Turkey at the crossroads

The recent abortive military coup in Turkey has been an antidote of the break-down of army's command structure, the second largest military in the NATO alliance. Turkey was a buffer state while the world was split between the socialist bloc and the countries opposed to communism. As a member of NATO Turkey had allowed military bases of the United States on its soil and served as first line of defence against any military intrusion by the then Soviet Union. Turkey's inclusion into NATO, at a time when Muslim countries, including Egypt and Syria, were leaning towards Moscow, altered the characteristics of the military alliance into a multiracial, multinational and multicultural organisation. Following the dismemberment of the Soviet Union Turkey became a bridge between the newly independent countries in Central Asia and Europe and by extension with the United States. NATO expanded its horizon to the Baltics in the north and Czech Republic to the east. Warsaw Pact, a military alliance of socialist countries, gradually reduced to irrelevance. Being a NATO member Turkey's army was equipped with superior firepower. It became one of the best known military comparable to that of France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Following the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey, under the leadership of Mustafa Kamal Ataturk, embarked on a path of modernisation. It abolished caliphate, declared itself a republic and adopted a new constitution embracing secularism and democracy as guiding principles of governance. The constitution bestowed a special status to the army for safeguarding secularism and national integrity. Over the years Turkey moved closer to Europe and downplayed its historical bond with the Middle East. Its identity as a Muslim country faded to a great extent. Turkey accorded recognition to Israel soon after the new state was created and became the first Muslim country to establish diplomatic relation with Tel Aviv.

The dominant role of the army hardly brought dividend for Turkey. The army staged several coups in 1960, 1971 and in 1980. In the name of upholding secularism and national unity it displaced one government after another and executed Adnan Menderes, one of the elected prime ministers of the country, allegedly in connivance with the CIA. In the previous coups all the branches of the army were united under its top command and dislodged the governments. But this time only a section of the army revolted and they were clobbered by the army loyal to the government. Another factor that frustrated the coup attempt was the way people came out in groves at the call of President Erdogan.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power in 2003 as head of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). He first became prime minister (2003-2014) and allowed Abdullah Gul to become the president until the superior court quashed his disqualification order. He became president in 2014.

As prime minister Erdogan took a series of actions that gradually established control of the civilian government over a powerful army. Given the past recalcitrant records of the army the international community, the European Union (EU) and the United States welcomed the restoration of civilian authority over the army. The government reached out to the elected representatives of 18 million Kurds and conceded some of their demands. It was hoped that the reconciliation would proceed; the disenchanted Kurds would lay down their arms and allow the democratic process to resolve ethnic conflict. Erdogan withdrew ban on women wearing hijab in public places and allowed prayers during office hours. He reinforced ties with the Muslim world and championed the rights of the Palestinians. Turkey dispatched humanitarian supplies to besieged population in Gaza and when its flotilla was destroyed by the Israeli army the diplomatic relation with Israel was suspended. Erdogan's refusal to allow the United States army to open a northern front through Turkish territory at the time of Iraq invasion enhanced his credibility in the Muslim world. He reached out to Tehran to defuse tension on the nuclear issue. Erdogan pursued Ankara's bid to join the EU but the efforts were frustrated, by France citing poor human rights records and discrimination towards Kurdish population. Erdogan welcomed the victory of the Muslim Brotherhood led by Mohamed Morsi in Egypt in 2012, visited Cairo and extended full support to the first democratically elected government in Egypt.

Erdogan's government successfully revitalised the economy, allowed gas pipeline connecting Azerbaijan's oil fields to the Bosporus Sea promoting export of Azeri oil to Europe which brought financial dividend to Turkey as well. Erdogan tried to normalise relation with Armenia which still carries wounds of the atrocities committed during the Ottoman Empire.

Syrian civil war again brought Turkey to the limelight. At the beginning Erdogan tried to broker a peace deal with Syrian President Assad but since his overture made no headway he extended support to the rebels endorsed by the United States, European countries and the Arabs. The five-year-long civil strife displaced almost half of Syria's population and over three million took refuge in Turkey. Early this year the EU offered $3.0 billion to Turkey in order to provide accommodation and basic support to the refugees. The support to Syrian rebels was not without a price. ISIS cadres attacked Istanbul airport and caused significant damage. It exploded grenades in a public rally in Ankara and killed number of civilians. Ankara's truce with the Kurdish rebels in the South seems to have lost effect and very recently Turkish army bombed the suspected hideouts of the rebels once again putting the fragile relationship under severe strain.

It is still unclear why a group of army personnel turned against the government. Erdogan told CNN that he was in Marmaris resort when two of his body guards were killed adding that "if I had stayed 10 or 15 additional minutes there, I would have been killed or I would have been taken." The government accused Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim preacher now in self-exile in Philadelphia, and his supporters for orchestrating and carrying out the attempted coup. Gulen and his supporters vehemently denied their involvement. Erdogan and his administration claim that they face an unprecedented threat and that the campaign to root out the traitors is necessary.

The government has declared a state of emergency. In the meantime, the purge has begun with all intensity. Over 10,000 people have been put behind the bar, about 60,000 people have been dismissed from service and more than 2,250 social, educational and health care facilities shut down. The judges, teachers, professors and army officials are amongst the dismissed officials. The Human Rights Watch said the government "has complete right to hold those involved in the coup accountable. But the speed and the scale of arrests, including of top judges, suggests a purge rather than a process based on evidence."

It is alleged that President Erdogan over the years increasingly became authoritarian. He served two terms as the prime minister. Since the third term was not permissible he became the president and by an amendment of the constitution is now trying to transform the "parliamentary system into presidential" in order to restore full executive power in his hands. Erdogan became intolerant to press critical of the government and jailed many journalists and shut down a number of newspapers. Dogan media group was fined $2.5 billion for unpaid taxes in 2009 but critics attribute the penalty to Dogan's exposing corruption allegations against president's close associates. Arrest warrants were issued against 42 journalists on July 25. The government controls a big part of the media, and keeps the part it doesn't, under threat of imprisonment.

The fact that 6,000 military personnel, including 120 generals, were arrested implies a vivisection in the defence force. This is an ominous sign when Turkey is at war against ISIS in one front and Kurdish rebels in another..

The writer is a former official of the United Nations.

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