Military coup underway in Turkey

I would say, he's totally untrustworthy, Lily. He's allied himself with some deeply unpleasant people, only to backstab them when a better offer came along. And he needn't expect favours from the incoming US administration, either - Trump is likely to treat him much as Putin does. Useful when he does as he's told, slapped down hard if he steps out of line.

Merkel was an utter fool to get the affairs of the EU so deeply entangled with Erdogan, but then, there's little she hasn't misjudged dreadfully.

It seems that most of the NWO folk have got it wrong... 

That's the big snag with signing contracts at the crossroads, at midnight.....sooner or later, there's a price to be paid.

Oh dear.... 

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/istanbul-nightclub-attacker-arrived-in-turkey-from-syria-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=108087&NewsCatID=509

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militant who attacked Istanbul’s Reina nightclub arrived in Syria from Turkey, according to newly emerged details regarding the attack.

The date when he arrived in Turkey is unknown, but he was in the Central Anatolian province of Konya on Nov. 22, 2016, before heading to Istanbul to carry out the attack on Reina, which claimed the lives of 39 people.

According to the investigation, the attacker arrived in Konya with his wife and two children and hired a house there. His family members, whose identities remain hidden, have been detained by police.

“I learned about the attack from the TV. I didn’t know that my husband was an ISIL militant, let alone a sympathizer,” his wife reportedly said in her testimony.


Yeah, right. The families always say that - and then a few days later, it transpires that they helped the scumbag plan the massacre.

A car could be seen engulfed in flames moments after the blast, which killed a police officer and a courthouse worker

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4091166/Three-wounded-explosions-near-courthouse-Izmir-Turkey-day-local-police-arrested-20-ISIS-suspects-search-Istanbul-nightclub-killer.html#ixzz4UuLembGE
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Turkey dismisses more civil servants in post-coup purge

ISTANBUL (AP) January 07, 2017 — Turkey has dismissed more than 8,000 civil servants for alleged ties to terror organizations, in the latest purge under a state of emergency imposed following the failed July 15 coup attempt.

The latest dismissals were announced on the Turkish government's Official Gazette late Friday. They include 2,687 police officers, 1,699 Justice Ministry employees and 631 academics. They join more than 100,000 people already suspended or dismissed.

Turkey's crackdown through dismissals and the arrest of some 41,000 people was begun to root out followers of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The government claims he orchestrated the coup attempt; Gulen denies involvement.

The purge has been expanded to include ties to other "terror organizations," including alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party. The latest decree also closed down 83 associations, bringing the number of associations shut for alleged ties to terror organizations to nearly 1,500.

Eleven local newspapers were allowed to reopen under Friday's decree. More than 140 media organizations have been ordered closed since the failed coup. According to Platform 24, a press freedom initiative for independent journalism, 115 journalists have been imprisoned under the state of emergency.

The only glimmer of light I can see, LL, is that 'purging' too many supposed enemies is eventually self-defeating - see Stalin and the damage he did to the Red Army.

I hope Erdogan is just sacking them, and nothing more sinister - so far.

Me too.

Istanbul gunman captured after more than 2 weeks on run

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish police captured the gunman who carried out the deadly New Year's nightclub attack in Istanbul, with officials saying Tuesday that he's an Uzbekistan national who trained in Afghanistan and confessed to the massacre.

https://www.mail.com/int/news/europe/4902314-istanbul-gunman-captured-than-2-weeks.html#.1258-stage-hero1-1

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4127108/ISIS-terrorist-ADMITS-carrying-NYE-Istanbul-attack.html



Looks like he's just discovered that Turkish police have a somewhat robust approach to mass murderers.

What a shame. 

Turkish assembly passes polemic bill to boost Erdogan powers

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) January 21, 2017 — Turkey's parliament on Saturday approved a contentious constitutional reform package, paving the way for a referendum on a presidential system that would greatly expand the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office.

The decision marks a victory for Erdogan, a polarizing but overall popular figure, who critics view as increasingly autocratic. In an all-night session that ended early Saturday, lawmakers voted in favor of a set of amendments presented by the ruling party, founded by Erdogan. The reform bill cleared the minimum threshold necessary to put the measures to a national referendum for final approval.

The vote took place with 488 lawmakers in the 550-seat assembly in attendance. A total of 339 parliamentarians voted yes, 142 no, five cast empty ballots and two were ruled out as invalid. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim celebrated the result saying the decision was now in the hands of the Turkish people who would make the right choice.

https://www.mail.com/int/news/europe/4913244-turkish-assembly-passes-polemic-bill-to-boost-erdo.html#.1258-stage-hero1-3

It's a brave MP who would vote against Erdogan....

Turkey: Erdogan buoyed by vote for powerful presidency

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) January 21, 2017 — Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday began campaigning for constitutional reforms that would greatly expand the powers of his office, only hours after a vote in parliament cleared the way for a national referendum on the issue.

Speaking in Istanbul, he hailed the assembly's early-morning decision saying a more powerful presidency will catapult Turkey to a position of strength. "God willing the people will give the true decision, the final decision," Erdogan said.

https://www.mail.com/int/news/europe/4913982-turkey-erdogan-buoyed-vote-powerful-presidency.html#.1258-stage-hero1-3

Turkish president targets cleric's schools on Africa visit

JOHANNESBURG (AP) January 22, 2017 — Turkey has courted Africa for more than a decade, boosting trade, opening more than two dozen new embassies and Turkish Airlines routes and dispatching aid to conflict-torn Somalia. More recently, the Turkish government lobbied African nations to close or take over local schools linked to Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, accused by Turkey of masterminding a failed coup attempt last year.

So while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travels with a big business delegation to Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar this week, he is also focusing on what he calls a security threat. Turkey accuses international schools inspired by Gulen of providing militant recruits for his movement, which in turn says an increasingly authoritarian government is casting as wide a net as possible for perceived opponents.

"It is only expected that they are trying to fight the battle in Africa with the Gulenists," said Ahmet Kasim Han, an associate professor of international relations at Kadir Has University in Istanbul.

https://www.mail.com/int/news/europe/4915822-turkish-president-targets-clerics-schools-africa-v.html#.1258-stage-hero1-7

Is there anything tangible behind Erdogan's attacks on Gulen, or is Gulen simply a handy external enemy? It seems to be an awful tangle, and hard to make sense of.....

bb1 wrote:Is there anything tangible behind Erdogan's attacks on Gulen, or is Gulen simply a handy external enemy? It seems to be an awful tangle, and hard to make sense of.....

I don't know, but I can apply legal thinking to it.    Erdogan's fixation with Gulan makes me consider that he is, like any authoritarian or would be dictator that he considers Gulan a big problem,     This is from Wikipeia and may give a clue to why Erdogan seems to fear Gulan:

Gülen is actively involved in the societal debate concerning the future of the Turkish state, and Islam in the modern world. He has been described in the English-language media as an imam "who promotes a tolerant Islam which emphasises altruism, hard work and education" and as "one of the world's most important Muslim figures.   Gülen taught a Hanafi version of Islam, deriving from Sunni Muslim scholar Said Nursî's teachings. Gülen has stated that he believes in science, interfaith dialogue among the People of the Book, and multi-party democracy.   He has initiated such dialogue with the Vatican and some Jewish organizations.

Erdogan seems to see himself as a modern Ataturk, which he definitely not.   LL

Or a modern-day Ottoman emperor?

bb1 wrote:Or a modern-day Ottoman emperor?

Possibly, but there is no way he is a Sulieman - known as The Great. Ataturk dragged the old Ottoman Empire, whch was in totally disarray, into the 20th century. LL

Lord knows what century Erdogan has in mind as a role model....

bb1 wrote:Lord knows what century Erdogan has in mind as a role model....

The time when the Ottomans ruled a huge part of Europe.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, at the height of its power under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire was a multinational, multilingual empire controlling much of Southeast Europe, parts of Central Europe, Western Asia, the Caucasus, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa. At the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries.

We still have reminders of their rule here, besides the Ottoman church in Pecs, there is a minaret and Ottoman thermal bath in Eger and the tomb of a great Islamic scholar, Gül Baba. in Budapest. He was an Ottoman Bektashi dervish poet and companion of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and took part in a number of campaigns in Europe from the reign of Mehmed II onwards. But there is no way Erdogan can ever emulate Suleiman or Ataturk. LL

Turkish constitutional referendum comes amid media crackdown.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) February 11, 2017 — Turkey's electoral board on Saturday confirmed April 16 as the date of a national referendum on expanding the president's powers, but the main opposition leader predicts he will face an "unfair" campaign process.

The head of the High Electoral Board, Sadi Guven, announced the referendum date a day after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed off on the constitutional changes aimed at creating a presidency with executive powers, which were passed by parliament last month. Guven said 55 million people in Turkey and close to 3 million Turks living abroad are eligible to cast votes.

But with Turkey's opposition media largely silenced, opponents of the constitutional changes complain that they cannot get their views across. "The referendum process will not take place under fair conditions. We know that the (pro-government media) will continue to act as though the opposition does not exist," said Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the Republican People's Party.

Speaking to a small group of journalists, Kilicdaroglu said he still remains hopeful that a "no" vote will prevail. "We know that it won't be a just referendum, but despite everything, I have trust in the people's conscience, foresight and common sense," Kilicdaroglu said.

The changes, long sought by Erdogan, would grant the president the power to appoint government ministers and senior officials, dissolve parliament, declare states of emergency, issue decrees and appoint half of the members in the country's highest judicial body.

The proposal would also increase the number of parliamentarians from 550 to 600 and lower the age of eligibility for parliamentary office from 25 to 18. Critics say it would concentrate even more power in the hands of a leader they accuse of authoritarian behavior.

The government says a strong presidency will make the country stronger and improve its abilities to fight terror threats.

Turkey arrests 2 suspected Islamic State militants

ISTANBUL (AP) February 11, 2017 — Two men suspected of planning Islamic State group attacks in Europe were arrested in Turkey following 10 days of being interrogated by police, Turkey's state-run agency reported Saturday.

Mahamad Laban, 45, a Danish citizen, and Mohammed Tefik Saleh, 38, a Swedish citizen, received weapons and explosives training in Syria for the past three months, the Anadolu Agency said. Pictures published by Anadolu show Laban and others in trenches covered with sandbags. In several pictures, Laban is seen wearing camouflage gear and holding a machine gun.

Anadolu did not provide details on the arrests but said Saleh's wife had informed Swedish authorities that he had crossed from Turkey to Syria and joined IS in 2014, along with his two daughters. The agency says the wife didn't go to Syria and returned to Sweden.

The agency said the two men entered Turkey using fake identification with the intention of going to European countries. In January, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said more than 52,000 people from 145 countries were on a no-entry list and some 4,000 people have been deported. Nearly 750 people with alleged IS links were detained in a major police sweep in 29 Turkish provinces last week.

Turkey has been hit by a string of attacks by IS, most recently on New Year's Eve in an Istanbul nightclub that left 39 people dead. The gunman, Abdulkadir Masharipov, was caught on Jan. 16 and formally arrested Saturday.

With coalition-backed Iraqi forces fighting IS in Mosul and Syrian Democratic Forces closing in on Raqqa, the capital of the so-called caliphate, fears have increased that IS fighters leaving Iraq and Syria may carry out attacks elsewhere.

In its 2017 terror threat assessment, Denmark's intelligence agency — known by its acronym PET — pointed to an "increased terror threat against Denmark" with foreign fighters potentially heading home.