Military coup underway in Turkey

Belgium warns against violence during Turkey referendum vote

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel warned that the government will not tolerate violence as Turks living abroad vote on a referendum that would give Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan more power.

Belgian media reported that as voters lined up at the Turkish embassy in Brussels on Thursday, fighting broke out amid Erdogan's supporters and opponents. Michel condemned the fighting in a Twitter message and said he will "apply zero tolerance for violence surrounding the Turkish referendum."

Turkish citizens in six European countries have until April 9 to vote in the referendum. The deadline in Turkey is a week later. Relations between European Union nations and Turkey have progressively worsened as the referendum nears, with Erdogan accusing nations like the Netherlands and Germany of Nazi practices to contain or ban demonstrations.

fighting broke out amid Erdogan's supporters and opponents

Behaving as they would in their own country?

Austrian lawmaker alleges global Turkish surveillance

VIENNA (AP) — A hodge-podge of documents presented by a senior Austrian lawmaker purports to show a Turkish global surveillance network aimed at undermining organizations loyal to a Muslim cleric who Turkey believes was behind last year's coup attempt.

Greens Parliamentarian Peter Pilz this week showed selected reporters memos from what he says are Turkish consulates and embassies in 35 countries as far flung as Kosovo, Japan and Australia reporting back to Ankara.

Depending on the country, the correspondence ranges from historical overviews of organizations backed by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, to detailed listings of schools, business and women's organizations, religious societies, media outlets and non-governmental organizations. Some contain the names, addresses and personal details of those involved.

Officials from Austria's Interior Minister said they hadn't seen the latest documents, but were treating as genuine ones presented by Pilz that focused only on Austria. The Turkish Foreign Ministry didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pilz shared the new documents with selected reporters Thursday in Turkish and in German translations. An Associated Press review of selected Turkish originals indicates they were authentic. Pilz, in comments to the AP, spoke of a "huge ... network consisting of associations, clubs and mosques" that keeps tabs on Gulen via religious attaches at diplomatic representations who report back to Turkey.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pressing nations to crack down on the Gulen movement's network of schools and charities outside of the country. He accuses Gulen of orchestrating the July 15 coup attempt that saw renegade military officers and soldiers use fighter jets, helicopters and tanks to attack parliament and other state buildings. Some 270 people were killed.

Gulen condemned the attempted coup and denied he was involved, though he acknowledged that some of his supporters may have participated. Pilz said that law enforcement officials in Germany were also familiar with his Turkish source. He said that he believes the list is only partial, but couldn't say why the source chose the countries he did or what went into the selection of the documents.

Some of the correspondence is neutral in tone, but not all. A document from the Turkish religious attache with diplomatic accreditation to Belgium describes Gulen's organization as "blood-stained." It warns that a "European Professional Network" controlled by Gulen supporters is trying to "penetrate EU institutions."

Excerpts from other countries: — A report from the Turkish general consulate in Munich on the 2014 "Turkish Olympics" attended by Turks from all over Germany notes the support of numerous German "lawmakers, mayors, police chiefs" and other officials, and identifies some by name.

— From Finland, the report names key people surveilled, with details on some. It notes one is responsible for "contact with small businessmen." It lists his birthplace and university in Turkey, also names his wife and says she "is responsible for the women."

—The Kosovo report warns that the Gulen movement is gaining influence through its schools, an observation also found in documents from other countries. It says the son of President Hashim Thaci is among the "children of the important families of Kosovo politics and business" attending such schools.

In Germany, where Turkey's intelligence agency recently gave its German counterpart a list of suspected Gulen supporters, Interior Minister Thomas de Maziere said Thursday the move may have been intended to "provoke us in some way."

The list contained the names of around 300 alleged Gulen supporters thought to be living in Germany, among them reportedly a German lawmaker. Earlier this year, an official of Germany's domestic intelligence agency said that 13 imams affiliated with DITIB, the union of Turkish-Islamic cultural organizations in Germany, had sent the names of alleged Gulen supporters to the Turkish religion authority.

Burkhard Freier said Diyanet, the Turkish government's foreign department of the Office for Religious Affairs, had told employees in September to report the activities of groups such as the Gulen movement, and religious attaches at consulates had passed the order on to imams.

The matter also came up when German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Ankara in January. She said then that the two nations must discuss any perceived problems with the Gulen movement "with each other."

I would think that is pretty accurate, LL. Even if it's not actual state-sponsored spying, Erdogan's tentacles are likely to be in Turkish communities everywhere, with his supporters eagerly reporting on their neighbours, and anyone perceived as an 'enemy'.

Erdoğan’s power grab.

What the upcoming referendum means for Turkey.

ISTANBUL 31 March 2017 — The cure-all for Turkey’s ills is close at hand — if you believe Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: a ‘yes’ result in next month’s referendum would restore security and stability, the president promises.

Yet opposition leaders warn that switching to a presidential system of government, as proposed by Erdoğan, would threaten democracy. To foreign observers, this may be strange to hear. After all, a number of democracies are governed by an executive presidency, among them the United States.

But in Turkey’s case, the term is used as shorthand for a constitutional reform package that — if approved — would represent the most radical political change since the modern republic’s foundation in 1923.

Critics, including the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, fear the new constitution would mark a point of no return for the country’s slide into authoritarianism. More at link.

http://www.politico.eu/article/turkey-referendum-recep-tayyip-erdogan-power-grab-constitution/

Germany opens spying probe into Turkish religious agency.

Germany has opened a probe into the actions of a senior member of a Turkish governmental religious organisation suspected of asking its members to spy on followers of exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen, German media reported Friday.

The German federal prosecutor had announced earlier in the week the opening of an investigation into claims that Turkish agents have been spying on followers of Gulen, whom Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames for a failed coup attempt last year.

Relations between NATO allies Germany and Turkey have been strained by disputes centred on human rights issues, especially since last July's failed coup and a subsequent crackdown on alleged conspirators.

The row deepened after Germany and the Netherlands blocked campaign events by Turkish ministers earlier this month ahead of a referendum vote to boost presidential powers. In an angry response, Erdogan accused both countries of
using "Nazi" methods.

More than 41,000 people in Turkey have been arrested over suspected links to Gulen's movement, and 100,000 fired or suspended from their jobs. Many of them are teachers, police, magistrates and journalists.

Boris Pistorius, interior minister of the German state of Lower Saxony, said on Tuesday that Erdogan's government had asked Berlin to help spy on about 300 alleged Gulen supporters in Germany.

On Friday the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily and regional public television channels said that German prosecutors had last month begun investigating Halife Keskin, who heads the foreign relations department of the Turkish state religious affairs agency Diyanet.

According to the media reports, Germany suspects the agency of asking its members based overseas, notably imams in Germany, to gather information on people deemed close to Gulen.

The German Der Spiegel weekly reported Friday that Diyanet had asked Turkish consulates in 35 countries to gather information about Gulen supporters.

The magazine cited Australia, Nigeria, Mauritania and Mongolia as among the countries targeted.

I am afraid I see a lot of trouble with Turkey ahead.

Rolling eyes here.

Yes, if there is one thing the world doesn't need just now, it's a theocratic dictator.

Where is Turkey? Just a passing question. I don't ever expect to have to know how to get there.

Sabot wrote:
Where is Turkey?  Just a passing question.  I don't ever expect to have to know how to get there.

Catch a train from Vienna to Budapest then one through Romania and Bulgaria and straight to Istanbul.   LL

Lamplighter wrote:

Sabot wrote:
Where is Turkey?  Just a passing question.  I don't ever expect to have to know how to get there.

Catch a train from Vienna to Budapest then one through Romania and Bulgaria and straight to Istanbul.   LL

Thank You, LL.

I can only suppose that the train journey might be quite nice. And then hot foot out again.

Hundreds of Turkish officials and families seek asylum in Germany.

More than 250 Turkish diplomats, government employees and their family members have filed for political asylum in Germany, Berlin said Monday, amid a bitter row between the two NATO allies.

Germany's interior ministry said 151 of the asylum applications came from Turks holding diplomatic passports while the other 111 were from people with passports issued to other government employees and their dependants.

The ministry did not specify how many of the requests came from Turkish military personnel stationed at NATO bases.

"The asylum applications will be treated on a case-by-case basis ... and decided according to the law," a ministry spokeswoman said during a regular press conference.

The wave of requests for safe haven follows last July's failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a subsequent crackdown, which has seen more than 100,000 people arrested or dismissed from their posts over alleged links to the plotters or to Kurdish militants.

Berlin has emerged as a strident critic of Ankara's crackdown, voicing concerns over civil liberties in the country.

Erdogan's government has accused US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen of having orchestrated the putsch.

Berlin says Turkey's intelligence service is also watching alleged Gulen followers in Germany, which has a large Turkish expatriate community.

Turkey, meanwhile, has accused Germany and other EU countries of "Nazi" practices for banning campaign events by its ministers in the lead-up to an April 16th referendum campaign on extending the president's power.

Relations have also been troubled by Turkey's arrest seven weeks ago of German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel, a correspondent for the German newspaper Die Welt, charged with spreading terrorist propaganda and inciting hatred.

Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Monday he had now been promised by Ankara that the German consul general would be allowed to visit Yucel, 43, for the first time on Tuesday.

"This morning, Turkey officially confirmed by verbal note that tomorrow we will finally get access to Deniz Yucel so that we can confirm his well-being after his difficult times in detention," said Gabriel in a statement.

I hope they're given refuge, LL, they really are in great danger in Turkey.

Up to 100 Dutch citizens 'prevented from leaving Turkey after criticising President Erdogan'. Move comes after dispute between nations over cancelled rallies ahead of referendum.

Up to 100 Dutch citizens have reportedly been blocked from leaving Turkey after criticising the country’s President.

Those affected are of Turkish descent and had been publicly critical of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Netherlands public broadcaster NOS reported.

Dual nationals from Germany, Switzerland and other European nations were having trouble returning home, the broadcaster said.

Many had been in the country on holiday or to visit relatives, with some accused of supporting the “Hizmet” movement led by US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.

A spokesperson for the Dutch foreign ministry said it was difficult to confirm how many citizens were affected as it only knew of those who had sought help.

“The reasons why [they have had problems leaving Turkey] are varied, but some of them may be linked to the Gulen movement,” she told The Independent.

“We are prepared to help people who actively seek assistance.

“We immediately raised the inconvenience caused to these people with the Turkish authorities.

“Inquiries show that other countries’ citizens are having similar problems in Turkey.”

Mr Erdogan accuses the Gulen movement of plotting a failed coup in July and classes members as “terrorists”, resulting in purges seeing 42,000 people including teachers and journalists detained or dismissed for alleged support.

Purged from Turkish army, NATO officers get asylum in Norway

STAVANGER, Norway (AP) — Norway and Turkey — NATO's northern and southern frontiers in Europe — have been pillars of the Western military alliance for more than 60 years. But the diplomatic temperature between the two has fallen steadily since Turkey recalled dozens of military officers as suspects in an aborted coup — and Norway became the first nation to grant some of them asylum.

The government in Oslo agreed last month to protect four Turkish officers who had been assigned to NATO and, like colleagues in Germany and Brussels, fear they could be imprisoned as terrorists if they go back to their country. Turkey's Foreign Ministry summoned the Norwegian ambassador for an explanation while the officers remain in Stavanger, a city on Norway's west coast that lies 3,800 kilometers (2,360 miles) from Ankara.

"We see that this is a difficult decision for Norway because of the alliance, and it can cause big problems for NATO, so we appreciate that they have put human rights over political decisions," one of the officers given asylum said. "Norway still says you are innocent until proven guilty ... in Turkey, you have to prove your innocence."

https://www.mail.com/int/news/europe/5101420-purged-turkish-army-nato-officers-asylum-norway.html#.1258-stage-hero1-3

Good.

Critics of Turkey's president across Europe tell of threats.

BERLIN (AP) — Ercan Karakoyun looks twice over his shoulder when he leaves his Berlin home to make sure nobody is following him. Karakoyun is a follower of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames for an attempted military coup in Turkey last summer. The 37-year-old, who is the public face of the Gulen movement in Germany, says he has received several death threats since the aborted overthrow.

The hostility hasn't escalated past the anonymous threats, but Karakoyun's experience is one happening across Europe as Turkey's government tries to root out and punish the U.S.-based Gulen's supporters both within Turkey and abroad.

"The witch hunt against us has reached a new level," Karakoyun, the son of Turkish immigrants and spokesman for the Gulen-affiliated Dialogue and Education Foundation in Germany, told The Associated Press.

Surrounded by religious books in the foundation's Berlin office, he recounted how German police contacted him last week and warned him not to travel to Turkey. Karakoyun was among more than 300 individuals and dozens of institutions on a list the Turkish foreign intelligence agency MIT gave its German counterpart. MIT asked to have those named put under surveillance. More at link.

https://www.mail.com/int/news/europe/5107692-critics-turkeys-president-europe-tell-threats.html#.1258-stage-hero1-9

I still haven't been able to find out what Gulen is supposed to have done, in reality. He seems, at least on the surface, to be fairly reasonable, by exiled imam standards - he doesn't seem to be a barking mad Ayatollah.

Maybe there's nothing much to find, and he's only a threat to Erdogan?

Good explanation of the hatred between Gulen and Erdogan. LL

http://www.smh.com.au/world/turkey-coup-who-is-fethullah-gulen-and-why-is-recep-tayyip-erdogan-obsessed-with-him-20160716-gq76m7.html

Thanks, LL, interesting. I just assume that whatever Erdogan says, he's lying, for his own ends.

bb1 wrote:Thanks, LL, interesting. I just assume that whatever Erdogan says, he's lying, for his own ends.

Of course; he has delusions of grandeur combined with a religious fanatacism. He sees himself as Atataurk, as I said earlier. LL

I know for a fact that you are correct, LL. xxx

Turkish journalists, banned at home, set up shop in Germany

COLOGNE, Germany (AP) — Facing harassment, enforced shutdowns and the threat of jail at home, Turkey's journalists in exile are using Germany as a base to report on political turmoil in their country ahead of Sunday's referendum.

"We are here because there is no freedom of the press, and no freedom of expression in Turkey anymore," said Can Dundar, the former editor-in-chief of the respected Cumhuriyet newspaper. Dundar was convicted of revealing state secrets after he published a report saying that Turkey's intelligence agency was involved in sending weapons to Syrian rebels. He was jailed for three months and shot at in front of a court house as he was briefing reporters. Dundar was sentenced to prison but left for Germany after he was freed on appeal without travel restrictions.

Now he's running the bilingual news website Ozguruz in Berlin, with the help of the German nonprofit news organization Correctiv . "Ozguruz" means "We are free" in Turkish. "There are of course friends and colleagues still struggling in Turkey, but it is a really dangerous task," Dundar told The Associated Press. "I spent three months in jail and I was shot in front court house, and my only fault was writing the news. So because of that we decided to do this from outside."

On Sunday, Turks will vote "yes" or "no" to constitutional amendments that would abolish the office of the prime minister and transfer executive powers to the president, something Erdogan's critics fear would cement his powers and further mold Turkey according to his conservative and pro-Islamic views. Opinion polls suggest he could win by a whisker.

Erdogan has cracked down on the opposition in the wake of an attempted coup in July he blames on followers of exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen. In addition to jailing and firing thousands of military and government officials, the government closed some 178 news organizations. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said that Turkey jailed more journalists in 2016 than any other country, with 81 held at the time of the CPJ's annual prison census.

Journalist Deniz Yucel, who has German and Turkish citizenship, was arrested last month in Turkey on charges of disseminating terrorist propaganda and inciting hatred. He was detained after his reports about a hacker attack on the email account of the country's energy minister, who is Erdogan's son-in-law.

Erdogan has accused Yucel of being a German spy and a PKK associate. Germany dismissed Erdogan's claims as absurd. Like Dundar, Celal Baslangic, editor-in-chief of Arti TV — which means "TV Plus" — wants to bring fact-based reporting to Turks in Turkey and in Germany. He is operating out of modest offices in an industrial park on the outskirts of Cologne, which has a large Turkish immigrant population.

Germany is home to some 3 million people with Turkish roots. Half of them can vote in Turkey's referendum. Arti TV recruited several of its technical staff from among Turkish-speakers in Germany, although the journalists tend to be from Turkey itself.

"Our plan with Arti TV is to give a voice for those who do not have a voice or whose voice cannot be heard — and for those who cannot be seen" in Turkey, Baslangic told the AP. "No matter what the outcome and the result of the referendum will be, Turkey is facing a long and dark period of time."

"If the result is 'yes', the time will be longer, harder and bloodier — maybe. If the result is 'no,' there will be a small flame and also a bit of hope to be free," he added. "One day there will be a brighter future anyway."

Dundar and Baslangic say their goal is to provide objective and reliable news on issues colleagues cannot report on freely at home, such as government corruption and Turkey's involvement in the civil war in Syria. "It's our duty and opportunity to publish all those bad stories and give the public what they want to know. This is their right, to know what is going on in their country," Dundar said.

Dundar says he has not applied for political asylum because he does not expect or want to remain in Germany forever. "We are citizens of our country and we want to go back to our country," he said. "We don't want political asylum, we want a base for a while, and to keep up the struggle from Germany."

"There will be tough times for all of us but in the end we know from history that no dictatorship can stay at last," he added. "So we know he must go and we are preparing for this day."

Can you blame them?