Vol. 80/No. 31 August 22, 2016
Turkey: Erdogan cracks down, blames US, EU for failed coup
Erdogan and others in his government have accused Washington and imperialist powers in Europe of siding with the military faction behind the coup, and have praised Moscow for its “unconditional” support. Meanwhile, the deal between Ankara and the European Union to reduce the flow of Syrian refugees to Europe in exchange for travel rights for Turks in Europe is coming apart.
Once envisioning themselves as a Middle East power, the capitalist rulers in Turkey were pushed to the sidelines when Washington signed a nuclear agreement with Tehran in July 2015 as part of a deal to get the Iranian government’s help to stabilize the Middle East.
Since then, Erdogan has sought ways to maintain Turkish influence in the changing relationship of forces.
As the coup was going down to defeat, President Barack Obama issued a statement supporting “the democratically elected Government of Turkey.” Ankara claims the U.S. government’s refusal to extradite Fethullah Gulen — a Sunni Muslim cleric and former Erdogan ally who the Turkish government says was behind the coup — shows Washington’s sympathy with the plotters.
Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency and has dismissed close to one-half of the 325 generals and admirals in the army, navy and air force. More than 10,000 soldiers have been detained and 3,000 discharged.
The government has fired close to 2,700 judicial staff, including two judges on Turkey’s highest court, and 9,000 cops. More than 21,000 teachers have been fired or suspended. All university deans in the country were forced out and more than 100 media outlets have been closed.
On Aug. 9 Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in St. Petersburg, Russia. Putin said Moscow would gradually lift economic sanctions imposed after the Turkish military shot down a Russian jet near Turkey’s border with Syria last November. Erdogan apologized for the shootdown June 27.
Agreement between Moscow and Ankara on Syria is less likely. The Turkish regime has pushed for the removal of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and has aided Islamist groups fighting his regime. “It’s well known that we are far from agreeing on the issue of Syria,” Putin told the press, “but we have a common goal: that this crisis needs to be resolved.”
Washington worries about the effects on the Turkish armed forces of Erdogan’s crackdown. Ankara has the second largest military of any NATO state. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford visited Ankara Aug. 1 and met with his Turkish counterpart. Dunford said he was assured that Ankara will “continue to provide access” to military facilities in Turkey, including the Incirlik Air Base.
The base is crucial to the U.S. war against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. It also houses dozens of U.S. nuclear bombs, guarded by U.S. troops.
All opposition political parties in Turkey condemned the coup attempt. Erdogan invited those parties, except for the Kurdish-based Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), to join a million-strong rally in Istanbul Aug. 7 to celebrate the coup’s defeat. Erdogan pledged there to reinstate the death penalty, a warning to any who would oppose his rule.
The HDP organized its own rallies denouncing the coup beginning in Istanbul July 23 and continuing in the Kurdish-majority southeast, where tens of thousands took to the streets in Diyarbakir July 31. HDP leaders called for talks to resolve the Kurdish conflict and an end to the ban on visits to Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Representatives for imperialist governments in Europe have used the crackdown to call for ending all talks with Ankara on joining the European Union and to deny visas to Turkish citizens.
“We have to face reality: the membership negotiations are currently no more than fiction,” Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern told the media Aug. 3.
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