Mirror: Turkey 'coup': Live updates as explosion and gunfire reported in capitol Ankara

[twa]

Destino's suggestion that a failed coup might be the worst outcome is quickly being borne out. Looks like Edrogan is using it to eliminate all opposition and consolidate his power. Additionally Turkey potentially could move away from being an ally to becoming an adversary or even enemy of the West.

 

wasn't he already planning those actions?

[visionary]

https://twitter.com/haaretzcom/status/754374847384260608?lang=en

Egypt Blocks UN Security Council Condemnation of Coup in Turkey

 

The United Nations Security Council failed on Saturday to condemn the violence and unrest in Turkey after Egypt objected to a statement that called on all parties to "respect the democratically elected government of Turkey," diplomats said.

 

The U.S.-drafted statement also expressed grave concern over the situation in Turkey, urged the parties to show restraint, avoid any violence or bloodshed, and called for an urgent end to the crisis and return to rule of law.

 

Statements by the 15-member Security council have to be agreed by consensus.

 

Diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Egypt argued that the UN Security Council was not in a position to determine whether a government had been democratically elected.

Basically Egypt trolling Turkey on the international stage.

[Larry]

That article (at least the part quoted) sure makes it look like Egypt blocked a resolution, all by itself. I was rather of the impression that that took a majority. (Or one of the nations with a Veto, of which, Egypt is not.)

[TheGoodBits]

That article (at least the part quoted) sure makes it look like Egypt blocked a resolution, all by itself. I was rather of the impression that that took a majority. (Or one of the nations with a Veto, of which, Egypt is not.)

Egypt is a non-permanent member of the Security Council. http://www.un.org/en/sc/members/

[visionary]

https://twitter.com/HassanIstiila/status/754385532709470208?lang=en

Government of Somalia has ordered NGOs allied to rebel US based cleric Fetulah Gulen to leave country within 7 days

2:41 PM

[Zazzaro703]

Turkey has been part of NATO since 1952 and has 3 coups between then and 1980

 

It'll be fine

I wasn't really asking if it would be fine or not, I was wondering if things did get way out of control could Turkey call upon NATO to restore Erdogan's government and take back Turkey from their military. I figured NATO was an option if absolutely needed but wasn't totally sure. Glad it did not have to come to that.

[nonniey]

I wasn't really asking if it would be fine or not, I was wondering if things did get way out of control could Turkey call upon NATO to restore Erdogan's government and take back Turkey from their military. I figured NATO was an option if absolutely needed but wasn't totally sure. Glad it did not have to come to that.

Oh. Ok, but no he couldn't have used NATO to restore him to power if he had lost.

[Skin'emAlive]

So the military, armed with tanks, jets, and military grade weapons start a coup to take down the president who just happens to not even be in the country and are subsequently overtaken by the unarmed civilians, and tortured/killed after surrender. Does that not look suspicious at all? The fact that no political leaders were even arrested brings no questions? Over 2000 judges released in one night? "Pro democracy" civilians chanting "Allahu Akbar" while murdering surrendered kid soldiers who refused to fire on them? Imo its pretty clear this was a farce. Does this picture look like a failed coup, or a faux coup. 

 

[SkinsHokieFan]

It was certainly a terribly planned and poorly executed coup.

 

The soldiers were overwhelmed by hundreds of thousands of citizens and refused to fire on them. Along with that they were battling local police 

[No Excuses]

Majority of the soldiers in Turkey are involuntary and are forced to serve. These were mostly young boys following orders from higher ups.

[FanboyOf91]

Imo its pretty clear this was a farce. Does this picture look like a failed coup, or a faux coup. 

 

 

 

That's what I'm going with. Erdogan managed to provoke some army officers into a trap and they bit hard.

[tshile]

I think I'm caught up now...

 

Turkey is a weird country. They have strongly unfavorable views of terrorist organizations (80-95% unfavorable, depending on organization, which sadly is pretty good for that region)

 

You have a 'democracy' that picked the guy they have no that from everything I'm reading isn't a very secular leader, and (joking? not?) may have staged a coup to consolidate more power?

 

You look at views on suicide bombing "civilian targets" to "protect islam" and only 58% are against it. 13% say they don't know (what does that even mean?), and the remainder fall into often/sometimes/rarely. (compared to 8% of US muslims for "often or sometimes justified")

 

So yay democracy. Not really thrilled about what that means for that country.

 

As long as their people aren't plotting to do **** over here I guess it really doesn't matter.

[visionary]

Turkey bans a bunch of news websites

https://mobile.twitter.com/MahirZeynalov/status/754601636086112256

Erdogan is still home in Istanbul apparently

https://mobile.twitter.com/LizSly/status/754603662819794944

A different take on what may happen next:

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0ZW13Q?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+Reuters%252FworldNews+%2528Reuters+World+News%2529

Craziness in Armenia now:

http://www.rferl.mobi/a/armenia-opposition-group-attack-police-station-hostages/27863123.html

https://mobile.twitter.com/Conflicts/status/754584120760631296/photo/1

[FanboyOf91]

https://twitter.com/BenjaminHarvey/status/754641477150605312

 

New slogan in Turkey: "We want the death penalty [back]." Erdogan says people's demand can't be set aside.

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-armenia-violence-idUSKCN0ZX06W?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=578bc1c604d30147c2a1e3dc&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

Armed men in Armenia seize police station, demand politicians' release

 

Armed men seized a police station and hostages in Armenia's capital Yerevan on Sunday, killing one police officer in the process before demanding Armenians take to the streets to secure the release of jailed opposition politicians.

 

Their main demand was to free Jirair Sefilian, an opposition leader whom the authorities have accused of plotting civil unrest. Sefilian was jailed in June over allegations of illegally possessing weapons.

 

Armenia's security service said one policeman had been killed and two wounded in the violence, but that negotiations were now underway to try to persuade the hostage takers to lay down their weapons.

 

"Special units remain on the scene in a state of combat readiness, but the order to attack or take any other action has not been given to them," the National Security Service said in a statement.

 

Two hostages had been freed, it said, and "several" hostages remained. The city's deputy police chief, Valery Osipyan, was reported to be among them. Photographs from the scene show the area crowded with white armored police vehicles.

 

Though far smaller in scale, suggestions by one opposition politician that an armed uprising was underway stoked speculation that the hostage takers had drawn inspiration from an unsuccessful coup attempt in neighboring Turkey.

 

President Serzh Sargsyan held a meeting with security officials to decide how best to handle the situation, his office said, saying he had been told that the siege was completely under control.

 

The National Security Service accused the hostage takers' supporters of spreading false rumors on the internet about an uprising and the seizure of other buildings. Such assertions were "disinformation," it said.

[FanboyOf91]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-plot-insight-idUSKCN0ZX0Q9?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=Social

 

At the height of the attempt to overthrow Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, the rebel pilots of two F-16 fighter jets had Erdogan's plane in their sights. And yet he was able to fly on.

 

The Turkish leader was returning to Istanbul from a holiday near the coastal resort of Marmaris after a faction in the military launched the coup attempt on Friday night, sealing off a bridge across the Bosphorus, trying to capture Istanbul's main airport and sending tanks to parliament in Ankara.

 

"At least two F-16s harassed Erdogan's plane while it was in the air and en route to Istanbul. They locked their radars on his plane and on two other F-16s protecting him," a former military officer with knowledge of the events told Reuters.

 

"Why they didn't fire is a mystery," he said.

 

[BornaSkinsFan83]

Reichstag Fire, 21st Century Turkish style

[TheGreatBuzz]

This is starting to sound like a staged coup used as an excuse to get rid of his enemies.

[No Excuses]

6000 peoples detained so far on charges of plotting the coup. This is a purging of dissent straight up.

We may be seeing the formation of a dictatorship.

[FanboyOf91]

More like the finishing touches.

 

https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/754811985854861312

 

20% of Turkey's admirals and generals have been arrested.

[kost203]

additionally, http://greece.greekreporter.com/2016/07/17/legal-puzzle-over-extradition-of-the-8-coup-fugitives-to-turkey-helicopter-returned/

[TheGoodBits]

Interesting update from Incirlik that I can't post here yet but will probably be reported soon enough.

[Springfield]

So... This was all faked for propagandas sake?

[visionary]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/with-turkey-in-chaos-its-secular-citizens-feel-even-more-nervous/2016/07/19/8dd37dd8-4d31-11e6-bf27-405106836f96_story.html

With Turkey in chaos, its secular citizens feel even more nervous

 

Yildiz Gerjain feels cornered.

 

That sensation has intensified since a coup attempt last week that she did not support, a subsequent purge launched by a strongman president she opposes and large rallies by conservative Islamists whom she fears.

 

The tumult is rattling Turkey, which was founded in secularism but has become profoundly divided over the role of Islam in society. And when the dust settles, it is unclear whether the nation’s shaky democracy will be left standing after such turbulence.

 

Gerjain and many other Turks who desire stronger democratic institutions, rights for women and gays and a country with no dictators, whether military or Islamist, don’t seem optimistic.

 

“What can we do in this situation? It’s frightening from every side,” Gerjain said as she walked through Istanbul’s upscale Nisantasi neighborhood Tuesday morning.

 

 

http://m.dw.com/en/turkeys-coup-plotters-sold-each-other-out/a-19410387#fromDesktop

Turkey's coup plotters 'sold each other out'

 

Journalist Ahmet Şık believes Turkey’s July 15 military coup attempt failed because the alliance between followers of cleric Fetullah Gulen and other segments of the military fell apart.

 

DW: The July 15 coup attempt has left many questions unanswered and fueled media speculation. The government accuses the US-based cleric Fetullah Gulen of being behind the coup; do you share this view?

 

Ahmet Şık: If we look at the information and documents coming out now—and I must emphasize that their accuracy is debatable—yes, the Gulen movement is behind the job. But I'm adding my own note: they weren't alone. I think that there was an alliance inside the military, but that members of this alliance sold each other out prior to the night of the coup attempt and in the ensuing process. I think that the [coup plotters affiliated with] the Gulen movement and a group accompanying them were left on their own. There was an obvious coup alliance and yes, the Gulen movement was part of the brains of this alliance.

DW: What other types of forces do you think were part of this alliance?

 

I'm not sure who those groups were but by looking at the names of those taken into custody, I can say the following: There were neo-nationalists known to be against the Gulen movement, who had been victimized by the community during the Ergenekon and Sledgehammer trials. According to news reports, there were activities that were identified by early afternoon. If the claims are true, the government received the news at around 3 p.m. I’m guessing that after the government heard the news, it engaged in negotiations with certain components of the alliance and the result of these negotiations was the primary factor in the scattering of the alliance and the failure of the coup.

DW: How do you see this unfolding? At the moment everyone is of the opinion that it will strengthen Erdogan’s hand. How will Erdogan use this strength?

 

After 2,500 members of the judiciary were liquidated, there were those wondering: "How could all those names be determined so quickly?" Those names had already been determined. The pro-AKP media was already writing about this. The list of those to be eliminated was based on information provided by people in the judiciary close to or obedient to the AKP. The government seized the opportunity and put it into action. Those members of the judiciary would have been eliminated even if this coup attempt had not taken place, but then it would have been a major issue. The list includes those known to be leftists or social democrats.

 

Thus, the prevention of the coup did not pave the way for an aftermath that will result in democracy healing. I think these things will get much worse, because of the model they have in their minds. Whether or not the coup attempt happened, the model is a one-party state with Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the leader, and this coup attempt served the government an opportunity on a silver platter. There is no reason why this one-party state model wouldn’t be able to come into existence at this point. I don’t think that any obstacle remains. Everyone against this will be easily labeled a putschist and arrested. In such a situation, it’s impossible to talk about democracy. There are many more reasons for us to be pessimistic at the moment.

 

DW: Who emerges as the victor following this coup attempt?

 

I think one of the primary victors of this unsuccessful attempt is the military itself. There is a single reason that the coup was unsuccessful: the alliance fell apart. If that alliance had not scattered, have no doubt that the coup would have taken place and no one including the AKP, which ranks as one of the greatest powers in the history of Turkish politics, would have been able to stand in its way. What I’m trying to say is that if a monolithic coup attempt was waged by the entirety of the military, no one would have been able to stop it. The military sent this message to the government. As such, if they can work in harmony, in terms of administering the state and state policies, then the military may once again become the political partner of the government.

[China]

Turkish navy ships still missing after botched coup

 

Fourteen Turkish navy ships remained at sea and unaccounted for last night amid concerns that their commanders may be coup conspirators seeking to defect.

 

Admiral Veysel Kosele, the commander of the Turkish navy, has been out of contact since Friday night’s botched coup, a source confirmed. It is not known whether he was an instigator of the attempt to oust President Erdogan or is being held hostage by collaborators on the run.

 

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