The failed coup of July 2016: Turkey's 'turning point'

Istanbul: Although lasting barely 24 hours, the coup of July 15, 2016 and its aftermath have become a turning point for Turkey, sparking changes that have transformed society, analysts say.

On that evening, a rogue military faction used warplanes and tanks to attack government buildings in Istanbul and Ankara in a bid to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that left some 250 dead and another 2,000 wounded.

Declaring a state of emergency, Ankara began a purge in which hundreds of thousands were detained, over 120,000 convicted and tens of thousands sacked in a sweep that gutted the army, the judiciary and other state institutions.


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Ten years on, the events of that fateful night are still felt -- with prosecutors moving Monday to arrest nearly 1,000 people for ties to the late Fetullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally whose so-called FETO group was blamed for the coup.

"Our nation's will and the survival of our state are under threat from the treacherous FETO," said Justice Minister Akin Gurlek, describing the arrests as part of "the great purification campaign".

For Turkey, the coup was "a foundational and indisputable turning point," Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci wrote of a date the government has sought to mythologise, renaming schools, squares and parks in its honour, most famously the main iconic suspension bridge over the Bosphorus.

Autocratisation at unprecedented speed

On that night, Erdogan described the unfolding coup as "a great gift from God" with experts agreeing it was instrumental in cementing his powers.

"The coup facilitated Erdogan tightening his grip on power through the state of emergency," said Gareth Jenkins, a veteran Turkey analyst affiliated with the ISDP think tank.

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Never before had Turkey had "a state of emergency which enabled one person to assert his dominance over the whole machinery of state", he told AFP.

Within two weeks, 16,000 people were arrested -- two-thirds soldiers, the rest police, judges and prosecutors -- and more than 50,000 sacked, mostly in the education sector, official figures showed.

Gonul Tol of the Washington-based Middle East Institute said July 15 became "a turning point in Turkey's democracy".

"Erdogan used it as an excuse to go after his political opponents which paved the way for autocratisation at an unprecedented speed," she said.

Didier Billion of France's Institute for International and Strategic Relations said the coup was "a godsend for Erdogan.. (who) seized this opportunity extremely quickly to strengthen his powers" by transforming the political system into a presidential regime via a referendum nine months later.

He also pushed through reforms to the judiciary "which significantly undermined its independence", he said. Tighter grip on the judiciary

With more than 4,000 judges and prosecutors dismissed, it opened the way for a mix of Erdogan loyalists and 'careerists' who were loyal to whoever's in power, Jenkins said.

"When you look at the judicial cases now, and the influence of Erdogan and his advisors within the Turkish judiciary, that's a direct result of a coup and a state of emergency."

Since then, there have been scores of trials targeting dissidents and political opponents critics say are politically motivated, such as the cases targeting Istanbul's jailed mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a powerful Erdogan opponent.

The crackdown also decimated the Turkish military, with tens of thousands dismissed and the government quick to strengthen civilian control to ensure it could no longer resort to coups to interfere in the country's politics.

Civil society was not spared, with over 1,500 associations and foundations shuttered, and scores of newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations closed as most media was brought under government influence.

Despite Ankara's efforts to portray the coup as a uniquely unifying event for Turkey, the initial rally-round-the-flag impact was shortlived, said Tol.

"Whatever unity Erdogan secured after July 15 was gone shortly afterwards because of all the controversial policies that he pursued," she said.

"There's this view that the government has done so much damage it's going to take a generation to undo it, which creates a deep sense not just of anxiety, but despair."