Turkey: what is going on?

**AdamG** · 01-06-2012

ISTANBUL, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Former Turkish armed forces chief General Ilker Basbug spent his first night behind bars on Friday, charged with trying to overthrow the government in an unprecedented development likely to exacerbate tensions with the military.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...8C600320120106

**davidbfpo** · 01-13-2012

I am still trying to follow this developing situation, with the current Islamic government pursuing via the criminal justice route the leadership of the army and other critics.

Hat tip to FP Blog for offering a background explanation, 'Behind Bars in the Deep State' which is sub-titled:

Does a shadowy mullah in Pennsylvania really hold the reins of power in Turkey? If not, then why are the country’s leaders so intent on silencing a single investigative journalist?

The article points the finger at a shadowy Muslim group.

Oddly the article has been pulled and is not cached. Will try to link another day.

**tequila** · 01-13-2012

The Fetullah Gulen movement is not that "shadowy" - it is a massive outfit its own website and quite a large number of media outlets.

BBC story with some details about Ahmet Sik's case.

Recent NYTIMES story about Gulen charter schools in Texas.

I'd be worried less about the Gulen movement and more about the AKP's actions - though given the Turkish military's actions in the past, it's hard for them to complain about creeping authoritarianism.

**AdamG** · 01-16-2012

Originally Posted by davidbfpo

Oddly the article has been pulled and is not cached. Will try to link another day.

I think you might have encountered internet outages/hiccups over the last 48h.

Here it is

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/article...the_deep_state

also here
http://arunwithaview.wordpress.com/2...he-deep-state/

Meanwhile, historical precedence in the news
http://articles.cnn.com/2012-01-10/w...n?_s=PM:EUROPE

**SWJ Blog** · 05-02-2012

A Different War on Terrorism: The U.S., Turkey and the PKK

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**SWJ Blog** · 08-30-2012

Book Review: Democracy, Islam and Secularism in Turkey

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**davidbfpo** · 12-21-2012

An interesting analysis of what is going on:

Turkey's AKP government has over a decade promised a new model of governance: progressive and reformist, Islamist and democratic. But a series of developments, including the expanding power of prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is now exposing the party and its policies to ever-deeper scrutiny....

Link:http://www.opendemocracy.net/kerem-o...ith-human-face

**omarali50** · 12-21-2012

this is an interesting article about fethullah gulen http://www.city-journal.org/2012/22_...lah-gulen.html

**Fuchs** · 12-22-2012

Keep in mind some if not most of the Western-like modernisation of the Turkish state in the last decade or more was done in order to conform enough to the EU for becoming a member.

Bluntly stated, enough Europeans don't want the Turks to join - the EU is already very diverse without growing beyond actual occidental Europe. It's having its issues and doesn't need more.

The membership of Cyprus coupled with the basically unresolved conflict on Cyprus basically ensured that if Greece doesn't veto, Cyprus does and if Cyprus doesn't, some other veto will be found.

So the Turks basically gave up the idea of joining the EU and Erdogan et al instead began to develop Turkey as a comeback great power with an identity between Europe, Arab countries and Central Asian turk nations.

With Turkey going its own way, he apparently also figured that Turkey can have its own interpretation of what a modern state is like and doesn't need to accept Western ideas on this at face value.

The problem in Turkey is in my opinion a lack of political and probably also media plurality. It's either AKP or the pro-military autocrats IIRC, and there should really be a third choice which could form a coalition with both and keep the political culture from going too far towards either extreme.
I'm not well-informed on their party landscape, though.

**davidbfpo** · 01-03-2013

Hat tip to a "lurker" for this article, published by the Hudson Institute, 'The Gulen Movement in Azerbaijan' by Fuad Aliyev:http://www.currenttrends.org/researc...-in-azerbaijan

The conclusion starts with:

The Glen movement has arguably emerged as the most successful movement in Azerbaijans unfolding Islamic revival. No other Islamic movement in Azerbaijan can claim such an extensive organization or level of influence in business, charity, lobbying and, above all, in the field of education. Moreover, the movement has managed to acquire this influence without revealing its ideological mission. This has, not surprisingly, generated considerable suspicion of its motives. And despite its reputation as a post- Islamist movement that seeks integration with society, it is nonetheless still widely perceived as having a religious-political agenda.

Not sure if there is an Azerbaijan thread, so placed here.

**davidbfpo** · 02-02-2013

It is more than admirals, but The Economist provides an update on the apparent emasculation of the Turkish military by the civilian government. It starts with:

..has nobody to command its navy. Just such a situation looms in Turkey after this week’s resignation of Admiral Nusret Guner, the number two in the navy who was expected to take over when its incumbent head steps down in August. There are no other qualified candidates, not least because more than half of Turkey’s admirals are in jail...

Link:http://www.economist.com/news/europe...d_his_generals

**davidbfpo** · 02-13-2013

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan did something quite symbolic last weekend: He visited the hospitalized ex-general Ergin Saygun, who was recently sentenced to 18 years in prison for a military coup plot against Erdoğan’s own government. Both Saygun, who had undergone a heart operation just hours after the postponing of his sentence, and his family were positively surprised. Many others were puzzled.

Link:http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/lov...=238&nid=40968

**SWJ Blog** · 08-30-2013

Why Syrians in Turkey are Not “Refugees” and Why it Matters

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**SWJ Blog** · 08-31-2013

The Young Ataturk: From Ottoman Soldier to Statesman of Turkey

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**davidbfpo** · 03-31-2015

In August 2011 the contest between the politicians and generals appeared to end with the 'Sledgehammer' criminal charges being laid against over two hundred suspects (see Posts 33-35). A 2014 BBC report after earlier trials and appeals:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24457491

Today on Twitter a US observer tweeted:

Sledgehammer saga ends as Turkish court acquits all defendants, citing strong suspicion of fake evidence.

One I think Turksih report:http://www.worldbulletin.net/turkey/...tary-coup-case

Curiously and purely by coincidence attention has been diverted, including the BBC, to two quite different news stories. First a near nation-wide electricity outage:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32130567

Then a siege in Istanbul, where a banned Marxist-Leninist group DHKP-C, have seized a state prosecutor in a court building. News report:http://mashable.com/2015/03/31/prose...bjBrb2xtdF8ifQ

Or the BBC:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32129012

Background reading on this group, suitably Byzantine:http://america.aljazeera.com/article...oodarrows.html

**davidbfpo** · 09-08-2015

Hat tip to WoTR for this commentary:

Most observers of Turkey have reduced every single problem facing Turkey to one factor: Erdogan, its president. He is certainly a troubling leader, but Turkey's trials run far deeper than one man.

Link:http://warontherocks.com/2015/09/the...-telling-you/?

A taster:

We are looking at a multi-player game of chicken where different actors are speeding toward each other with no intention to step on the brakes. Erdogan is driving the largest vehicle, but it takes more than one driver to cause a pileup.

**davidbfpo** · 09-12-2015

A somewhat surprising opinion column in the NYT, by an American SME, who writes that the military are now back in favour with President Erdogan:http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/12/op...y-rulers.html?

**davidbfpo** · 10-13-2015

Moderator's Note

This thread has been renamed from 'WTF News Network : Turkish Senior Ranks' mass resignation/retirement' to 'Turkey: politicians and generals - what is going on?'

In October 2015 the thread was renamed from Turkey: politicians and generals - what is going on? - to Turkey: what is going on? A small number of older threads and SWJ pieces were merged in.

A thread 2008-2009 called 'Secularism and Foreign Policy in Turkey', which contains background to the latest issues has now been merged into this thread (Ends).

**davidbfpo** · 10-13-2015

An Open Democracy article on Turkey after the terrorist bombing of a pro-Kurdish rally in Ankara; in summary:

What we have witnessed in the last two years, culminating in the horrible scenes of 10 October in Ankara, is the end of the Turkish Republic as we know it.

Link:https://www.opendemocracy.net/umut-o...rkish-republic

This article cites another report, minus a link, so here it is:http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...-attack-coming

A lengthy BBC report after:

he Islamic State (IS) group is the prime suspect in the Ankara bombings that killed nearly 100 on Saturday, Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu has said.

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34505030

**davidbfpo** · 02-06-2016

Those who watch Turkey will probably know, but given its regional role we should note "enemies to the front and rear". The article starts with:

The latest footage to come out of Sur, the historical district in Diyarbakir that has been under total lock down by Turkish armed forces for the past sixty days, shows a level of devastation one would sooner expect in Syria. In more ways than one – empty streets lined with debris, bombed-out buildings, tanks and soldiers shooting at invisible assailants – the situation in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeastern regions resembles a war zone.

Link:http://www.juancole.com/2016/02/turk...escalates.html

Then a UK paper headline, sadly:

Horrific video 'shows unarmed Kurds waving white flag shot dead by Turkish soldiers'

Link:http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-n...-kurds-7225065