Turkey’s failed coup and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s subsequent purges of state institutions are reminiscent of the Reichstag fire in Nazi Germany and its use by Hitler to amass greater power, the head of Austria’s far-right Freedom Party said.
Many people watching the stunning events in Turkey believe that the coup attempt was nothing but a pure ‘theater.’ The leader of the coup was a pro-Erdogan General Mehmet Disli, brother of AKP deputy Saban Disli, who defines himself as Erdogan’s confidante. The poorly-planned coup attempt has started with the capture of Istanbul’s Bosporus Bridge. […]
The government is calling on Turkish-Dutch citizens to report if they are threatened by supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Minister Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs wrote in a letter to parliament on Thursday, NU.nl reports.
A moderate preacher rooted in the Sufi mystic tradition of Islam, Mr. Gulen is known for emphasizing interfaith dialogue. But Mr. Erdogan calls Mr. Gulen and his followers a “cancer” and a “terrorist organization” that is building a “parallel state.” The rancour is personal.
Now, with the European convention on human rights suspended and a six-month state of emergency that allows President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to rule without parliament – although thousands still turn out nightly in his support – some are beginning to wonder if the cure has turned out to be little better than the original threat.
Turkey’s crackdown of those suspected in the failed July 15 military coup widens, with the firing of 492 people at its top Islamic authority. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is zeroing in on a Muslim cleric living in rural Pennsylvania, whom he accuses of masterminding the coup attempt.
Asked whether Turkish allegations that cleric Fethullah Gulen planned the attempted coup passed the “smell test” of credibility, National Intelligence Director James Clapper answered: “No. Not to me.” He said that Secretary John Kerry “was right on the ball” to press the Turks to back up their extradition request with evidence of Gulen’s involvement.
Turkey’s failed coup last week has emboldened President Tayyip Erdogan to become an all-powerful democratically elected dictator. The attempt by his opponents to take over the state by force provided him the political cover to destroy all remaining opposition to his rule without no fair judicial process.
In rhetoric reminiscent of the Stalinist purges, Erdoğan promised to “cleanse all state institutions”, rid Turkey’s judiciary of “cancer cells” and purge state bodies of the “virus”that has spread throughout Turkish state structures.
How will it end? Erdogan has beaten Hizmet decisively. But he is planting the seeds for his own destruction. How and when he will fall remains unclear. Meanwhile, on the international scene, Turkey is rapidly becoming a pariah. The country itself is now his primary victim.
Somaliland administration in northwestern Somalia has refused to follow in the footsteps of the federal government that suspended a school with links to reclusive Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen following a failed coup attempt in Turkey, Garowe Online reports.
Unfortunately, the botched coup is likely to act like the infamous Reichstag fire under the Nazis and accelerate the Erdogan government’s race to the dictatorial bottom. He is likely to become more vindictive and paranoid—because he does have enemies everywhere. Never mind that he bears responsibility for the authoritarian policies and corrupt practices which have energized his most fervent opponents.