Erdogan asks Turkish people to thwart coup attempt
The Turkish military has taken over the government and imposed martial law, according to an announcement read by an anchor on state broadcaster TRT.
The statement was made on
behalf of the "Peace in the Nation" council, the announcer said. "The
political administration that has lost all legitimacy has been forced to
withdraw," the anchor said.
Early
Saturday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged people to take to the
streets and stand up to the military during a coup attempt.
"Go to the streets and give them their answer," he told residents during a Facetime interview on CNN Turk.
"I
am coming to a square in Ankara. ... This was done from outside the
chain of command," he said of the military. "Those who are responsible,
we will give them the necessary punishment," he said. It was not clear
where he was speaking from.
Earlier,
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told broadcaster A Haber that some
military units have attempted a coup. Yildirim vowed the coup attempt
would not succeed.
He told state news agency Anadolu the
coup is "an attempt against democracy and the will of the people. Those
who attempted this will pay the heaviest price."
There
have been no independent verification of the claims by the military or
the government. It is unclear who is in charge in Turkey.
The
military has issued statements, which have been published in some
Turkish media, and not others, and reported by the Reuters news agency,
claiming it has "fully seized control of Turkey" to maintain democratic
order, that rule of law must remain a priority and international
relations must remain. The statements have not been distributed through
regular web channels.
There were 200 to 300 residents in
Taksim Square in Istanbul. Some of them were waving Turkish flags. About
100 police officers were shooting off tear gas, trying to disperse the
crowd.
At least one army tank and one other military vehicle were at the square.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told
reporters in Moscow that he has been given reports about what is going
on. "I don't have any details. I hope there will be peace, stability and
continuity in Turkey," he said.
A
report from the U.S. Embassy in Ankara said military-appearing jets had
been flying low over the city and Istanbul for about an hour.
One tweet showed a military jet flying extremely low over the capital Ankara.
Two bridges in Istanbul are closed in
one direction by the military. Cars are flowing from the European side
of the city to the Asian, but soldiers and military vehicles are
blocking the path to the European side.
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Erdogan
is the co-founder of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party
(AKP). He was elected Prime Minister in 2003. Under his rule, Turkey
became a powerhouse in the Middle East. His reign came to an end in
2014, and his own party's rules prevented him from seeking a fourth
term.
So, he ran for president --
and won. Before this, the president of Turkey was a largely ceremonial
role, but Erdogan tried to change that by altering the constitution to
give him more power.
The 2015
election resulted in a hung Parliament, leading to sweeping
anti-government protests and terror attacks. Turkey held a snap
election, and with that, Erdogan's AK Party regained control.
Under
Erdogan, who is extremely conservative, religion had started to play a
more important role in Turkey, which is a largely secular country. He
was active in Islamist circles in the 1970s and 1980s.
Erdogan
is open about his dislike of social media. Sites such as YouTube and
Facebook are frequently blacked out in the country.
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