty: 500,000 Kurds displaced in Turkey’s Southeast due to curfews, crackdown

Tens of thousands of residents of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sur are among an estimated half million people forced from their homes as a result of a brutal crackdown by Turkish authorities over the past year which may amount to collective punishment, said Amnesty International in a new report.

On front lines of fight for press freedom in Turkey

“I’m happy to be a journalist despite all the stress and pressure we’ve been under from the government,” Akarcesme said last Tuesday during a visit to the newspaper’s offices by group of Capital Region journalists and academics led by the Turkish Cultural Center of Albany.

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

White House praises Rumi Forum

Kimse Yok Mu team in action in Bosnia

Doğan: Gülen stood against anti-cemevi campaigns

Turkish Cultural Center to hold ‘Henna Night’ fundraiser for water well construction in Africa

Smear campaign websites cleared while targeted journalists accused

Deputy Minister of Culture Igor Șarov met the participants of the International Festival of Language and Culture

New Constitution expected to eradicate remnants of Feb. 28 coup

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News