Military coup underway in Turkey

I almost dread looking at this thread, LL, in horror at what Erdogan may have done now....

But in this case, I would say Turkey did a good job; I suspect these two crazies were among the 'brave rebels' recently evicted from Aleppo. The likes of them getting back into Europe is the stuff of nightmares, frankly.

Turkish PM launches 'yes' campaign over Erdogan powers

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) February 25, 2017 — Turkey's prime minister has officially launched his ruling party's campaign for a "yes" vote in a referendum on ushering a presidential system, which critics fear will concentrate too many powers in the hands of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Binali Yildirim formally got campaigning going on Saturday telling supporters in a sports arena that the proposed new system would build a strong Turkey capable of surmounting terror threats and make its economy more robust.

Yildirim said: "We are taking the first steps on the path of a future strong Turkey." The proposed reforms — to be voted on April 16 — will give the largely ceremonial presidency executive powers and abolish the office of the prime minister.

Opponents say the proposed system foresees too few checks and balances on Erdogan's rule.

Opponents say the proposed system foresees too few checks and balances on Erdogan's rule

I think that's the whole idea....

bb1 wrote:Opponents say the proposed system foresees too few checks and balances on Erdogan's rule

I think that's the whole idea....

The resignation of Turkish prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, last year - he and Erdogan had fallen out, Davutoğlu being a moderate so the autocratic Edogan replaced him with one of his own toadies.    LL

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-05/fresh-diplomatic-scandal-after-erdogan-accuses-germany-fascist-actions

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused Germany of "fascist actions" reminiscent of "Nazi practices" in a growing diplomatic rift over the cancellation of political rallies aimed at propping support for him among the 1.5 million Turks living in Germany. Erdogan's latest outburst on Sunday took place days after German authorities withdrew permission for two rallies by Turkish citizens in German cities, at which Turkish ministers were to urge a "Yes" vote in a referendum next month on granting Erdogan sweeping new presidential, almost dictatorial according to some, powers.

Speaking in Istanbul, the Turkish president fanned the flames with a stinging verbal attack.

"In Germany, they are not allowing our friends to speak. Let them do so. Do you think that by not allowing them to speak the votes in Germany will come out 'no' instead of 'yes?'" Erdogan said. "Germany, you don't have anything to do with democracy. These current practices of yours are no different than the Nazi practices of the past." the Turkish president said at a rally in Istanbul.

"When we say that, they get disturbed. Why are you disturbed?"

"We will talk about Germany's actions in the international arena and we will put them to shame in the eyes of the world," Erdogan said and added "We don't want to see their fascist actions. We thought that era was in the past, but apparently it isn't."...etc

Last time I looked, it was called 'Germany', not 'Northern Turkey'. I can just imagine Erdogan's reaction if Merkel tried to campaign in Turkey.

And I don't think he's in any position to be calling anyone a fascist.....

How President Erdogan hopes to erase Ataturk’s Turkey

‘One day my mortal body will turn to dust, but the Turkish Republic will stand forever,’ said Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern nation. As such he is rewarded a special place in Turkish history as the ‘father of the Turks’. Indeed this is what Ataturk, the surname he was given by the people, means. And it’s impossible to be in Turkey without seeing his image wherever you go. His face adorns the currency, both paper and coinage, it’s engraved on plaques, printed on flags, statues celebrating the man are too numerous to count, there is even a shop in Istanbul which has one item on its inventory, gold laminated Ataturk masks. The man is an icon to Turks. He is Turkey and Turkey is him. But for how much longer?

http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/08/president-erdogan-hopes-erase-ataturk-turkeys-memory/

A well-written piece about how Erdogan aims to destroy Turkey. LL

Thanks, LL, a good find - it's a very enlightening piece.

Belgian minister: Erdogan's comments 'nonsense'.

Belgium's foreign minister is dismissing as "nonsense" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's comments accusing Germany of "Nazi practices" after a local authority prevented a Turkish minister from addressing a rally there.

Didier Reynders said Monday at a meeting of European Union counterparts that his own country hasn't received any requests for appearances by Turkish officials but, if it does, it would be for municipalities to decide what happens on the basis of security considerations.

Reynders said: "I condemn the reaction of Mr. Erdogan. It's nonsense to say that about Germany and to refer to an old period of time." He added that "it's not the reality now in Germany and we are sure of that."

That'll be Belgium being fascist, too.

Fourth German city cancels Turkish rally, citing safety issues.

Hamburg on Monday became the fourth city to call off a rally by a Turkish minister ahead of a referendum on expanding President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's powers.

Police in the northern city of Hamburg said a venue where Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had planned to speak on Tuesday could not be used "after serious fire safety deficiencies were identified".

Hamburg police said officers had Monday inspected the Plaza Event Center site in a southern harbour district of the city and, after discovering the fire safety flaws, "immediately banned the use of the property".

"Not the event was cancelled, but the use of the Plaza Event Center," a police spokesman told AFP.

Stand by for hissy fit from Erdogan.

How Turkey is using Germany to whip up nationalism at home.

Turkish politicians are using a spate of cancelled rallies in Germany to stir up nationalist feeling ahead of next month's referendum on boosting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's powers, analysts say.

Since last week, German and Turkish politicians have traded barbs over the banning of events by Turkish officials visiting Germany in a bid to boost support ahead of the April 16th vote on whether to create an executive presidency in Turkey.

https://www.thelocal.de/20170308/how-turkey-is-using-germany-to-stir-up-nationalism-at-home

Yes, dictators like nothing better than conjuring up a supposed external enemy.

Germany hopeful relations with Turkey can normalize

BERLIN (AP) March 08, 2017 — Germany's foreign minister expressed cautious optimism Wednesday that Berlin and Ankara may begin to slowly reel diplomatic relations back to normal, following an escalation of tensions that culminated with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accusing Germany of "Nazi practices."

Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said talks at a Berlin hotel over breakfast with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, the first face-to-face official meeting since the diplomatic crisis began last week, were "good, honest and friendly, but also hard and contentious."

Over the past week, German municipalities have canceled several events in which Turkish Cabinet ministers had planned to address rallies in Germany in support of a national referendum on constitutional reform that would give Erdogan more powers. Officials have cited issues of overcrowding and fire safety, among other things.

Some rallies have gone ahead, most recently with Cavusoglu himself addressing a crowd in Hamburg late Tuesday night, though not at the venue initially planned.

https://www.mail.com/int/news/europe/5019376-germany-hopeful-relations-with-turkey-normalize.html#.1272-stage-hero1-1

Turkey minister willing to delay Dutch campaign.

Turkey's foreign minister says he is willing to postpone plans to address Turkish citizens in the Netherlands until after the Dutch elections.

Mevlut Cavusoglu suggested on Thursday that Dutch officials feared campaigning by Turkish leaders for a "yes" vote in an upcoming referendum in Turkey to expand the presidential powers would affect the March 15 elections in the Netherlands.

Cavusoglu said he had told his Dutch counterpart that he would delay plans until after the Dutch elections if they ask him to. However, he said he would go ahead with his plans to hold a campaign rally in Rotterdam on March 11 if Dutch authorities continue to oppose campaigning by Turkish leaders even after the elections.

"If you oppose our meetings even after the elections then no one can stop me, I'll go there on Saturday and hold my (campaign) meeting," the state-run Anadolu quoted him as saying. "Even if you cancel the halls, I will find a place."

A rally in support of a "yes" vote was cancelled in Rotterdam Wednesday amid security concerns. The Dutch government has called such rallies undesirable and anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders has said Cavusoglu was not welcome in the Netherlands.

Surely Turkish politicians shouldn't be campaigning outwith Turkey in the first place?

bb1 wrote:Surely Turkish politicians shouldn't be campaigning outwith Turkey in the first place?

It's because many Turks live outside Turkey. West Germany (aka Federal Republic, same as today) lost many people in WWII, resulting in labour shortage, limiting economic recovery/growth. Germany invited foreigners as guest workers (Gastarbeiter), and most of them came from Turkey, a country that escaped the depopulating effects of WWII. Erdogan needs their votes to achieve his dictatorship goal. LL

Well, a lot of Brits live in Spain, but Mrs May doesn't trot over there to hold rallies.....

bb1 wrote:Well, a lot of Brits live in Spain, but Mrs May doesn't trot over there to hold rallies.....

Mrs May isn't aiming to become a dictator. LL

Very true!

Oh yes.....he MUST be a dictator come hell or high-water.

Purged from Turkey's army, officers seek asylum in Belgium

BRUSSELS (AP) March 09, 2017 — In the days after rogue soldiers tried to take over Turkey last year, the fax machine in the Turkish delegation's offices at NATO headquarters started spitting out lists of names. The lists from armed forces headquarters in Ankara often arrived on Friday evenings as personnel were packing up for the weekend. At first, each carried 20 or 30 names. But the one that came through more than two months after the July coup attempt made even seasoned Turkish officers in Brussels anxious.

It gave 221 colonels, majors and other mid-ranking officers at NATO facilities around the world three days to get back to Turkey. "Normally you would be told where you are going on your next assignment, get an allowance to move your family, have some time for your children to leave school," one major who appeared on the Sept. 27 list told The Associated Press. "It didn't make any sense."

The lives of the individuals named were about to be turned upside down. Considered suspects in the coup, dozens of Turkish officers assigned to NATO are refusing orders from the country they spent their adult lives serving and no longer trust. Instead, they are seeking asylum abroad or have gone into hiding, fearing they could be arrested and imprisoned as terrorists if they return.

https://www.mail.com/int/news/europe/5024242-purged-turkeys-army-officers-seek-asylum-belgium.html#.1258-stage-hero1-1

Dutch PM tells Turkey minister: 'Don't show up!'

BERLIN (AP) March 09, 2017 — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says that apart from arresting a Turkish minister on arrival in the Netherlands, his government is giving the strongest possible hints to Ankara to not send its representatives to address any rallies on the upcoming Turkish referendum.

Rutte says any planned weekend visit by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu could only stir trouble between the two NATO allies. While attending a European Union summit on Thursday, Rutte said: "This is the most serious thing we can do. You tell the foreign affairs minister of a NATO ally, 'We know you will come to the Netherlands: Don't show up!'"

Rutte added that local authorities would be unlikely to authorize any rally Cavusoglu would attend. "And if you still decide to come, you won't have a chauffeur driven car, no escort, no support," he said.

Rutte says that while "there are people who will say, 'you have to arrest him at Schiphol,' but we will stop just short of that."

Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Bert Koenders the government considers a planned weekend visit by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to be "undesirable," and says the government will not extend any assistance if he goes ahead with plans for a Saturday visit.

Rotterdam's mayor said a day earlier that he would likely ban a rally by Cavusoglu on public order grounds, due to tensions in the city's Turkish community.

Koenders says the government "is responsible for public order and security of Dutch citizens, nobody else. That is why the Netherlands doesn't want this to happen."

The Swiss foreign ministry says a planned visit by Turkey's foreign minister to Switzerland "does not currently pose a particularly high security threat" after a key regional authority expressed concerns.

The ministry said Thursday that nothing merits a ban of the visit of Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to Zurich, Switzerland's largest city, on Sunday.

It said Swiss federal security services looked into security risks following a request by Zurich regional authorities.

The concerns in Switzerland come amid recent friction between neighboring Germany and Turkey. The ministry cited Switzerland's support for freedom of expression and said it expects countries like Turkey to do likewise, without elaborating.

Turkish minister to defy Dutch request not to come for rally

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) March 10, 2017 — Turkey's foreign minister says he will go to the Netherlands to address Turkish citizens despite Dutch authorities' demands that he not show up for a rally there on the upcoming Turkish referendum.

Mevlut Cavusoglu said he would travel to Rotterdam on Saturday despite "all obstacles and despite all the racist speeches." His comments, made late Thursday following a telephone call with his Dutch counterpart, were reported in the Turkish media on Friday.

Cavusoglu's statement came after Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said his government had given the strongest possible hints to Turkey not to send representatives for rallies, short of arresting a Turkish minister on arrival. He added Cavusoglu's visit would stir trouble between the two NATO allies.

Turkish ministers' plans for campaign rallies have also caused friction with Germany. But the visit to the Netherlands is particularly sensitive, coming just days before elections for the lower house of Parliament.

Anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders, who is polling strongly ahead of the March 15 election, has called on the Dutch government to declare Turkish ministers persona non grata and bar them from the Netherlands until after the election.

However, government ministers say they can do little to prevent Cavusoglu making a private visit. Instead, they have repeatedly tried to talk him out of coming. "My message was clear: That his visit to the Netherlands is undesirable," Foreign Affairs Minister Bert Koenders told reporters Friday after what he called a "tough" phone call with his Turkish counterpart.

Oh Lord, Wilders will be doing a Happy Dance at this.