Turkey’s failed military coup three weeks ago claimed some 265 lives, according to official statements. At least 1,440 people were injured, and according to Turkey’s acting chief of general staff, General Umit Dundar, at least 104 “coup plotters” had died.
The coup began on Friday, July 15, when members of Turkey’s armed forces claimed they had “taken control of the country”. Military tanks rolled into the streets of the capital Ankara and Istanbul as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was on a short holiday at a seaside resort. Explosions and gunfire were heard in the night.
It became apparent very soon thereafter that not only was there no popular support, even the military was not united in the effort to overthrow the government. Erdogan was quick to galvanise his supporters to go to the streets to confront the tanks, and forces loyal to the government began to take control. By Saturday morning, the coup attempt had been crushed.
The failed coup had strengthened Erdogan’s grip on power and boosted his popularity. Tens of thousands of people marched through the streets in half a dozen Turkish cities on Saturday, the next day, waving flags and singing songs in an emotional outpouring of support for Erdogan, as security forces rounded up military personnel whom they consider “coup supporters” and launched a purge of judges seen as government opponents.
By Saturday afternoon, when peace was restored, an atmosphere of celebration gripped the air as Turkish citizens answered official calls to rally in the squares. Thousands gathered in major cities, singing and waving Turkish flags, while others held prayers in support of Erdogan.
Government supporters marched through Ankara as cars honked in apparent approval. Significantly, Turkey’s four main political parties, in an unusual gesture of solidarity, released a joint declaration denouncing the coup attempt and claiming that any moves against the people or parliament will be met with “the iron will of the Turkish Grand National Assembly resisting them”. When the coup attempt began on Friday, the parliament building was under attack.
After it was over, government forces arrested 2,839 people suspected of being coup supporters. More than 2,700 judges and prosecutors were dismissed. Two constitutional court judges were also detained over their alleged role in the coup attempt.
According to government sources, the coup plotters were mainly officers from the Air Force, the military police and armoured units.
With the benefit of hindsight, we can say with confidence that the coup was doomed to fail from the start. Not only was there no popular support from the general public and political party leaders, the coup plotters were unable to capture and seize strategic targets, such as radio and television stations, parliament house and other key installations, and also failed to gain the support of all the military leaders.
Another reason the coup failed is the power of social media. Erdogan was able to use it as an important tool to send his message across to the people of Ankara and Istanbul, urging them to immediately go to the streets, face the military tanks and defy the coup plotters. It was a call that was immediately heeded. Thousands of Turkish citizens packed Kizilay Square in Ankara as well as downtown Istanbul and the coastal city of Izmir on Saturday night to declare their undivided support for Erdogan. Without popular support, the coup could not sustain itself.
How Erdogan escaped death twice — the first time at his hotel resort and the second time during his flight back to Turkey aboard his Gulfstream IV jet — is described in graphic detail in a news portal. If the coup had not been detected in advance by Turkish intelligence — a factor which forced the conspirators to move it up to an earlier time-frame— it could very well have succeeded.
Dr Ahmet S. Yayla, former chief of counterterrorism for the Turkish National Police, said Islamic State (or Daesh) leaders were delighted to hear the news of the failed coup because if it had succeeded in overthrowing Erdogan, it would mean the end of Daesh in Turkey. He alleged that in the past, the Erdogan government had repeatedly turned a blind eye to thousands using the Istanbul airport and the porous Turkish border to cross into Syria to join Daesh. Turkey shares a 800km border with Syria. The recent terrorist attacks in Belgium and Paris showed that it was not difficult to cross through Turkey into Europe to carry out these attacks.
Yayla also claimed that Erdogan has been “playing a double game” because supporting Daesh worked to his advantage. He needed Daesh to quell the Kurdish rebel forces who are opposed to him and are anti-Daesh.
Turkey’s closing of the Incirlik airbase, where United States-led coalition jets are based, has prevented coalition planes from giving air support to Kurds fighting Daesh in Syria.
Other analysts believe the continuing mass arrests of military officers, police officers, prosecutors and judges will have an adverse impact on Turkey’s counterterrorism abilities. Among those arrested in recent weeks were judges and prosecutors appointed to the courts specialising in counterterrorism, and elite military officers and police chiefs trained and skilled in fighting terrorism. It will take several years for new personnel to be trained and gain enough experience to continue waging the fight against Daesh terrorists.
Media reports lend support to Yayla’s claims that Daesh fighters have been able to move without any difficulty from Syria through the Turkish border into Europe and beyond, including Asean. A popular news portal stated that the way to get to Turkey has changed over the years, but the country remains the most common entry point to Daesh-controlled territory.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi recently said the question is not “if” Daesh will carry out the attack here, but “when”. This prospect is really scary.
Salleh Buang formerly served the Attorney-General’s Chambers before he left for practice, the corporate sector and, then, the academia