Turkish Politics & Internal Affairs

[-SINAN-]

Welcome to Turkey?

Maybe we should appoint "enişte" to the head of MIT....

 

[Solomon2]

Gulen's people are in every govt institution also in the military, do u think there's a chance that someone from MIT who works for Gulen has let or ignored these threats and let terror attacks happen in order to justify a coup and then get support from Turkish people or just to make pressure on Erdoğan?

If the number of real or suspected Gulenists is so large, will expelling them all from government be good or bad for Turkey? Will government be able to function? Can the lights and water remain functioning? And what if ISIS or Russia decides to invade? Don't you think the reason why Russia and Iran support Erdogan is because they think Erdo will make Turkey weaker, not stronger, through a Night of Long Knives/Stalinist -type purge?

There is another factor. So many Gulenists were so close to Erdogan that they must have had some role in shaping the distortions in Erdogan's world-view. Meaning, ironically, that Erdogan may not be able to trust his own decision-making, let alone the information from his intelligence services, when it comes to rooting out his purported enemies from government, schools, etc.

 

[Solomon2]

Turkish academics divided as post-coup 'purge' shakes universities

Some fear state of emergency and mass removal of officials will undermine academic freedoms, but others say measures are necessary

University students shout during a protest against US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen in Ankara on Thursday (AFP)

Suraj Sharma
Thursday 21 July 2016 08:51 UTC Last update: Thursday 21 July 2016 13:21 UTC

ISTANBUL, Turkey - Even before Turkey’s president declared a state of emergency on Wednesday night, the country’s beleaguered academic sector was facing an unprecedented crackdown in the aftermath of Friday's failed coup.

Scores of dismissals, forced resignations and accusations of involvement in the plot in the academic world have raised serious questions about whether Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) are using the opportunity to widen their crackdown on dissidents.

Erdogan appeared in front of the cameras on Wednesday night and announced that, following meetings held all day, a three-month state of emergency had been declared and that it was a measure intended to protect democracy rather than tarnish it.

“This is not a move against democracy or the rule of law. In fact, it is a move that will protect the rights of our citizens and that also protects our democracy," he said.

But condemnation of the declaration by Turkey’s opposition parties was swift. Ozgur Ozel from the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the main opposition, called it “a civilian coup, which is a betrayal of parliament".

Ayhan Bilgen of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) said Turkey needed to build a quality democracy in response to the coup, adding that a state of emergency would have been declared also if the coup had succeeded.

In the days leading up to the declaration of the state of emergency, around 50,000 people had already been directly affected by the post-coup crackdown. In academia alone, the Higher Education Board (YOK) demanded the resignation of every one of Turkey's 1,577 university deans at both state and private universities, who all obliged.

Four rectors, who are senior to deans and directly appointed by YOK, have also been dismissed, while one has been detained. A foreign travel ban has been imposed on all academics.

The measures have attracted the attention of international human rights organisations, with Amnesty International warning that human rights were in "grave danger" and calling on the Turkish authorities to "show restraint and respect for the rule of law".

“The sheer number of arrests and suspensions since Friday is alarming and we are monitoring the situation very closely. The coup attempt unleashed appalling violence and those responsible for unlawful killings and other human rights abuses must be brought to justice, but cracking down on dissent and threatening to bring back the death penalty are not justice,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s director for Europe and Central Asia.

“We urge the Turkish authorities to show restraint and respect for the rule of law as they carry out the necessary investigations, granting fair trials to all those in detention and releasing anyone for whom they do not have concrete evidence of participating in criminal acts.”

Academics and analysts that Middle East Eye spoke to expressed concern over the potential misuse of powers granted to the government by a state of emergency. Most of them did, however, see it as a relatively reasonable response to the attempted coup.

The state of emergency grants sweeping powers to the government, particularly to the interior ministry and governors. Some of these extended powers include the ability to detain people for longer periods of time, make it easier to conduct searches and carry out arrests, and more stop and search powers to the police.

Other powers include authorisation to impose more control over media and declare curfews more easily.

Umit Erol, a professor and head of the business department at Istanbul’s Bahcesehir University, told MEE that the imposing of a state of emergency was justified but the way it in which it would be enforced would prove to be the determining factor.

He said some sections of society didn’t trust Erdogan’s motives and it would be important to convince them that any measures were solely intended to target US-based cleric Fetullah Gulen's Hizmet movement, which is accused of orchestrating the coup and of infiltrating the military and other state institutions.

“It is quite a reasonable response to an attempted coup. They could have declared martial law as well. But we have to wait and see how it is implemented,” said Erol.

Minutes after the state of emergency was declared, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim tweeted that the decision was not intended to disrupt the daily lives of citizens but to ensure that state mechanisms operated efficiently and speedily.

Gulen influence
Erol said there was a belief that Gulen, an erstwhile Erdogan ally who fell out with the Turkish President amid government suspicions over Hizmet's reach and influence within Turkey, retained the support of many working in Turkish universities, and that had been why academics had come under collective suspicion.

“I am not privy to exact numbers but it could be down to that. But, yes, I think it might be a slight overreaction. It certainly appears like that at times,” he said.

Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, the Turkey director of the German Marshall Fund, a Washington-based think tank focused on relations between the US and Europe, believes the opposite is true.

“The purges we are witnessing are not a panicked reaction to the coup attempt,” Unluhisarcikli told MEE.

“The coup attempt was a panicked reaction, or a preemptive initiative, against the extensive purges that were planned by the government anyway, on grounds of forming a parallel state within Turkey’s bureaucracy.”

Unluhisarcikli said the scale of the crackdown raised concerns that some innocent people would also be punished for the actions of others.

But Kerem Alkin, a professor of macroeconomics at Istanbul’s Medipol University, said he was adamant that every single measure being proposed was necessary and vital for the survival of democracy in Turkey.

“All actions, including those in the world of academia, are meant to root out terrorist group members. Other countries in the European Union have declared states of emergency for more minor events,” Alkin told MEE.

Alkin said he did not think that Turkish academics would suffer as a result of the measures and believes that the higher education sector will emerge stronger.

“The heads of department are the main people running the show. The deans orchestrate their activities. Even the deans will be able to return to their jobs by September once a quick scan puts them in the clear,” he said.

“Even the travel ban is fine. Everything will be sorted out in one-and-a-half to two months and all those who are cleared can get back to work with peace of mind,” he said.

'Necessary evil'
Unluhisarcikli remained sceptical, pointing out that academic work in Turkey had already been subject to limitations and interference. He believes the duration and extent of disruption in the country's universities will depend on the government's intentions.

“Academic freedom was already limited in Turkey and with these purges even those that are not touched will be intimidated,” he said.

“If the government’s agenda is consolidating power we may see more of this for a long time. If the government wants to make Turkish democracy more resilient and Turkish society immune to extremism, things should normalise by the autumn.”

For now, Erol sees this state of emergency as a "necessary evil" and says the country had no easy choice either way.

“The only other thing that can be done to prevent such coup attempts or similar situations is to change the constitution, which is very difficult and time-consuming," said Erol.

Erol, who himself was unable to leave the country for a holiday on Thursday, said questions would be raised but he was not sure what other options existed after an attempt by factions within the state to overthrow the government using military force.

“Every move will be under scrutiny. As long as human rights are respected during this state of emergency then we can see light at the end of the tunnel even with such extreme measures in place.”

___________________________________________________________________________






Turkey to temporarily suspend European Convention on Human Rights after coup attempt
Serkan Demirtaş - ANKARA

AA photo

Turkey will temporarily suspend the implementation of its obligations emanating from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), in line with the declaration of a state of emergency, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş has said, while vowing that fundamental rights and freedoms will not be affected during this period.

“France has also recently proclaimed a state of emergency. And they suspended the ECHR, based on Article 15 of the convention,” Kurtulmuş told a group of Ankara bureau chiefs of media outlets on July 21.

“A declaration of a state of emergency is not against the ECHR,” he said, adding that Ankara would announce its decision to suspend the ECHR through a formal statement.

Article 15 of the ECHR stipulates: “In time of war or other public emergencies threatening the life of the nation, any High Contracting Party may take measures derogating from its obligations under this Convention to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation, provided that such measures are not inconsistent with its other obligations under international law.”

The state of emergency will help the government fight against coup plotters and clean the state apparatus fully of members of the Gülen movement, Kurtulmuş also said.

“I want to guarantee that fundamental rights and freedoms and normal daily life will not be affected by this. Our citizens should feel comfortable about this,” he added.


‘Normal daily life won’t be affected’

“We will not reverse fundamental rights and freedoms. We won’t retreat from our democratic gains,” Kurtulmuş vowed, adding that the government’s objective was to protect the social and political unity of the country.

“Our citizens with different political views or lifestyles should not feel uncomfortable. This is not a proclamation of martial law, there won’t be curfews. The right to assembly will continue to be exercised,” he added.

The government will be able to use the authority to issue legislative decrees but they will only related to the attempted coup-related issues, Kurtulmuş said, adding that parliament would continue to be open, working in line with its normal agenda.

“For us, the greatest power is the parliament and the people. We do not want to try to bypass it,” he added.


‘Turkey survived chaos, treason’

The objective of the coup plotters was not to take over the power to rule the country but to turn Turkey into Syria through chaos and civil war, Kurtulmuş also said, likening the Turkish people’s resistance against the junta and its tanks to Czechoslovakia’s fighting against Russian occupation in late 1960s.

He recalled that Turkey has been fighting against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) for the past year, and now it has to struggle against the Gülen movement, which used warplanes, tanks and other heavy weapons against the Turkish people.

“That’s why we have taken the decision to declare a state of emergency for three months. But we are planning to make this period as short as possible and to remove the state of emergency after one month or one-and-half months,” Kurtulmuş said, adding that the struggle should be carried out “quickly and efficiently.”


‘Dialogue among parties a must for future’

The coup plotters had two main objectives, according to Kurtulmuş. “First, they wanted to play with social and political faultlines to reduce the influence of politics, but the opposite happened. It created a common ground of dialogue for political parties. We believe this ground is very important for the future. Although all parties have different views, none of them is against democracy,” he said.

The plotters’ second objective was to restrict freedoms and isolate Turkey in the world, Kurtulmuş said, adding that “the contrary will happen. We will continue our efforts for the normalization of our ties with other countries.”

Responding to claims that the downing of a Russian warplane in 2015 was an action committed by Gülenist soldiers, Kurtulmuş said “we have just opened a very thick book. We don’t yet know what we will read in it.” However, he also recalled that the government had “some suspicions” about the downing of the Russian jet, “which we shared with the people at that time.”


Purge of Gülenists to continue

The efforts to cleanse state bodies of Gülen sympathizers will continue, and those with even the slightest link to the organization will be removed from their positions, Kurtulmuş said, while stressing that they will be very careful to not punish the innocent.

Although thousands of soldiers and high-ranking officers have been detained, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) will not suffer personnel shortages as the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) will convene to decide appointments and retirements in early August as planned, the deputy prime minister also stated.

“But a very big wound has been created in the TSK. It will take years to heal this wound in the heart, mind and conscience of the people,” he added.


‘Air defense needed to protect key leaders’

Kurtulmuş also stressed that the coup attempt demonstrated that better protection must be provided to top Turkish leaders’ working offices and residences and a more effective air defense must also be considered, implying that the military unit located within the presidential palace could be dissolved.


US should ‘empathize’

On the extradition of shady Pennsylvania-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen from the United States, Kurtulmuş said a new dossier on Gülen’s role in the attempted coup would be sent to the U.S. authorities within 10 or 15 days.

“Law, friendship and our strategic relationship requires immediate extradition of this person. We definitely want him from the United States,” he said, while also complaining about a “lack of empathy” on the U.S. side.

“Just think about it: A priest who wants to attack the U.S. and its people escapes to Turkey and lives in Ankara or Istanbul. What would the U.S. feel about it? We feel the very same as what they would feel about that,” Kurtulmuş added.

July/21/2016

 

[anatolia]

Maybe we should appoint "enişte" to the head of MIT....

i believe also there is pkk movement in mit..

 

[shah1398]

CIA Agents Arrested In Turkey For Erdogan Assassination Attempt

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Sean Adl-Tabatabai in News, World // 17 Comments

President Putin has been notified of the arrest of two CIA agents who Turkey say shot down a Russian plane last November, and attempted to assassinate President Erdogan.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) for the Republic of Turkey, the two captured CIA pilots were not only responsible for shooting down the Russian Sukhoi Su-24m bomber over Syria last year, but also attempted to kill President Erdogan during the failed “coup” attempt a few days ago.

Whatdoesitmean.com reports:

The MoD further warned that the Obama regime was planning to kill President Erdogan in a coup and replace him the CIA’s “designated figurehead” Fethullah Gulen—and that Turkey’s MoFA confirmed just hours ago was behind this plot by stating that “the Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organization is behind this coup attempt”.

Still not being told the American people about this latest failed Obama regime-CIA “adventure”, and that we reported on in our 17 July report Turkish Leader Praises Putin For Saving His Live—But Vows “Revenge” On Obama, is that the life of President Erdogan was only able to be saved due elite Federation Spetsnaz forces President Putin had ordered to protect him.

This SC report further states that on 15 July, when President Erdogan was in flight to Istanbul to counter the CIA-led coup forces against him, the same two pilots who had downed Su-24 bomber aircraft,locked on their air-to-air missiles to destroy Erdogan’s plane.

However, this report continues, upon these CIA pilots locking their missiles onto Erdogan’s plane in order to kill him, they were immediately ordered by their Obama regime controllers to “immediately abort” their mission and return to Incirlik Air Base—which at this very hour Turkish forces are now searching.

Not just these two pilots were ordered by the CIA to abort their mission, this report notes, but, in fact, all Turkish, NATO and American aircraft were ordered to immediately return to their bases too throughout the entire Levant War Zone.

Without air cover to protect them, this report says, these CIA coup forces were overwhelmed by both Turkish police forces and ordinary citizens and President Erdogan was able to land safely in Istanbul to guide them to victory.

Stunningly, this SC report reveals that the reason for the CIA ordering all of their aircraft supporting their coup to be grounded was due to President Putin’s “threat/promise” to immediately activate the MoD’s S-500 Prometey (55R6M Triumfator-M) air defense systems stationed at Khmeimim Air Base that would (I seriously doubt that), within 120 seconds, down every “hostile” aircraft over Turkey, Syria and Iraq—as well as destroy every single US-NATO military satellite in low Earth orbit (LEO) over the Levant.

Though barely known to average Western peoples, this report explains, the S-500 is the most feared weapon of its type in the world and can simultaneously intercept up to ten ballistic and hypersonic missiles and is capable of engaging targets at an altitude of up to 200 kilometers (more than 120 miles), can intercept aircraft and UAVs, as well as destroy low-earth-orbit satellites, space destruction devices and orbital weaponry too—and by its ability to operate on super inaudible radio channels, makes it impervious to all countermeasures.

With these two CIA pilots now in custody, along with their commander, and coup leader, General Akin Ozturk, this report continues, it is expected that they will be sentenced to death after President Erdogan’s government reinstates the death penalty later this week, or next.

This report concludes by noting that once President Putin received official notification from Turkey that these two CIA pilots were in custody, the Security Council authorized Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich to announce that Russia’s joint projects with Turkey, including the TurkStream undersea natural gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey, are still on the agenda and have a future.

http://yournewswire.com/cia-agents-arrested-in-turkey-for-failed-erdogan-assassination-attempt/

 

[shah1398]

Lots of speculations are being made regarding the attempted military coup in Turkey. I wud love to hear from our Turkish friends about the authenticity of the claims made above. Here is another journalist reporting more or less same claims and ofcourse not mentioning S-500 system (That is when I started doubting the above mentioned link). Nonetheless another version of same story is below.

http://www.snopes.com/cia-agents-arrested-in-turkey-for-erdogan-assassination-attempt/

 

[Dawood Ibrahim]

It's strange the Russian Air fighter entered Turkish air space and was given warning before being brought down

 

[That Guy]

The news is fake, Turkey made no such arrest, and Turkey made no such announcement. If the CIA were to try and assassinate Erdogan, Turkey would have left NATO, and declared the US a hostile nation.

 

[war&peace]

It is a big development but only IF it is true. I was surprised and in disbelief when Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24; and I really thought that it was under NATO or US influence and Turkey was being made a scapegoat for any conflict between Russia and NATO. Now it makes perfect sense. They should be killed with a thousand paper cuts.

 

[shah1398]

The news is fake, Turkey made no such arrest, and Turkey made no such announcement. If the CIA were to try and assassinate Erdogan, Turkey would have left NATO, and declared the US a hostile nation.

Sir it might be fake but if we consider following points then things do point out about fact that something is fishy out there.

(1) F-16s and AARs flew from Incirlik air base during coup which have major US presence.
(2) US was totally silent and even refused to comment when coup was in progress.
(3) Almost whole western media were playing drums that coup has succeeded even though it was just in initial phases.
(4) US military personnel were confined to Incirlik perimeters plus power for Base was cut even after coup was over (might be a precautionary measure) but considering it has pivotal role in strikes in region plus reported to have US nukes in there, such an act is sort of indicator of mistrust (ops there are running using generator for power supply).
(5) US had started to warn of deteriorating relations and consequences after (uproar in public regarding possible US role, why shud US be even concerned what social media say).
(6) Russian aircraft was reportedly shot down by an aircraft that flew from Incirlik air base (there was no mention if it was Turkish or US aircraft).

 

[!eon]

Whether the news is true or not but it's more than just speculation.

Coupe came right after the Erdogan's apology to Russia.
Russia timely gave info about rebels communications, but no such info from US side.
And above all, Mr. Gülen is sitting in US and US is no mood to give that wanted person to NATO ally and friend.

 

[Director General]

Turkey did confirm that the pilots who down su-24 have been arrested.

 

[-SINAN-]

The high ranking soldiers whom thrown out of the army with cases Ergenekon, Balyoz, etc... Has been called back to army !!!

http://www.milliyet.com.tr/kumpas-magdurlarina-acil-gorev--gundem-2281883/

 

[CrimsonFury]

+Sizi öldürmeye niyetli adamların hazırladığı darbeyi kimden öğrendiniz?
-Eniştem

Yani şu yukarıdaki diyaloğu MIT ın girişdeki bir duvarına kocaman harflerle yazdırmak lazım. Nasıl TBMM de '' Egemenlik Kayıtsız Şartsız Milletindir'' yazıyorsa, oraya da bunu yazacaksın.
Yuh amk

http://www.ensonhaber.com/bogazici-koprusu-katliaminin-sorumlusu-albay-yakalandi-2016-07-22.html

Bu ibne de böyle yakalanmış...lan sen nasıl asker oldun? Seni kim asker yaptı it?

If the number of real or suspected Gulenists is so large, will expelling them all from government be good or bad for Turkey? Will government be able to function? Can the lights and water remain functioning? And what if ISIS or Russia decides to invade? Don't you think the reason why Russia and Iran support Erdogan is because they think Erdo will make Turkey weaker, not stronger, through a Night of Long Knives/Stalinist -type purge?

There is another factor. So many Gulenists were so close to Erdogan that they must have had some role in shaping the distortions in Erdogan's world-view. Meaning, ironically, that Erdogan may not be able to trust his own decision-making, let alone the information from his intelligence services, when it comes to rooting out his purported enemies from government, schools, etc.

Ofcourse its good they are all kicked out...look at what they have done. Obviously the current and some past governments are at fault for letting them seep through, but we are cleansing them. If we dont, we fall. This is a matter of survival

Turkish academics divided as post-coup 'purge' shakes universities

Some fear state of emergency and mass removal of officials will undermine academic freedoms, but others say measures are necessary

University students shout during a protest against US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen in Ankara on Thursday (AFP)

Suraj Sharma
Thursday 21 July 2016 08:51 UTC Last update: Thursday 21 July 2016 13:21 UTC

ISTANBUL, Turkey - Even before Turkey’s president declared a state of emergency on Wednesday night, the country’s beleaguered academic sector was facing an unprecedented crackdown in the aftermath of Friday's failed coup.

Scores of dismissals, forced resignations and accusations of involvement in the plot in the academic world have raised serious questions about whether Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) are using the opportunity to widen their crackdown on dissidents.

Erdogan appeared in front of the cameras on Wednesday night and announced that, following meetings held all day, a three-month state of emergency had been declared and that it was a measure intended to protect democracy rather than tarnish it.

“This is not a move against democracy or the rule of law. In fact, it is a move that will protect the rights of our citizens and that also protects our democracy," he said.

But condemnation of the declaration by Turkey’s opposition parties was swift. Ozgur Ozel from the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the main opposition, called it “a civilian coup, which is a betrayal of parliament".

Ayhan Bilgen of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) said Turkey needed to build a quality democracy in response to the coup, adding that a state of emergency would have been declared also if the coup had succeeded.

In the days leading up to the declaration of the state of emergency, around 50,000 people had already been directly affected by the post-coup crackdown. In academia alone, the Higher Education Board (YOK) demanded the resignation of every one of Turkey's 1,577 university deans at both state and private universities, who all obliged.

Four rectors, who are senior to deans and directly appointed by YOK, have also been dismissed, while one has been detained. A foreign travel ban has been imposed on all academics.

The measures have attracted the attention of international human rights organisations, with Amnesty International warning that human rights were in "grave danger" and calling on the Turkish authorities to "show restraint and respect for the rule of law".

“The sheer number of arrests and suspensions since Friday is alarming and we are monitoring the situation very closely. The coup attempt unleashed appalling violence and those responsible for unlawful killings and other human rights abuses must be brought to justice, but cracking down on dissent and threatening to bring back the death penalty are not justice,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s director for Europe and Central Asia.

“We urge the Turkish authorities to show restraint and respect for the rule of law as they carry out the necessary investigations, granting fair trials to all those in detention and releasing anyone for whom they do not have concrete evidence of participating in criminal acts.”

Academics and analysts that Middle East Eye spoke to expressed concern over the potential misuse of powers granted to the government by a state of emergency. Most of them did, however, see it as a relatively reasonable response to the attempted coup.

The state of emergency grants sweeping powers to the government, particularly to the interior ministry and governors. Some of these extended powers include the ability to detain people for longer periods of time, make it easier to conduct searches and carry out arrests, and more stop and search powers to the police.

Other powers include authorisation to impose more control over media and declare curfews more easily.

Umit Erol, a professor and head of the business department at Istanbul’s Bahcesehir University, told MEE that the imposing of a state of emergency was justified but the way it in which it would be enforced would prove to be the determining factor.

He said some sections of society didn’t trust Erdogan’s motives and it would be important to convince them that any measures were solely intended to target US-based cleric Fetullah Gulen's Hizmet movement, which is accused of orchestrating the coup and of infiltrating the military and other state institutions.

“It is quite a reasonable response to an attempted coup. They could have declared martial law as well. But we have to wait and see how it is implemented,” said Erol.

Minutes after the state of emergency was declared, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim tweeted that the decision was not intended to disrupt the daily lives of citizens but to ensure that state mechanisms operated efficiently and speedily.

Gulen influence
Erol said there was a belief that Gulen, an erstwhile Erdogan ally who fell out with the Turkish President amid government suspicions over Hizmet's reach and influence within Turkey, retained the support of many working in Turkish universities, and that had been why academics had come under collective suspicion.

“I am not privy to exact numbers but it could be down to that. But, yes, I think it might be a slight overreaction. It certainly appears like that at times,” he said.

Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, the Turkey director of the German Marshall Fund, a Washington-based think tank focused on relations between the US and Europe, believes the opposite is true.

“The purges we are witnessing are not a panicked reaction to the coup attempt,” Unluhisarcikli told MEE.

“The coup attempt was a panicked reaction, or a preemptive initiative, against the extensive purges that were planned by the government anyway, on grounds of forming a parallel state within Turkey’s bureaucracy.”

Unluhisarcikli said the scale of the crackdown raised concerns that some innocent people would also be punished for the actions of others.

But Kerem Alkin, a professor of macroeconomics at Istanbul’s Medipol University, said he was adamant that every single measure being proposed was necessary and vital for the survival of democracy in Turkey.

“All actions, including those in the world of academia, are meant to root out terrorist group members. Other countries in the European Union have declared states of emergency for more minor events,” Alkin told MEE.

Alkin said he did not think that Turkish academics would suffer as a result of the measures and believes that the higher education sector will emerge stronger.

“The heads of department are the main people running the show. The deans orchestrate their activities. Even the deans will be able to return to their jobs by September once a quick scan puts them in the clear,” he said.

“Even the travel ban is fine. Everything will be sorted out in one-and-a-half to two months and all those who are cleared can get back to work with peace of mind,” he said.

'Necessary evil'
Unluhisarcikli remained sceptical, pointing out that academic work in Turkey had already been subject to limitations and interference. He believes the duration and extent of disruption in the country's universities will depend on the government's intentions.

“Academic freedom was already limited in Turkey and with these purges even those that are not touched will be intimidated,” he said.

“If the government’s agenda is consolidating power we may see more of this for a long time. If the government wants to make Turkish democracy more resilient and Turkish society immune to extremism, things should normalise by the autumn.”

For now, Erol sees this state of emergency as a "necessary evil" and says the country had no easy choice either way.

“The only other thing that can be done to prevent such coup attempts or similar situations is to change the constitution, which is very difficult and time-consuming," said Erol.

Erol, who himself was unable to leave the country for a holiday on Thursday, said questions would be raised but he was not sure what other options existed after an attempt by factions within the state to overthrow the government using military force.

“Every move will be under scrutiny. As long as human rights are respected during this state of emergency then we can see light at the end of the tunnel even with such extreme measures in place.”

___________________________________________________________________________






Turkey to temporarily suspend European Convention on Human Rights after coup attempt
Serkan Demirtaş - ANKARA

AA photo

Turkey will temporarily suspend the implementation of its obligations emanating from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), in line with the declaration of a state of emergency, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş has said, while vowing that fundamental rights and freedoms will not be affected during this period.

“France has also recently proclaimed a state of emergency. And they suspended the ECHR, based on Article 15 of the convention,” Kurtulmuş told a group of Ankara bureau chiefs of media outlets on July 21.

“A declaration of a state of emergency is not against the ECHR,” he said, adding that Ankara would announce its decision to suspend the ECHR through a formal statement.

Article 15 of the ECHR stipulates: “In time of war or other public emergencies threatening the life of the nation, any High Contracting Party may take measures derogating from its obligations under this Convention to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation, provided that such measures are not inconsistent with its other obligations under international law.”

The state of emergency will help the government fight against coup plotters and clean the state apparatus fully of members of the Gülen movement, Kurtulmuş also said.

“I want to guarantee that fundamental rights and freedoms and normal daily life will not be affected by this. Our citizens should feel comfortable about this,” he added.


‘Normal daily life won’t be affected’

“We will not reverse fundamental rights and freedoms. We won’t retreat from our democratic gains,” Kurtulmuş vowed, adding that the government’s objective was to protect the social and political unity of the country.

“Our citizens with different political views or lifestyles should not feel uncomfortable. This is not a proclamation of martial law, there won’t be curfews. The right to assembly will continue to be exercised,” he added.

The government will be able to use the authority to issue legislative decrees but they will only related to the attempted coup-related issues, Kurtulmuş said, adding that parliament would continue to be open, working in line with its normal agenda.

“For us, the greatest power is the parliament and the people. We do not want to try to bypass it,” he added.


‘Turkey survived chaos, treason’

The objective of the coup plotters was not to take over the power to rule the country but to turn Turkey into Syria through chaos and civil war, Kurtulmuş also said, likening the Turkish people’s resistance against the junta and its tanks to Czechoslovakia’s fighting against Russian occupation in late 1960s.

He recalled that Turkey has been fighting against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) for the past year, and now it has to struggle against the Gülen movement, which used warplanes, tanks and other heavy weapons against the Turkish people.

“That’s why we have taken the decision to declare a state of emergency for three months. But we are planning to make this period as short as possible and to remove the state of emergency after one month or one-and-half months,” Kurtulmuş said, adding that the struggle should be carried out “quickly and efficiently.”


‘Dialogue among parties a must for future’

The coup plotters had two main objectives, according to Kurtulmuş. “First, they wanted to play with social and political faultlines to reduce the influence of politics, but the opposite happened. It created a common ground of dialogue for political parties. We believe this ground is very important for the future. Although all parties have different views, none of them is against democracy,” he said.

The plotters’ second objective was to restrict freedoms and isolate Turkey in the world, Kurtulmuş said, adding that “the contrary will happen. We will continue our efforts for the normalization of our ties with other countries.”

Responding to claims that the downing of a Russian warplane in 2015 was an action committed by Gülenist soldiers, Kurtulmuş said “we have just opened a very thick book. We don’t yet know what we will read in it.” However, he also recalled that the government had “some suspicions” about the downing of the Russian jet, “which we shared with the people at that time.”


Purge of Gülenists to continue

The efforts to cleanse state bodies of Gülen sympathizers will continue, and those with even the slightest link to the organization will be removed from their positions, Kurtulmuş said, while stressing that they will be very careful to not punish the innocent.

Although thousands of soldiers and high-ranking officers have been detained, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) will not suffer personnel shortages as the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) will convene to decide appointments and retirements in early August as planned, the deputy prime minister also stated.

“But a very big wound has been created in the TSK. It will take years to heal this wound in the heart, mind and conscience of the people,” he added.


‘Air defense needed to protect key leaders’

Kurtulmuş also stressed that the coup attempt demonstrated that better protection must be provided to top Turkish leaders’ working offices and residences and a more effective air defense must also be considered, implying that the military unit located within the presidential palace could be dissolved.


US should ‘empathize’

On the extradition of shady Pennsylvania-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen from the United States, Kurtulmuş said a new dossier on Gülen’s role in the attempted coup would be sent to the U.S. authorities within 10 or 15 days.

“Law, friendship and our strategic relationship requires immediate extradition of this person. We definitely want him from the United States,” he said, while also complaining about a “lack of empathy” on the U.S. side.

“Just think about it: A priest who wants to attack the U.S. and its people escapes to Turkey and lives in Ankara or Istanbul. What would the U.S. feel about it? We feel the very same as what they would feel about that,” Kurtulmuş added.

July/21/2016

France did the same thing with regard to the Human Rights Convention...Europe better stop talking down to us or we will deal with them after we are done dealing with Feto and his rats

 

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http://www.ensonhaber.com/bogazici-koprusu-katliaminin-sorumlusu-albay-yakalandi-2016-07-22.html

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These soldiers later lynched and beaten with belts.