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| failed Turkey coup |
The failed coup attempt on President Reccep Tayyip Erdogan’s government in Turkey did not come as a surprise to many, especially to keen observers of events in the last one and a half years, more particularly, since the ousting of Mohammed Morsi, the first democratically-elected president in Egypt.
This should surprise no one. The two presidents share the same vision. They are both Muslims, ideological ones. Their thoughts are similar on the role of Islam in the state affairs and using the divinely revealed religion to midwife the welfare of citizens.
Importantly, the two staunchly believe in the struggle of the Palestinian people to reclaim their land and rights from the Israeli occupation forces of the brutal Zionist regime.
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| President Erdogan |
Treading the ‘dangerous’ path!
Both presidents were not only verbally committed but also practically inclined to the realisation of freedom for the people of Palestine. In his inaugural speech as President, Morsi had declared that: “I announce from here that Egypt, its people and presidential institution stand with the Palestinian people until they regain all their legitimate rights.”
He demonstrated this solidarity during the brutal offensive of Israel on the Gaza Strip in 2012. President Morsi declared that Egypt will never leave Gaza on its own. He denounced Israel’s bellicosity labelling it as, “a blatant aggression against humanity”.
While urging the halt of the atrocious onslaught against the armless civilians in Palestine, Morsi unequivocally reiterated: “The Israelis should know that Egypt today is completely different from Egypt yesterday.”
Morsi did not stop at that. He immediately summoned Egypt’s ambassador from Israel, called for an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council and instructed an immediate convening of the Arab League summit.
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| President Morsi |
He consequently opened the Rafah crossing to receive and treat Gazan casualties on the Egyptian side of the border. In an unprecedented move, the Egyptian leader dispatched his prime minister, Hisham Qandil, to visit Gaza Strip during the war. Eventually, his diplomatic measures succeeded in calming the tensions and ultimately brokered a ceasefire in less than seven days.
Before it was truncated, Morsi’s government, according to its advisor for development, Ahmed Ocean, had plans to bolster bilateral trade exchange with Palestine by launching a series of projects in the fields of agriculture and olive industries. This would have ensured a boost to the Gaza economy and by extension the Palestinian nation.
While Morsi was moving at the speed of light to ensure comfortable existence for the suppressed people of Palestine, President Erdogan was also aggressively supporting the Israeli-terrorised state through Turkish sponsored aid organisations.
According to the Amnesty International, over one thousand Palestinians were killed during Israel’s three-week offensive in Gaza which began in late December 2008 and ended in mid-January 2009.
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| Gaza |
Erdogan actually took former Israeli President, Shimon Peres to the cleaners during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland after the latter took to the stage and defended the Gaza offensive. One of the most memorable quotes from Erdogan was when he said to Peres: “Well, you killed people! I remember the children who died on the beaches!”
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| Erdogan and Peres in Davos |
The Turkish President, most times, appear as a lone voice in his support for the people of Palestine after Mohammed Morsi was ousted in 2013 by the military, backed by Israelo-American intelligence and gulf monarchs’ funding.
The ousting of Morsi could be attributed to his venturing into an arena considered by world powers as a ‘no go’ area – lending support for the freedom of Palestine from Israeli occupation and aggression! His moves were considered as ‘over ambitious’, just as his actions were seen as rather too daring and ferociously disgusting to Israel’s backers in the US, EU and the Gulf.
To the pro-Zionists, Morsi’s gut was exceptionally irritating. The speed of his reforms was too ‘dangerous’ to be ignored, hence, he had to be dealt with, and of course, brutally!
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| Gaza |
Erdogan as the sole obstacle
With Morsi off the threat line, Erdogan becomes the next target that must be dealt with by Israel. On May 31, 2010, a flotilla, consisting of three cargo ships and three passenger boats, that was heading to Gaza to distribute humanitarian aid and construction materials was attacked by Israeli terrorist forces on international waters. The Turkish NGO ship, MV Mavi Marmara was the hardest hit.
During the attack, eight Turkish nationals and a Turkish-American were killed while another Turk who was wounded died later in hospital. Turkey immediately recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv after that incident, described by Erdogan as “state terrorism”. An official apology was demanded from Israel, but it arrogantly refused. And by 2011, the Israeli ambassador was expelled from Turkey.
Key watchers of Israeli historical antecedents know that the flotilla moves and the humiliation of Peres in Davos years back, were enough reasons for the Zionist state to orchestrate the sad event of last Friday in Turkey. The handwriting is well written all over the place. The trade mark of Israel is to use other nations, especially the US and its European allies, as well as internal accomplices of a target country, to fight its fight. And to deal with Turkey, the Egypt formula is just apt.
The Plot
In 2013, the US President, Barak Obama intervened, pressing the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to apologise to Erdogan over the MV Mavi Marmara incident which he reportedly did over the telephone. This is in exchange for normalisation of ties with Israel.
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| Netanyahu and Obama on phone |
Aside from the apology, Erdogan also demanded compensation for those killed in the raid and that Israel lifts its blockade on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. Consequently, Israel agreed to pay $20 million in compensation to the bereaved and the injured in the 2010 attack. As part of the deal also, Ankara has begun the delivery of humanitarian aid and other non-military products to Gaza, albeit, via the Israeli Port of Ashdod. Israel is also expected to allow the completion of a much-needed hospital in the Strip, as well as the construction of a new power station and a desalination plant for drinking water by Turkey.
It should be understood that no nation has been able to cut Israel to size in the recent times like Turkey under Erdogan. And no president has challenged and lambasted its leaders for its atrocities in Palestine more than Erdogan!
For this affront and effrontery, something must be done fast to deal with the Turkish leader and ultimately clip its wings, the Morsi way. To achieve this, series of deadly bombings were orchestrated in the capital, Ankara and another key city, Istanbul. Opposition were fuelled to organise protests against many government policies, the deadly protests at the Gezin Park provides a vivid example.
The international media was and is still busy painting a gloomy picture of the Turkish economy and equally portraying scenarios of insecurity in the country. The Western media refused to acknowledge and publicise the fact that Turkey has moved from 111th position to 16th position among world economic powers.
They also wickedly turned a blind eye to the fact that the country has settled all its debts, just as they exhibited callous indifference to increase in exports from $23 billion to $153 billion in the last seat of the Islamic Caliphate. The news of Turkey’s plan to have 300,000 full-time research scientists within 10 years is not deemed worthy of major headlines.
The first class rating of Turkish Airline by European standard was deliberately ignored, considered not worthy of any meaningful commendation. As far as the media and Erdogan’s detractors are concerned, these massive achievements of no small measure, are negative economic indicators!
His government is also accused of stifling press freedom.
And the plot failed
Ironically, all these destabilising measures, which worked in Egypt rather warmed Erdogan into the embrace of Turkish citizens and endeared the enigmatic leader to the people’s heart, instead of weakening his popularity, the stability of his government and acceptability of its policies.
Failure to get Erdogan removed through all these shenanigans and Machiavellian machinations necessarily left Israel with the last option, – to go brutal and get him removed from power.
But to their utmost chagrin, the Turks, who, according to Erdogan, have the sole right to call his government to account through the ballot boxes, stood firmly in support of their president by taking on the traitors. Consequently, the coup failed and the perpetrators are today being rounded up across the country.
Israel, the prime suspect!
As the dust began to settle, it emerged that one of the ring leaders of the coup was General Akin Öztürk, who in the 1990s was the Turkish military attaché to Israel. General Öztürk served in Turkey’s Tel Aviv embassy from 1998 to 2000 and later became the commander of Turkey’s air force. He stepped down from that position last year but continued to serve on the country’s Supreme Military Council.
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| Genera; Ozturk under arrest |
This revelation lend credence to observers’ assumption that Israel could be a Freudian suspect in the botched attempt to topple Erdogan, who has been able to, willy nilly, secure unprecedented concessions from Israel, for the hapless people of Palestine.
Though Turkish government has unequivocally and pointedly accused the US-based cleric, Fethullah Gulen, who has been its staunch critic for some time now, key watchers of the development in Turkey are of the view that the government should beam its searchlight in the direction of Israel.
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| Gulen |
This view is premised on the perception that countries that had, in any form attempted to, show solidarity for, or identify with Palestine and its defenseless men, as well as the vulnerable women and children, have had themselves to blame!
Erdogan has not openly expressed support for the Palestinian cause, he has forced Israel to agree to its own terms for normalisation of relations.
This, again, is too much an affront!
