Turkey’s rising dictator, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has prevailed from a military coup — a victory claimed in the name of the very democracy that Erdogan has been systemically disassembling. We have followed the ruin brought to the once fledging democracy of Turkey by Erdogan. His government has arrested the very journalists that he counted on to spread the word of his resistance, including Western reporters like Dutch journalist, Ebru Umar, a well-known atheist and feminist journalist. Umar wrote a piece critical of Erdoğan for the Dutch daily Metro, extracts of which she then tweeted. Her last tweet chillingly said “Police at the door. No joke.” Now, with the support of the United States and opposition parties, Erdogan has cloaked himself as the very personification of freedom and is clearly moving to wipe out any remaining opposition in the military and country with the justification of the coup. While no one should support a military coup, we should not delude ourselves: a dictator has survived and democracy in Turkey will die with his rise.
We have seen the erosion of all civil liberties in Turkey after the election of Erdoğan and his coalition of Islamic parties. This has also included the arrest of Mehmet Emin Altunses, 16, who allegedly committed the crime of “insulting” Erdoğan. calling people who use birth control “traitors” and saying Muslims discovered America, you are not allowed to be disrespectful or insulting in discussing Erdoğan. Then there was the prosecution of model and former Miss Turkey Merve Buyuksarac, 26, for criticizing Erdogan for quoting a few lines from a poem called the “Master’s Poem” from weekly Turkish satirical magazine Uykusuz. Erdoğan’s totalitarian measures have earned him the nickname “Buyuk Usta” (the Big Master). Even a joking reference to Gollum and Erdoğan is enough to land you in jail today in Turkey.
Erdoğan has already used the coup to focus on this nemesis Fethullah Gulen, a cleric living in Pennsylvania and a critic of his autocratic rule. It is likely that the Obama Administration, which has continued its absolute support for Erdogan as he has cracked down on journalists and critics, will be asked to take actions against Gulen, 75. Glen is an imam who went into exile to the United States in 1999 and settled in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania. What is clear is that Erdogan is already using the coup attempt to consolidate power and eliminate what few restrictions remained on his power. Indeed, some have suggested that the entire coup was staged or encouraged secretly by Erdogan precisely to serve as his catalyst for a final push toward authoritarian control.
Erdogan was saved largely by mosques calling out the faithful into the streets. Some of those Erdogan supporters reported beheaded an unarmed soldier after he surrendered. Others were shown beating unarmed soldiers as Erdogan political allies called for the “ultimate punishment” of those involved in the coup.
Erdogan, our key ally, has now promised to “cleanse” the military — a threat understood to mean that the secular military will now be filled with his Islamic supporters. In the meantime, the United States will continue to support the man who has destroyed the only true secular democracy in an Arab nation.
Do you folk want the US government to take down this leader (which they are doubtless vigorously trying to do behind the scenes – what you see is never what you get with American foreign policy)? Do you really want the American government to eschew democracy? We’ve seen where that leads, but it seems to be an addiction that no one, regardless of their political leanings, can overcome.
It looks like the whole world is headed to a perfect storm. Our country has a lot of problems to face, both internally and externally.
The US has been in bed, made the bed, soiled the bed of dictators throughout its colonialist history. Chile, Nicaragua, Iran, etc. Only ignorant fools use this to denigrate the politicians they don’t agree with. This is a Western thing. Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, and so on have all done whatever they could to keep their guy in power. This has been the way of colonial powers since the beginning of time.
Turkey is unique as it has had several coups by the military when the so called elected head has gotten too full of himself. Since Ataturk designed a secular Turkey the military has been the safety valve. They have stepped in, put the country back on the secular track, and then stepped out. What will be interesting here is whether Erdogan will take the hint and honor the designs of his country’s founder or continue to consolidate personal power. The next uprising might not be so pretty.
Obama has nothing to do with this except in the perverse interpretations of his objectors.
It has been suggested that this is another fake coup like the one three or years ago that Endrogan is suing to purge the military and grip even more power to end any semblance of “democracy” in his new theocracy. He’s done it before and the courts turned it around just a short while ago. I wouldn’t be surprised.
Why on earth does the US have allies like Turkey and Saudi Arabia? We condemn Assad but we embrace these guys. It’s insanity!
Very sad. Ataturk must be whirling in his grave as Erdogan leads Turkey back to the Stone Ages.
@NickS
Thanks! I just assumed he was a Democrat. Mea culpa.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Squeek, JT said to one caller who accused him of being a Republican that he is liberal on many issues and is an Independent.
@NickS
Maybe one day JT will change parties to the GOP, or just become an official independent. Republicans are far from smart on many issues, but they are still miles ahead of the Dems.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Reblogged this on Truth Troubles: Why people hate the truths' of the real world and commented:
This is an excellent article that I hope people will take the time to read about this ruthless Dictator. This is information that you will not get from Americas government or the government approved news agencies.
Excellent article Jonathan, thank you for enlightening people on these issues about this very dangerous Dictator.
Squeek, Notorious RBG wants to go to New Zealand. Maybe a layover in Istanbul? JT was on C-Span yesterday. The man has the patience of Job taking calls from knuckle dragging liberals calling him a “conservative” and “Republican” as they defended Ginsburg. Incredulity was etched on JT’s face but he answered every caller.
Apparently Erdogan is cleaning up the judiciary in a big way:
I wonder if we could interest a few SCOTUS judges in an Istanbul vacay???
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Obama supports him because he considers Erdogan a role model.
But he’s OUR dictator!
This does not bode well for the world or for Turkey.
Sadly, it sometimes requires a dictator to put things right. I suspect that a large number of Turks have looked at the West and do not want to go down that road. Or, he could just be a power mad lunatic. Time will tell.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
The author is pushing “Democracy” like it’s a good thing.
Oh the irony of it all.
I hope that all Western countries soon start realizing that Islam is an ideology that encourages dictators through the “most perfect example” (Koran 33:21) of the one they regard as their prophet. Read about the murder of Asma bint Marwan, if you don’t believe me.
Erdogan is shameless: he calls on crowds to defend his regime after having previously crushed popular demonstrations against him; he appealed to Germany for asylum if needed – after extorting the Germans over the refugee crisis (and suing Germans for insulting him); and he now presents himself as the defender of democracy – which he is destroying in Turkey.
Having failed to support the coup, the Turks now deserve what they will get.
As will the U.S. since our leaders (read Obama and Kerry) failed to develop a strategy to manage this “ally”.
The world is becoming a more dangerous place, and increasingly unstable. WWIII could be a tragically real possibility at some point.