Bryza: Turkey’s existence as democratic state – counterargument to IS medieval fanaticism
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was able to defeat last night’s coup attempt due to three key factors, says Matthew Bryza, former US Assistant Secretary of State for South Caucasus and former US ambassador to Azerbaijan.
“First and most importantly, massive numbers of private citizens flooded the streets of Istanbul in response to President Erdogan’s call for them to defend democracy,” Bryza told Trend July 16.
Second, he went on to add, Umut Dundar, the commander of the First Turkish Army, based in Istanbul, expressed his opposition to the coup, which meant private citizens could go into the streets without fear of the military killing them.
“The commander’s statement also helped President Erdogan secure a safe place to land his aircraft and coordinate events on the ground while Ankara (including parliament) was still under the attack,” he said.
“Third, Turkey’s major opposition political parties all expressed opposition to the coup attempt,” said Bryza. “Taken together, these three factors mean that respect for the rule of law and democracy brought – or are bringing – stability back to Turkey.”
Stability in Turkey is always important for the West, especially for the United States, he added.
Turkey is one of only two democracies in the Middle East, which is an important factor in itself, believes Bryza.
“Indeed, many of us in the US believe that stability derives from legitimacy, which requires democracy,” he said.
Bryza noted that in terms of military security, fighting terrorism and Islamist extremism, a stable Turkey is obviously essential.
“Turkey is now providing a crucial platform for launching air strikes into Syria and Iraq against the “Islamic State” (IS, aka ISIS, ISIL or Daesh), and its mere existence as a democratic state provides a powerful counterargument to the medieval fanaticism of the IS,” said Bryza.
A coup attempt was launched in Turkey late on July 15 by a group of Turkish military servicemen.
There were reports saying that Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport was seized.
Acting Chief of General Staff Umit Dundar said July 16 that Turkish Army has nothing in common with the military coup attempt.
Dundar said the army, the government and the Turkish people have been able to prevent the coup attempt together.
He also said that Turkish Armed Forces killed 104 servicemen, who intended to carry out the coup.
Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that 161 people were killed during the attempted military coup in the country.
Yildirim said 2,836 servicemen involved in the coup attempt have been arrested.
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