Coup is over, the fall-out is just starting

TURKEY - In Brief 16 Jul 2016 by Atilla Yesilada

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I’m trying to write this brief while shuttling back and forth between 6 TV channels and 10 news websites I find more or less reliable, because the rest of the media depicts events with a heavy AKP tilt. All of the analysis is provisional and will be refreshed, as event gain more clarity. Even though some garrisons might be still resisting, the coup attempt has been suppressed, but the fall-out is just starting. For starters, a massive purge in the military and judiciary is already under way. Erdogan and Yildirim urging the nation to occupy airports and city squares is callous and might suggest an attempt to gain political mileage out of the failed coup. According to the Chief of Staff pro –tem General Umit Dundar, the coup is the work of Gulenists in the Armed Forces and was led by the elements in the gendarmerie and the air force, who were tipped that they will be retired in the August High Military Tribunal meeting. Most lower-ranking officers and NCOs did not know they were partaking in a putsch. According to PM Yildirim, in the ensuing clashes 161 soldiers and civilians died, with 1,400 injured. So far 2,500 military personnel have been detained on charges of high treason, including –in my count—roughly 30 generals. The Grand Assembly and Erdogan’s palace, as well the hotel where he was spending a vacation were bombed. It is striking that Gulen had reached such a deep level of infiltration in the Armed Forces. I would not rule out some junior generals aggrieved by Erdogan and AKP joining the take-over effort, in which case the ongoing purge could completely decimate the Army as a fighting force. A few hours ago, The highest judicial administrative body, The High Co...