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Turkey’s Coup and Purge

Though the political order is calm and the army seems to be at peace, the upheavals are nonetheless quite disturbing. An unending power struggle between the establishment and the political forces, aspiring to browbeat one another, has kept Turkey on the fringes of insecurity and chaos. This has not only hampered Ankara’s obsession to become part of the European Union, but also nursed bad blood between its army and the civilian leadership on ethno-religious grounds. This incompatibility has to come to an end, and a broad-based dialogue is the need of the hour.

Monday’s arrests, however, hinted at the confidence that the civilian government is gaining in the affairs of the state. Arrests of serving army officers on such a mass scale would not have been possible just a few years back. Introduction of reforms, mushrooming of democratic institutions and the West’s desire to see the secular army function in an accord with the civilian dispensation has made the difference felt. The huge country, which literally serves as a bridge between the East and the West, is yet to come to terms with history. The army that has dominated power since the modern state was founded under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is in inertia. Moreover, the politics of Islamisation under Prime Minister Erdogan’s AK Party has furthered the psychological gap, landing two divergent schools of thought in perpetual confrontation. Apart from the political tug of war, many of Turkey’s problems are borne out of this standoff — with the headscarves row being the tip of the iceberg.

Unearthing of this latest coup plot, known as ‘Sledgehammer’, should not serve as a means to further the divide. It is, thus, a good sign that for the first time in history a summit meeting of the president, prime minister and the army chief was held on Thursday to sort out the irritants. This can serve as a great confidence building exercise, rather than the usual playing to the gallery by concerned stakeholders. At the same time, the reassurance on behalf of Army Chief Ilker Basbug that coups are a thing of the past is most encouraging. The government and the army should see an opportunity in disaster, and chalk-out a code of conduct, whereby the institutions of the state continue to function in harmony. The establishment and the politicians have a common denominator to share: i.e., modernising the state and succeeding in getting full EU membership. There shouldn’t be any let up in pursuing this agenda. The army and the elected leadership need to cross the bridge together.