On the impact of the coup attempt in Turkey … the people is the source of authorities

After nearly two days on the attempt of the military coup in Turkey, it could be argued that this attempt led by a group of Military officers has failed so far. The importance of this event leads us to find out the reasons that led to its failure. Because it is the first of its kind in the history of military coups in Turkey, noting that the previous four military coups (1960, 1971, and 1980 m, and 1997 m) were successful .

There are a number of reasons emerged to the forefront of events worked to thwart the coup attempt. First, the rejection of Turkish political system , both the government and non-government to that attempt, noting that the government part of the political system has shown a coherence and persistence by the statements associated later by actions of the President and the Prime Minister and speaker of the National Assembly. ” parliament “, rejecting it and their willingness to face up to the last breath. Perhaps this cohesion and consistency is due to the stability of those authorities and its harmony a with each other and not conflict among them. It has been the practice in past military coups as soon as they occur , the authorities accept with a fait accompli, and do not show any significant resistance, and this is what has not happened in the failed attempt, as the authorities did not acknowledge what happened and showed its severe opposition and resistance to it noting that Shortly after the occurrence of the coup attempt and the announcement their receiving the reins of government in Turkey , “Ben Ali Yildirim,” the Turkish prime minister in a quick response to it, announcing that his ministry is going on in its work and that the coup has no value and that he would fight to keep the people’s gains, and the absence of Recep Tayyip Erdogan , the president of the Turkish Republic did not last long from the course of the coup attempt as he requested from the Turkish people to go down in the streets and squares to face the attempt, not only that, but boarded his plane and got out to the Ataturk Airport to begin the actual stage in the face of the coup, he did not leave the Turkish people alone to face the coup, but he was united with his people in that confrontation, which gave it the popular impetus and Perhaps the rapid emergence of Turkish President and its consequences , and the fast response by his people for his appeal was a crucial reason for the weakening of the coup and its failure later on and what applies to the Turkish President and Prime Minister of the stability of the rejection of the coup attempt, the situation also applies to Ismail Kahraman, speaker of great National Council, “parliament” which issued a statement with a group of Turkish deputies during the coup attempt shown their rejection of it and their adherence to the democratic legitimacy.

This cohesion and stability has been reflected in the executive and legislative branches positively on the security and military institutions in the state, as all of the security and military establishment, “the General Intelligence and the police institution ” and most of the military establishment stood to the side of the constitutional legitimacy of the Turkish state, as the members of the General Intelligence Service and members of the General Command police forces fought with the coup forces in Istanbul, and Hulusi Aqar , Chief of general staff of the Turkish army , although he was held by the putschists for long hours and the pressure on him to take part in the coup attempt, but he refused to do so. In addition to the standing of the most of the Turkish army to the side of the constitutional legitimacy. This thing in itself, is a precedent in the history of military coups in Turkey. the previous coups experiences tells us that these security and military institutions had always stood by its side, and perhaps this shift in performance, due to the constitutional and legal reforms undertaken by successive governments of the ruling Justice and Development in the restructuring of these institutions and agencies, “the intelligence, the police , and the military institution “in away working to maintain and protect democratic legitimacy.

The branch of non- government that rejected the coup attempt has been embodied in the positions of the most prominent Turkish political parties, “the Republican People’s Party, and the Nationalist Movement Party, and the Party of the Democratic Peoples’ represented by the Turkish National Assembly,” parliament “Those parties, despite its intellectual variability with the Justice and Development Party, and its strong opposition to the overall interior and exterior policies of the President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but they all rejected the coup attempt and seize the historic opportunity to get rid of a powerful adversary party , the justice and development and the Turkish President, but they did not do so not because of love for them, but to preserve the gains accumulated of democratic system and compliance with its rules, as if they were saying: that the political party that governs Turkey, according to the polls, but does not leave the governance just through it and not through a military coup, as it has a negative effect on the Turkish political life as a whole.

And the second reason for the failure of the attempt of the coup is the standing of the Turkish people to the side of the constitutional legitimacy, noting going down to the streets to confront the attempt is sending numerous letters, including the strength of any governor stems from the love of his people to him, and this love does not come from a vacuum but from the chain of achievements managed to achieve for his people throughout his reign, and that’s what applies to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who made many of the achievements for the Turkish people when he was mayor of Istanbul (1994 -1998 m) and prime minister (2003 -2014) noting that the trust and confidence of the Turkish people with Rajab Tayyip Erdogan made him president of the Turkish Republic to continue the process of reforms and achievements, this failed coup attempt reminds us of the military coup against former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Venezuela in 2002, despite the success of the coup and the detention of the president by the leadership of the coup, but the love of the Venezuelan people for the boss marked by overwhelming demonstrations rejecting the coup that brought Chavez to power and what applies to Chavez applies to Erdogan, the second message, which is as important as the first comes from the general conviction among the Turkish people, who went out in the streets and addressed to the Turkish military establishment that its role is limited to the protection of the Turkish state from external aggression and not tamper with the democratic system which we accepted as a method for the rule for us, we are, the Turkish people a source to grant or abstain the goverance for any president, but by democratic means.

The third reason for the failure of the coup attempt is related to the putshists themselves who thought once control of the radio and television official institution that the pillars of the political system would be fallen, this perception may fit the military coups that have occurred in the past of Turkey, but in the post-modernity and technology, especially in its media branch ” Facebook, and Twitter, Skype, and Instagram “it is difficult to accept it , at a time that the putschists where they declare their statement through the official TV , a private Turkish TV channel broadcasts speech of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the” Skype “calls on the Turkish people to take to the Turkish streets to confront the coup attempt. These small details had been absent from the planners of the coup if the putschists were able to control the media in its various forms in Turkey and prevented President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from the media appearance , they would manage to ensure the success of their attempt, but it did not happen.

There is no doubt that the experience of rule is not made without the errors noting that this is the nature of political work but there is a difference between error and disaster in the political life , noting that the justice and development party( AKP) and Prime Recep Tayyip Erdogan may be committed errors, but they certainly did not commit political disasters in order to be overthrown by a coup against the ruling. Not worthy to the experience of the Justice and Development Party in the ruling to get out of the Turkish political scene and regional and international l scene by this way , Turkey, with the failure of the coup attempt is not as some believe is a victory for Erdogan, but we see it as a victory for the democratic system and the Turkish popular will, which is the source of authorities.

Rawabet Research and Strategic Studies Center