ISTANBUL: The Turkish government's crackdown following a military coup soon turned into a dramatic purge after a failed overnight coup tried to "save democracy" from President Recep Tayyip Erdogen. At least 232 people were killed and 1,400 wounded in fighting against rebel troops.
Bridges over the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul were blocked by troops last Friday, and fighter jets and helicopters were seen hovering over Ankara, after which, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced an attempt to overthrow the government. The whole stint soon backfired as Erdogan, who was on holiday in a resort town called on his supporters to take to the streets and protest. "They will pay a heavy price for this. This uprising is a gift from God to us because this will be a reason to cleanse our army. They have pointed the people's guns against the people. The president, whom 52 per cent of the people brought to power, is in charge. This government brought to power by the people is in charge."
The evening bloodied with soldiers raiding TV stations, explosions marking Istanbul and Ankara, protesters shot at, parliament and presidential buildings fired up, a military helicopter shot down and the Turkish military chief taken hostage. With no support from the public or the military, the coup soon fell and by early hours of Saturday, soldiers began to surrender and troops abandoned their tanks. While who is responsible for the coup remains unclear, the government was quick to blame Fethullah Gulen, a reclusive US-based Muslim cleric who in turn, denies the claims and has condemned the coup.
The consequences of the act were seem in the wrecking numbers of officials being either detained or dismissed. Almost 18,000 in total, including 6,000 members of the military, 9,000 police officers, 3,000 judges, 30 governors and one-third of all generals and admirals were detained. Also facing the heat was Erdogan's own military attaché. Speaking to his supporters, the Turkish Prez said the country was a "democratic state run by the rule of law". He said he was ready to reinstate the death penalty if the Turkish people demanded it and parliament approved it. "Today is there no capital punishment in America? In Russia? In China? In countries around the world? Only in European Union countries is there no capital punishment," he said. Turkey had abolished the penalty on 2004 to become a member of the EU.
Western countries raised alarm with US Secretary of State John Kerry urging Turkey to show restraint and preserve the rule of law. At a joint news conference with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, Kerry said that America stands "squarely on the side of the elected leadership in Turkey," but that "we urge the government of Turkey to uphold the highest standards of respect for the nation's democratic institutions and the rule of law".
Nandini Devere, a UK based lawyer’s parents were in Turkey, the day the coup broke out. They reached earlier on the day, and after dinner took a walk and went to sleep when the chaos broke out. "When I called up my parents hearing about the coup, my parents were fast asleep and did not know much about the situation. They were staying very close to the centre. However, next morning everything was back to normal and my parents told me that they did not feel anything was odd. In fact they were encouraged to go and see the Blue mosque and other areas of interests- everything was back on business as usual."
Vivek Chowdhury from the UK was visiting Turkey at the same time for work. He said, "I was in my hotel when the coup broke out. Obviously the hotels were being careful about the security of guests. But everything was very peaceful when I walked out in the morning. Must say people are very resilient. The city was back to business as usual."
On the night when the coup broke out in Turkey, around midnight many Turkish people gathered outside the BBC building near Oxford circus demanding to know what is happening in their country, as all mode of communication with the country shut down. However, they all urged that a military coup was not the answer to their problem. Nadiya, with her friends told Rupanjana Dutta from Asian Voice, who was present there, "Yes we are not happy with the President. We are gathered here to hear what he has to say to the media. But the opposition must not use coup as a tool to oppose the government. It’s too dangerous for the safety of the commoners. My family is alright, I have spoken to them. But they could have been easily hurt and such kind on unrest often leads to uncontrollable violence. It’s perhaps only a matter of time." As the crowd dispersed they blew their car horns very loudly, while police vans cordoned off the area.
