Turkish officers speak: Erdogan may have staged coup

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses a gathering after receiving an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from M. A. Zaki, Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia University, during a convocation in New Delhi, India, May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses a gathering after receiving an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from M. A. Zaki, Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia University, during a convocation in New Delhi, India, May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi.


Date posted: May 1, 2017

Michael Rubin

Controversy still surrounds last summer’s abortive coup in Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called it “a gift from God” and used the coup as an excuse to crackdown not only on one-time ally Fethullah Gülen, whom he fingered before the smoke even cleared, but also on tens of thousands of opponents from across the political spectrum.

Inside Turkey, Erdogan controls both the judiciary and the media and so has been able to push a single narrative in support of his accusations. The problem with the official Turkish narrative, however, is that it omits many contradictory strands of information. Diplomatically, this is reflected in the frustration Turkish officials have voiced at the failure of the United States and several European states to support a crackdown on Gülen’s followers. Simply put, the evidence Erdogan has supplied does not reach a standard of evidence necessary for action in any independent court.

So, if Erdogan’s narrative is flawed, what are the alternative theories? On the surface, much doesn’t add up. Now, several career Turkish military officers — none of whom are followers or supporters of Gülen — have compiled from open sources a lengthy report analyzing the coup. They have authorized me to share the Dropbox link where they have made it accessible. They describe their own efforts:

This study is a modest effort for a better understanding 15 July 2016. It addresses some of the critical areas like who the dissenters were, their motivation, Erdogan’s prior awareness, his role in the events, his supporters in the military and elsewhere. This study is based on the collection and the analysis of the publicly available data. It comprises records of official/public speeches, press releases/reports, witness/suspect testimonies, and indictments. The study puts a light on the background of 15 July, reconstructs the critical events on a timeline, raises arguments and offers a series of findings.

The whole report is worth reading. It is based entirely on open sources, and highlights the internal contradictions and provable falsehoods offered in testimony, both voluntary and forced. They make a persuasive case that Erdogan’s narrative is false and that the coup was essentially Turkey’s equivalent of the Reichstag fire. Some followers of Gülen participated, but they were largely lower ranking officers who either believed that they were engaged in an exercise ordered by their immediate military supervisors, or made the wrong choice when faced with a decision about which side to support as events unfolded.

The Turkish military officers’ report especially important as Turkey prepares to try tens of thousands of civil servants and officers on charges that could lead to life in prison or perhaps even the death penalty.

Turkey may be a dictatorship and its judiciary a joke, but that doesn’t mean that both Turks and the outside world shouldn’t recognize the story is more complicated. No matter how authoritarian Turkey may become, it is hard to completely hide the truth.


Related News

Turkey to Release Tens of Thousands of Prisoners to Make Room for Coup Suspects

Turkey said on Wednesday that it would empty its prisons of tens of thousands of criminals to make room for the wave of journalists, teachers, lawyers and judges rounded up in connection with last month’s failed coup.

Erdoğan prepares for a bloodbath

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.

President Gül says Turkish Olympiads ‘greatest service’ to Turkey

The president has branded the annual contest of foreign students on the Turkish language the “greatest service” to Turkey, Turkish culture and its language, as he met with contestants participating in this year’s Olympiads. President Abdullah Gül told reporters while meeting with participants of the 11th Turkish Olympiads in the Çankaya presidential palace that organizations […]

Izzettin Dogan: ‘Turkish Olympiads achieved what UN couldn’t

Cem Foundation President Prof. Izzettin Dogan said, in his statements, that the Turkish Olympiads project initiated by volunteer NGOs is of great significance for global peace. “It’s not an easy task to lead children of diverse colors and cultures towards a common goal. Even UN couldn’t achieve that” Dogan said. The Turkish Olympiad students in […]

Turkey’s president orders closure of 1,000 private schools linked to Gülen

Turkey’s president has signed a decree that allows for the extension of the pre-charge detention period and the closure of institutions linked to Fethullah Gülen, the exiled cleric blamed for masterminding last weekend’s failed military coup.

2-month-old denied breast milk for 17 days while under detention with mother

Put under detention with his mother at Ankara’s Sincan Prison, a two-month-old newborn had been denied access to breast milk for 17 days.

Latest News

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

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

What are The New York Times and the International Herald Tribune after?

Kimse Yok Mu’s Ramadan packages for Filipino families

The Gülen Movement: a modern expression of Turkish Islam – Interview with Hakan Yavuz

Pillar of Society or Threat to Democracy?

The [Gulen] movement was a shade

Turkish PM heads to Brussels for tough talks with EU

Philippine education minister invites Turks to open more schools in his country

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News