Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials have blamed Gulen staying in self-imposed exile in the United States and his supporters for the coup attempt and called on his USA counterpart Barack Obama to extradite the cleric, while speaking to a crowd of his supporters.
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He was interrupted by chants from the crowd.
This entire tragic episode could have been prevented had Western powers, led by the U.S., been more vociferous in condemning the unruly way in which Erdogan exercised his power, especially in the past several years; instead, they kept emphasizing Turkey’s strategic importance, which Erdogan fully exploited to his advantage. Back in 2011, after the so-called “Arab Spring” toppled authoritarian rulers in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, President Obama developed what amounted to a political partnership with Erdogan.
“In democracies, people’s demands can not be set aside”, he responded. One must also appreciate the opposition leaders who denounced the coup.
“Don’t trust them”, shouted another, at the demonstrator who was being interviewed.
Others objected: “The death penalty is a crime against humanity”.
European Union foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini responded bluntly to the suggestion the death penalty – which Turkey abolished in 2004 as part of its long-running efforts to join the European Union – could be reinstated. There has been no execution here since 1984.
An Ankara court late Monday placed under arrest 26 former generals suspected of planning Friday’s attempted power grab, including former air force chief General Akin Ozturk, whom some Turkish media have painted as the mastermind of the plot. Since then the president has attacked social media, particularly Twitter which is popular among young middle-class Turks, as harmful for Turkey.
Kerry can counter Erdogan’s Incerlik gambit with some conditions of our own: You want Gulen? “The people’s demands are an order for us”. He grimly added, “Hopefully we can work in a constructive way to prevent backsliding”.
He successfully exploited the EU’s deep concerns over the refugee crisis by making a deal that provides Turkey several major benefits that outweighed its obligations. Turkey had already been hit by repeated suicide bombings over the past year and is struggling to contain an insurgency by Kurdish separatists. It doesn’t seem likely that Turkey will bow against any demand coming from the EU. News reports said close to 2,000 special forces police officers were deployed in Istanbul to guard key installations.
It is also a founding member of the Council of Europe – none of whose 47 members have the death penalty.
“Turkey is not at war and the coup threat is over”.
However, U.S. facilities were still operating on internal power sources after Turkey cut off the mains supply to the base.
It is unclear whether the judiciary will have enough manpower for such a vast number of coup-linked legal proceedings in addition to regular cases.
“Article 15 of our constitution states that even under the circumstances of war, martial law or state of emergency, offences and penalties can not not be made retroactive”, he says.
In Turkey, reinstating the death penalty would require a change in the constitution, which would need the approval of 367 MPs in the parliament. “President Erdogan will simply do this, period”. Erdogan’s government argues that the United States has allied with a Syrian Kurdish group known as the YPG that has links with the underground Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which the Turks call a terrorist organization. I talked with a fruit seller as he listened to unconfirmed news of a supposed vigilante beheading one soldier; according to the fruit seller, the soldier had gotten what he deserved for participating in the coup attempt. People have the right to voice their rage.
“Only acts which are legally punishable can be targeted, not political opinion”.
His party says the response to the failed coup should be conducted within the rule of law and the plotters should face trial accordingly.
And there is another problem for the government.
The US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday called on Turkey to present evidence that US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen was behind last week’s failed coup attempt.
And Ankara also expects the extradition of eight coup plotters who fled to Greece to apply for asylum.
“Germany stands on the side of all of those in Turkey who defend democracy and the rule of law”, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country is home to millions of Turkish gastarbeiter.
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And he says the judiciary is not immune to error.
