On Saturday night, Turkish forces and protestors surrounded the Incirlik Air Base, which the U.S. uses to conduct airstrikes against ISIS in Syria. The government claims the incident was merely a safety inspection.
It instantly looked like another coup as forces blocked entrances.
Governor Ahmet Cina told state news agency Anadolu Agency that the situation was “normal and controlled” and the government did move their troops.
U.S Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dunford will inspect the base on Sunday and “hold talks with the Turkish government in Ankara.”
But Turkey has shut down 131 media outlets and arrested 47 journalists allegedly connected or sympathized with Fehtullah Gülen, the scholar the government has blamed on the failed coup from 3 weeks ago. So it’s hard to tell what the truth is about the incident at the base.
Speaking of Gülen, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has used the word “mastermind” in his latest speeches when blaming the scholar. He has claimed that a “mastermind” has used Gülen as a pawn to bring down the regime, “hinting that greater powers were behind the attempted” coup.
Turkish officials have dropped hints they believe the West, mainly the U.S., had a hand in the failed coup. This makes people believe Erdoğan means the West and U.S. when he says “mastermind.”
Remember, Turkey is a member of NATO, a supposed ally of the West. Erdoğan has purged almost 50,000 and arrested 18,044 people. Amnesty International reported they received evidence that Turkish authorities have beaten, tortured, and raped detainees held after the failed coup. They demand Turkey give independent monitors “access to detainees in all facilities.”
The Turkish officials have also denied the detainees access to lawyers, family, and friends. Most of them have not even told family members what has happened to them. Lawyers also did not see their clients until right before their court date.
Well, Turkey’s NATO allies have noticed all of this and Secretary of State John Kerry warned their actions could harm their NATO membership. The European Union also halted the process to bring the country into the union.
EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn even said he believes the president made his purge list before the coup:
“It looks at least as if something has been prepared. The lists are available, which indicates it was prepared and to be used at a certain stage,” Hahn said.“I’m very concerned. It is exactly what we feared.”
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