14 August 2016

�e Failed Turkish Coup in and Lessons Learned

Policy Studies Unit

Harmoon Centre for Contemporary Studies is an independent, nonprofit, research, cultural and media institution. Its main focus is to conduct studies and researches about the Arab region, especially Syria. It also works towards cultural and media development, enhancing the civil society performance, and spreading democratic awareness and values of dialogue, as well as respect for human rights. The Centre also provides consultation and training services in political and media fields to all Syrians on the basis of Syrian national identity.To achieve its objectives, the Centre conducts its activities through five specialized units, (1) Policy Studies Unit, (2) Social Researches Unit, (3) Books Review Unit, (4) Translation and Arabization Unit, and (5) Legal Unit.A set of action programs are also adopted, such as the program for Political Consultations and Initiatives; Program for Services, Media Campaigns, and Public Opinion Making Program; Program for Dialogue Support and Civil and Cultural Development Program; Syria Future Program. The Centre may add new programs depending on the actual needs of Syria and the region. In implementing its programs, the Centre deploys multiple mechanisms, including lectures, workshops, seminars, conferences, training courses, as well as paper and electronic press.

HARMOON CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY STUDIES

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Contents First, about the Failed Turkish Coup ...................................................................................................... 2

Second, the Turks Maintain Their Democratic Experience .............................................................. 4

Third, Modern Turkey and the Experiment of the Justice and Development Party .................... 6

Fourth, International Reaction to the Coup and its Aftermath ........................................................ 7

Fifth: Will the Syrian Affair be affected by the Turkish Coup? ......................................................... 9

Sixth: Lessons for Syria ........................................................................................................................... 10

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The night of the fifteenth of this last July was a tough and critical night in the history of modern

Turkey, when Turkish officers of different ranks, and a variety of military formations

attempted a military coup, starting from Ankara and Istanbul, and extending to other cities.

The coupists attacked, by air and land, vital state institutions and centres, including locations

of decision makers, they even started their air assault by bombing the icon of the Turkish

democracy, namely the headquarters of the Turkish parliament. But the descent of millions of

Turkish people to the streets of all Turkish cities and squares, foiled the coup a few hours after

its launch, presenting to the other democracy hungry nations, a profoundly unforgettable

lesson, which should be contemplated freely from bias and prejudices, or anything that is

remotely based on a sectarian, nationalist, or ideological division.

First, about the Failed Turkish Coup This coup differs from all four coups preceding it, all of which had a very negative impact on

the journey of modern Turkey, and its development. It was not an institutional coup, because

neither the Ministry of Defence, the General Military Commission, or the Supreme Military

Council, were aware of it, and the main force of the coupists was the command of the Air

Force, as it turned out later.

Widespread of the forces of the coup and its components amongst all parts of the Turkish

army, and the thin link that connected them, made it hard for them to be discovered earlier,

but the developments surrounding them on one hand, and the fear of being exposed in the

final moments on the other, dictated on the coupists to bring their zero hour forward, and to

speed up the movement of implementing the coup. Such decision proved to be very irrational

and hasty, based on inaccurate deliberations to a great extent; because it is impractical to

depend on false intelligence when plotting a coup of such a scale, and in a country like Turkey,

Perhaps among those inaccurate accounts was mis-reading the recent Turkish changes in

positions, and rearrange its relations with both Russia and Israel, as a sign of weakness and

lack of means.

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Only one hour from the start of the coup, and the appearance of Erdogan on a mobile phone

screen in Istanbul, calling on the Turkish people to take to the streets, to defend their

democracy; people have raced out in millions in the main Turkish cities, especially in Istanbul,

which holds a decisive role, by virtue of demographic, economic and historical weight. At that

point, it was getting clearer and clearer that the coup was doomed.

Turkish people took to the streets and squares, they surrounded tanks, lifting the siege on

Istanbul Airport, the Bosphorus and Fatih bridges, and this was exactly what determined the

failure of the coup. The Turks have defended the legitimacy of their government, their

democracy and their experience of a civil society, and what it had achieved to them, wither it

was the standard of their living, or their public and private freedoms, expressing their firm

rejection of military rule, of which they’ve been burnt in the past, so many times.

Apart from the Turkish people, the Turkish intelligence services had a notable role in the

failure of the coup too. Did the intelligence really defend democracy? Or were they only

defending the ruling party (Justice and Development Party)? Or were components of the party

and the intelligence and their consistency the source of their strength? If that is the case, many

fear that the intelligence will turn into the nucleus of a security state, which will pose a threat

to the Turkish democracy in the future.

Thousands of officers and soldiers who were involved in the coup were arrested or

suspended, including a hundred and twenty-six generals, and the arrests also included many

of the workers in the Ministry of Interior, and the judiciary, and temporary work suspension

was imposed on thousands of employees in the Ministries of Civil Services, awaiting for trial.

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The Turkish government has accused the "parallel entity" or the "parallel government" of

masterminding the coup. This entity follows the teachings of the Islamic preacher Fethullah

Gulen, who lives in the United States, and who is a descendant of the Erzurum region in

Turkey. He calls for Social Sufi Islam, and rejects the secular Atatürk, and he is being followed

by many universities, thousands of religious schools, and more than a hundred cultural

centres, inside and outside of Turkey, as well as printed, audible and visible media outlets. It

is known that Gulen had previously formed an alliance with the Justice and Development

Party (AKP), which is adapted to secularism, but the bonds of this alliance started to desolve

since 2014.

The extensive procedures which have been taken by the government towards this "parallel

entity," and his supporters; where schools, universities, and media outlets were closed,

suggests that the government wants to take advantage of this occasion, as an opportunity to

eradicate this trend, and they even made a formal request to the government of the United

States to surrender the leader of the movement to Turkey. Erdogan also wants to turn the

failed coup into an opportunity to purge the army of his opponents, wither those who follow

Gulen, or those who have become nostalgic to the military rule and its destructive coups. He

spoke openly about this opportunity saying: "It is an opportunity for the Turkish army to

cleanse itself."

Second, the Turks Maintain Their Democratic Experience The millions of Turkish people, who responded to Erdogan’s call, did not take to the streets in

defence of Erdogan and the AKP, but in defence of legitimacy and democracy, and of

achievements that were delivered to them in both fields, economic and liberties. The crowds

raised the Turkish flag, and did not fly the flags of any political party, neither the pictures of

leaders and commanders, and they did not chant the names of persons. Those who have

marched included the Turkish community as a whole, with all its political parties, and even

the Turkish opposition had an admirable collective agreement on rejecting the coup and the

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military rule, and perhaps the words of the leader of the Republican People's Party Kamal

Klhidar sums it up: "We spent ninety years, coming to power through elections, and leaving

through elections, and we are not in need of a military rule". It is of great significance, but not

more significance than that old man, who squatted the street amongst the coup soldiers,

shouting in their faces: “I was a military personnel the days of Efren’s coup, I do not want to

re-live those bitter memories, I belong to Turkey and not to anybody else ". Although this

wholesome attitude appears to enhance the popularity of Erdogan, and it is likely to do that;

but it will be also an end to his inclinations to singularly assume power. The Turkish people

who feel reassured by democracy, and its achievements, are aware it will outlive people and

leaders, not matter how great their roles are. Therefore, it is unexpected that the Turks and

the opposition parties will agree, on normalising and keeping the actions taken or threatened

to be taken by Erdogan and the Turkish government towards the coupists, including the

reintroduction of the death penalty, which was abolished in 2004, under the European Union

laws. If he insisted to proceed with wide retaliatory actions, affecting those who are indirectly

involved with the coup, and if he took advantage of this political moment, to achieve his

ambitions to amend the Constitution, and to increase the powers of the president; he would

be making a grave mistake, taking Turkey back in time, and turning it into an authoritarian

states, in which case the failed coup would have had achieved one of its most important

objectives. But the words of Ben Ali Yildirim, on the fourth day after the coup, demonstrates

that the collective punishment was a temporary measure, when he said: "No one will be

oppressed in Turkey, and Turkey will remain a country of justice." Perhaps what confirms this

trend too, is that the decisions made by the joint meeting, the National Security Council and

the government, in 20 July 2016, limited declaring a state of emergency to three months only,

and so far 2400 out of thirteen thousand detainees have been released.

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Third, Modern Turkey and the Experiment of the Justice and

Development Party The experiment of the Justice and Development Party in Turkey is the abstract of turnovers

and developments, in which political Islam had gone through in modern Turkey which was

founded by Mustafa Kemal, after the First World War, as a secular national state. Erdogan is

considered one of the leaders of this movement, and had grown slowly and suffered

immensely, under this state, ranging from Adnan Menderes, Bturgut Ozal, and Necmettin

Erbakan and others, but he excelled on his ability to deliver good governance, and sticking

with people, since he was the governor of Istanbul.

The experience of the AKP was remarkable because it reconciled with the Turkish

nationalism, and accepted secularism in the state, and liberalism in the economy, which

enabled it to achieve these enormous economic leaps. In the same way, the party was keen

on respecting freedom, the electoral process, and the rule of law, making its experience a

national pioneering one, with an Islamic reference in its cultural depth, with no illusions of the

empire.

The west wanted modern Turkey to be a bridge between them and the Muslim East, and also

wanted it an Atlantic spearhead, and a firewall in the face of communism after World War II,

but things began to change since the early nineties. The Westernised Turkish elites were not

welcomed within the European cultural space, who is still blocking Turkey's entry to the

Union. Since, a new Turkish identity began to grow, painting a new role for Turkey

corresponding to its important geo-political position and its potentials and history, and the

visions of Turgut Ozal, and the theories of Ahmed Daoud Ihsanoglu, about the reasons and

potential new role in the centre of the Turkish elites were all shattered, and it became possible

to exercise this trend in the economy and in politics.

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The Turkish experience has come long way in the era of "Justice and Development" on the

path of progress, and has achieved a quality progress on all levels, and left the role intended

to it by the West, and a new cultural and civilizational Turkish identity began to emerge, with

a moderate Islamic face. Turkey has sought to build its livelihood, wither on the short or long

terms, depending basically on the economic agent. From the disagreement about the role,

stems most of the problems facing Turkey today, within it and around it, to force it to abandon

its new directions, and therefore, the coup can be read from this angle, at least in one of its

faces.

Fourth, International Reaction to the Coup and its Aftermath It is understandably common for nations in the modern world not to rush to conclusions when

it comes to coups, before things clear up, and this is what America and European countries

have done, unlike the emotional and childish reaction of some members of the “resistance or

defiance " nations, such as Syria, or the miserable attitude of the military rule in Egypt.

However, once the failure of the coup became obvious, Western countries began to express

their condemnation of it, confirming their support for the legitimate and democratically

elected government.

Things did not stop at that, but the West started issuing statements condemning the

government's actions after the failed coup, the arrests and suspensions, considering such

actions as extreme and illegal. The French Foreign Minister said that "what happened in

Turkey, does not give the government a blank contract to violate human rights". At the same

time, the Commissioner of the External Affairs in the European Union, Magreeni, threatened:

"the restoration of the death penalty in Turkey will close the door into the EU permanently."

As for Germany, the arrests were considered disgusting, while the United States and Russia

adopted similar positions.

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Some analysts may argue about the European double their standards, to the same issues

concerning human rights, depending on the state concerned, when comparing their

condemning and strong positions towards the Turkish actions after the coup, and their

careless positions and turning a blind eye on atrocities the Sisi’s coup in Egypt have

committed against his opponents. If it is not possible for one not to have reservations towards

such double standards, as they undermine the line of morality reached by mankind so far; it

is also logical, taking into account the European sensitivity towards what is happening in

Turkey, compared to what happened and is happening in Egypt, as they consider Turkey part

of the their legal and moral space, considering how it has spent nearly four decades negotiate

its entry into the European Union, and the fact that it is a founding member of NATO.

On top of the above, Turkish officials had hinted to the involvement of a third party in the

coup, these insinuations were mainly directed to the United States, and lightly to France, who

closed its embassy in Istanbul just days before the coup, without giving any explanation.

Therefore, the US hastened to deny any involvement in the coup, and offered assistance in the

investigation, simultaneously warning Turkey that such accusations may harm the US-

Turkish relations.

In spite of the strained Turkish relations with the Americans and Europeans in recent years,

resulting from the ongoing conflict in Syria, and other things; it is unlikely that the United

States, or any of the NATO states would be involved in anything like the coup in Turkey,

simply because Turkey, with its strategic location, military potentials, being a member of the

NATO, as well as being linked to migration which is really a big worry to the Europeans, is an

important country, and any such involvement would be costly for them.

There is no doubt that the West generally was no longer comfortable with the policies of

Erdogan, and his inclination towards independence in Turkey, and they wouldn’t mind him

being rolled out of power, but not like that.

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Fifth: Will the Syrian Affair be affected by the Turkish Coup? It was normal for the Syrian refugees in Turkey to feel anxious when the coup started, because

there were nearly three millions of them, deployed in almost all Turkish cities, and not just in

camps, and now some of them have interests, and economic activities, and for others Turkey

is a waiting or a transition station towards a future in Europe, and perhaps the most important

of all, it is the largest base for the Syrian opposition with all its civil organizations, to exercise

their political, relief, medical and media activities, and is on top of all that, turkey is a vital

passage for military supplies.

Since the start of the Syrian revolution, the Turkish government was positive about it, an

attitude many Arab governments were lacking, and it sided with the revolution, and have

shown great enthusiasm for change in Syria, which angered the Syrian regime. The Turkish

bias has also caused political problems, and tension in its relations with its historic allies, the

Americans and Europeans, as well as with the regime's allies, reaching the brink of war with

Russia, when the Turkish air force dropped a Russian plane that had violated its airspace, at

the end of last year. On the inside, the opposition did not necessarily agree on Turkish

involvement in the Syrian issue, nor on the open reception of refugees, and the repercussions

of their problem on Turkey's relationship with Europe, and the most prominent opponent of

this trend was the Republican People's Party, perhaps because of its typical proximity of the

Syrian regime.

There is no doubt that Turkey has shouldered heavy burdens, both politically and physically,

towards the Syrian refugees and the Syrian opposition, and it is normal for some of the Turks

to be sensitive about these burdens, but if this coup was to succeed; properly the lives of

refugees would have been affected negatively, and the activities of the opposition would have

been trapped or removed, and cut off their supply routes, and possibly Turkey would have

adopted a whole different stance from the conflict. Now that the coup had failed; it is not

expected that there would be any change in the Turkish position, nor in its policies, except in

what is required to rearrange its foreign relations, such as those recently initiated.

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Sixth: Lessons for Syria The Syrians were very interested and concerned about the coup in Turkey. The regime

loyalists, celebrated their short lived dreams of a successful coup, that will end the experience

of "Justice and Development" Party, and overthrows Erdogan. In some places, they held

posters of General Ozturk, the assumed coup leader, and lit the sky in many cities, villages and

towns, in the area controlled by the regime, and people fired bullets to celebrate the event.

But on the other side; refugees and opposition were terrified that the coup may succeed, and

feared its bitter repercussions.

But now that the coup has failed, and fear has dissipated; it is worth for Syrians, with all their

diversity and differences, to contemplate the Turkish lesson, and take advantage of it in what

may serve the future of Syria and its people, giving them a chance to be the citizens of a

modern national state, and a democratic pluralistic community, in a way that would allow

them to rebuild their homeland, which was sadly torn by pre-national loyalties, and biased

ideologies, leading it to a total loss.

- Perhaps the first lesson concerns the Islamists, and the tide of political Islam in Syria in

particular, because the Justice and Development Party, which won the election for three times

in a row, is an Islamist party, who accepted secular Turkish state and coexistence with it. It did

not seek to Islamize the state, nor the Turkish community, and did not try to take over, and

take advantage of the power they held, as the Baath did in Syria and Iraq, for example, and so

the Muslim Brotherhood came close to doing in Egypt, after holding office through democratic

elections, they refused Erdogan’s advice to establish a secular state, if given the opportunity.

Will the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood contemplate this unique Islamic experience, and in all

these things, as they are pursuing power for decades, and are working to abandon their

destructive selfishness, and sometimes their repulsive pragmatism?

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- Syrian Kurds as well are interested in the Turkish event, because the Turkish Democratic

People’s party, objected the coup. This party is the political front for the PKK, who in turn is

fighting a fierce war with the Turkish state, for three decades. Similarly, the rest of the Kurdish

forces and the Kurdish citizens in Turkey, stood on the side of democracy, which offers them

better opportunities to win their rights, compared to a military rule, of which they have

previously suffered immensely. On the other hand, the Kurdish Democratic Union of Syrian

(the PYD), which is the Syrian branch of the Turkish PKK, announced a federal state, and a

one sided self-ruled area, in the areas which they control, in an attempt to impose a fait

accompli on the Syrians, and the future of Syria, exploiting the situation and believing the

illusion that the American policy is offering them the situation as an opportunity, so they

started killing and displacing civilians from the Arabs, and Kurd opponents, and on top of that,

they received more than a thousand military Turks fleeing their country after the failed coup.

Will PYD in specific, and the other Kurdish public powers, review their false attitude and join

their Syrian compatriots, to build a future democratic Syria, for which the revolution started

in the first place.

- After the failed coup, Turkish officials keep talking about re-structuring the army to avoid

any gaps in its organising mechanism, and military ranks. This army, whose repels threw their

weapons, and refused to kill the civilians who surrounded them, because a responsible and

patriotic army would not kill its own citizens. Perhaps, this is the lesson for Syrians, when they

will re-structure their army, according to the requirements of the political solution on the

table, or else. This experience will be useful for them to establish a new combat doctrine,

based on the idea of defending the homeland; because the current Syrian army, which killed

hundreds of thousands of Syrians in the ravaged areas, did not do so on the orders of senior

leadership only, but because of the dogma they were raised by, to be an institution in the

Syrian Constitution, defining its mission to "protect the revolution", and here it does not

matter if the enemies of the “revolution” – wither they exist or not- are of their own citizens

inside, or from the aspirants abroad!

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- The Turkish event confirmed that people would usually defend their gains and real

achievements, rather than defending their illusions and slogans, and democracies that existed

only in the ideological realm.

- On this occasion, it is valid to point out the positions of many commentators, or researchers

who support the Syrian Revolution, wither Syrians or non-Syrians, who were attacking

Erdogan and his government, for non-interference in Syria to support the Syrian people.

These sceptics ignore the fact that Turkey is a NATO member, a US ally, who in turn has

different position and policies toward the Syrian issue, and ignore the fact that the United

States betrayed Turkey in its stance by standing by the Syrian people, and restrained its

position, as well as the positions of other countries too.

- Turkey is very likely to overcome the current crisis, and contain the repercussions of the

coup, thanks to the will of its people, and their commitment to the democratic experiment. As

for Turkey's future democratic stability, its guarantee is determined by the ability to deal with

reality, and its complexity, greater wisdom and openness, and to renounce the spirit of

revenge, and to respect the rule of law.

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