Although Erdogan and other senior officials were able to quash the coup by early Saturday morning, at least 265 civilians died and many more were injured. Erdogan has since declared the coup as an act of treason and over six thousand individuals have either been arrested or detained for involvement with the rebellion. Turkey’s Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim, vowed that everyone involved will “pay a heavy price.”
In addition to the arrests, hundreds of judiciary members have since been removed. The government is cracking down and launching investigations on a number of other foreign individuals whom they believe are connected with the coup; namely, Fethullah Gulen. Gulen currently lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, but during his time as a cleric in Turkey, Erdogan claims he created a lot of problems for the government; however, Erdogan did not specify what exactly Gulen did.
Gulen has denied any involvement with the coup, saying that he has long since been a proponent of democracy and “any attempts to overthrow the country is betrayal to our unity and is treason.” Although Erdogan angrily said that Gulen should either be arrested or extradited by the U.S. government, Secretary of State John Kerry said that Turkey has not sent through a formal request for Gulen’s extradition.
Ordered out by some member of the military, on July 15, tanks rolled onto the streets of Ankara and Istanbul, and hundreds of soldiers gathered on the Bosphorus Bridge, creating a blockade. In response, angry citizens gathered in Taksim Square, and others marched through the streets of Turkey. According to videos on social media, some soldiers fired guns in the air to discourage the protestors.
This violence and chaos occurred because the Turkish military was staging a coup against their president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In a video interview that was broadcasted on CNN, Erdogan urged people to rebel against the soldiers filling the streets. Many people taunted the soldiers although they were armed. The military continued to use guns as well as other weapons; there were even bombs being thrown in the presidential complex in Ankara, and serious damage was inflicted on the Turkish Parliament.
Despite the fact that the military was unhappy with Erdogan, it does not seem as though most people were in agreement. Shortly after the coup, groups of people gathered and chanted, “We want the death penalty,” with regards to everyone involved in the coup. Erdogan seems to be considering this option as well; in response to the crowd’s demand, he said, “We can’t ignore the people’s request in a democracy— this is your right.”
Although there is a lot of support for Erdogan and all the major Turkish political parties have denounced this coup, according to CNN, Erdogan is a “divisive figure” within the country. Half the country loves him, and the other half hates him. As of now, however, most people are united in condemning the coup and the harm it caused to countless innocent civilians.
A number of people involved in the coup also fled to Greece to request asylum. Turkey has demanded their return in an attempt to root out what Erdogan is referring to as a “virus” inflicting those who rebelled against the government. When he visited mourners at the Fatih Mosque, he said, “We will continue to cleanse the virus from all state institutions, because this virus has spread. Unfortunately like a cancer, this virus has enveloped the state.”
At first, many thought that lower-ranking military officials were responsible for the coup, but it has come to light that many high-ranking officials as well as judges and members of the government were involved as well. Some people are even beginning to blame the U.S.; one Turkish minister claimed that the U.S. provoked the rebellion for its own personal gain. John Kerry has since said that such outlandish claims are “harmful to our bilateral relations,” especially since he has agreed to help Turkey with the investigation if needed.
This coup marks yet another incident of violence in Turkey in the past year. There have been a number of bombings, including the devastating attacks in Ankara and then later in Istanbul. In addition, Turkey has strained relations with several countries, including Russia. It is becoming increasingly clear that there is a lot of unrest in this country and the government must do everything in its power to resolve this conflict, especially since so many civilians have already lost their lives because of this.
