So who wants to talk about the Turkey military coup?

[Inertia]

^

Edit: (livethread in reddit)
reddit.com/live/x9gf3donjlkq

---

• Social media has been blocked.
• There are reports of tanks and military jets on the streets.
• The Atatürk Airport in Istambul has been taken over by the military
• Bosphorus bridges in Istambul have been taken over by the military.
• There are reports of confrontation between the military and the police.
• The military have released a statement, saying, "Turkish Armed Forces have completely taken over the administration of the country to reinstate constitutional order, human rights and freedoms, the rule of law and the general security that was damaged. All international agreements are still valid. We hope that all of our good relationships with all countries will continue."
• Martial law has been announced through television.
• There are reports of senior military officials being held hostage within military headquarters.
• There are reports of gunfire in Istambul and Ankara.
• Prime Minister Endogar stresses that this is not a coup.
• Some claim that only a faction within the military is orchestrating the coup. Experts assure that the Turkish military is highly polarized.

---

tldr of why its happening

• Turkey's military does not answer to its president like many other countries. They serve to maintain the vision of the country's founder.
• The current president of Turkey has been pushing more and more islamist-focused laws (control of the media, things like that). This goes against the secular-focus of the country's founding.
• The military has decided the president needs to be removed, and have staged a coup to accomplish this. This is not unique in Turkey's history, their military has done this a few times in the past for the same reasons. Presumably, the military's goal is to put someone more secular in power of the government.
• The police in Turkey work for the government. So they are fighting against the military currently.

[Cyndyr]

Got this from another forum:

• Social media has been blocked.
• There are reports of tanks and military jets on the streets.
• The Atatürk Airport in Istambul has been taken over by the military
• Bosphorus bridges in Istambul have been taken over by the military.
• There are reports of confrontation between the military and the police.
• The military have released a statement, saying, "Turkish Armed Forces have completely taken over the administration of the country to reinstate constitutional order, human rights and freedoms, the rule of law and the general security that was damaged. All international agreements are still valid. We hope that all of our good relationships with all countries will continue."
• Martial law has been announced through television.
• There are reports of senior military officials being held hostage within military headquarters.
• There are reports of gunfire in Istambul and Ankara.
• Prime Minister Endogar stresses that this is not a coup.
• Some claim that only a faction within the military is orchestrating the coup. Experts assure that the Turkish military is highly polarized.

[Inertia]

@Cynder

Thanks for that,

As for me, i'm watching the live thread;
reddit.com/live/x9gf3donjlkq

[Mateotis]

Because 2016 does not simply go 24 hours without something massive happening!

[Inertia]

Interesting tldr why its happening.

• Turkey's military does not answer to its president like many other countries. They serve to maintain the vision of the country's founder.
• The current president of Turkey has been pushing more and more islamist-focused laws (control of the media, things like that). This goes against the secular-focus of the country's founding.
• The military has decided the president needs to be removed, and have staged a coup to accomplish this. This is not unique in Turkey's history, their military has done this a few times in the past for the same reasons. Presumably, the military's goal is to put someone more secular in power of the government.
• The police in Turkey work for the government. So they are fighting against the military currently.

[Cyndyr]

Interesting tldr why its happening.
-snipped-

@Inertia

And thank you for that. I've been trying to understand this entire situation since it's begun and it suddenly makes more sense now!

[Mateotis]

@Cynder Because you seem to be interested in this: There have been, as @Inertia pointed out, multiple coups by the military throughout modern history in order to retain Turkey's secularism. Namely:

1913
1960
1971
1980
1993
1997

[Inertia]

@Mateotis

I expected like two or three, but SIX?
Jesus.

Thanks though.

[Mateotis]

@Inertia It's pretty much a 'tradition' over there. A good one, I guess? Either way, Erdogan knew this well and did his best to purge the military of disloyal officers. This coup may have been delayed multiple times because of this. It's absolutely happening now though!

Edit: Erdogan asking the people to 'go out and protest' in his name.

[Cyndyr]

Apparently Anonymous has now joined in. They're urging members of Turkey to download Tor:



Was waiting for them to show up.

[Mateotis]

@Cynder The VPN suggestion has been going around since the start. For good reason, too. At the beginning they blocked certain social sites, but they could still be accessed by changing your DNS. Then they blocked that method too and now it looks like even general Internet connection is in trouble. It really is the last opportunity for people to get a VPN up.

[Cyndyr]

@Cynder The VPN suggestion has been going around since the start. For good reason, too. At the beginning they blocked certain social sites, but they could still be accessed by changing your DNS. Then they blocked that method too and now it looks like even general Internet connection is in trouble. It really is the last opportunity for people to get a VPN up.

@Mateotis

I hope they manage to fight back against that. I really want to know everything that is going on in there. Back when there was the Turkish uprisings a couple of years ago, I helped a friend send stuff through Twitter in regards to what was happening. I guess you can say I feel a bit of a kinship for the Turkish people.

[Inertia]

twitter.com/yavuzselimgunes/status/754..

This suggests that protesters are being open fired on.

[Mateotis]

@Cynder If you want to follow all the bits, the Reddit live thread Inertia linked is your best bet I say. I also found this article from BBC and this live thread from Bloomberg. Hope they'll be helpful!

[POOHEAD189]

This reminds me of the Russia/Georgia incident a few years ago. Very real stuff, right here. I am loathe that violence is occurring, but as a military history buff I am a bit morbidly interested too.

[Inertia]

Hmm

[Mateotis]

@Inertia Just saw this as well. I don't know what to think, sources are still conflicting. Though...I do want Erdogan replaced. It just sucks that people have to be hurt in the process.

We'll see how it all ends.

[POOHEAD189]

Hmm

@Inertia

I'm not saying it's a complete lie, but generally commanders say there's no cause for concern to keep people calm.

[Inertia]

@POOHEAD189

I guess it's better than saying
'We're fucked' or something.

Edit:
@POOHEAD189

There have been reports of 17 police officers dead in helicopter attack on police special forces headquarters on outskirts of Ankara.

[Vec]

Guys, let's be real. We all know that this was staged by Erdogan himself. This'll not only unify the country but will also give him MASSIVE power. Ataturk's dream is ruined.

Say Hello to an Islamic Turkey...