Turkey: A War of Two Coups

Savran, Sungur
http://redmed.org/article/turkey-war-two-coups
Date Written:  2016-07-20
Publisher:  RedMed
Year Published:  2016
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX19799

On 15 July 2016 a huge section of the Turkish armed forces attempted to take power from the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the AKP, came very close to its objective, but was ultimately defeated. This article examines the causes of the failed coup and its social and political effects on the Turkish society from a Marxist perpective.

Abstract: 
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Excerpt:

On the night of 15-16 July, Turkey went through a cataclysm that stunned the world: a huge section of the armed forces of the country (TSK in its Turkish acronym) attempted to take power from the government of Recep Tayyip Erdog(an and the AKP, came very close to its objective, but was ultimately defeated.

The reactionary nature of what has been salvaged from the coup attempt of 15 July is evident from what has been going on since that day. At the very moment when these lines are being written, the National Security Council, a body that brings together government members and the top brass, has finished an extraordinary meeting, to be seconded by a Council of Ministers, all to decide on extraordinary measures.

The state of emergency gives the government and, in particular, the president of the republic such extensive powers that it is difficult to imagine any method of open and legal opposition to the AKP government in the foreseeable future.Thus the defeat of the coup has created a situation in which the AKP and Erdog(an are finally succeeding to impose their will on the peoples of Turkey. One coup may be dead, but the other one is well, alive and kicking.

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