Turkey, military takeover

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ISTANBUL—The Turkish military said Friday that it had taken control of the government, in a stunning attempt to seize power from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who urged citizens to take to the streets to fight the attempted coup.

In a remarkable series of events, troops imposed a nationwide curfew, shut down Istanbul’s international airport, closed two main bridges over the Bosphorus Strait, and took over the state-run television station.

Shortly after midnight in Turkey, Mr. Erdogan appeared on television via a cell phone video app where he called on citizens to rise up and protest the military effort to seize control.

“There is no power higher than the power of the people,” Mr. Erdogan said.

The coup attempt threw Turkey, a vital member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, into turmoil as Mr. Erdogan and his government allies tried to assure citizens that they were still in control.

The president, speaking live from an undisclosed location via FaceTime to CNN Turk, said a group of military officers had broken rank and the developments were not carried out under the ordinary command structure.

“I certainly don’t believe that these coup-stagers will be successful, throughout history those who staged coups have never succeeded and sooner or later they have perished,” Mr. Erdogan said.

The Turkish military said in a statement that it was seizing control to “reestablish constitutional order” as it moved to take over all government responsibilities.

Jets flew low over Ankara and troops seized the state-run television station. Television footage showed military tanks outside Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport.

Mr. Erdogan was on a holiday in Izmir, a source close to the government said, and was attempting to fly to Istanbul or Ankara. But airports were closed before he could land, so he issued his statement from the plane, the source said.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim appeared on television to say that the coup plotters would pay a heavy price. “The government elected by the people remains in charge,” he said. “This government will only go when the people say so.”

After midnight, scores of people took to the streets. Television footage showed some people cheering tanks as they drove past. People carrying the Turkish flag marched to Istanbul’s international airport.

“We are afraid,” said one resident in Ankara. “We don’t understand what is happening. We are playing all kinds of scenarios on or minds, wondering who is behind this. Was it a group within the army, or the government staging its own coup, to take over the country completely.”

Markets with ties to Turkey fell sharply in late-day trade in New York on reports of the attempted coup. The iShares MSCI Turkey ETF, which tracks an index of Turkish securities and trades in the U.S., fell 2.5% at the tail end of the U.S. trading day.

An official with Turkey’s delegation to NATO said there was no protocol to follow and he was waiting for instructions. The official said he was watching television news to try and make sense of what is going on, but hadn’t received a briefing from Ankara.

A spokeswoman for NATO declined to comment.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who was in Moscow, said the U.S. had seen the coup reports but didn’t have additional information. He said the U.S. is hoping for “stability, peace and continuity within Turkey.”

The heads of the Greek army, navy and air force have been summoned to the defense ministry to assess the situation in Turkey, a senior armed forces official said.

Saudia Arabia’s embassy in Ankara urged its citizens in the country to stay vigilant and avoid public gatherings. Saudi Arabian Airlines suspended all flights to Turkey until further notice, according to state television.

Egypt’s foreign ministry said it was in close contact with its embassy in Ankara and consulate in Istanbul and urged Egyptians in Turkey to stay indoors and avoid public gatherings.

Write to Dion Nissenbaum at dion.nissenbaum@wsj.com and Emre Peker at emre.peker@wsj.com
 
This is why I'm against banning guns in America.
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Now what are Turkish citizens going to use to protect themselves? Rocks, bottles and baseball bats?
 
 
This is why I'm against banning guns in America.
mean.gif


Now what are Turkish citizens going to use to protect themselves? Rocks, bottles and baseball bats?
if the military come for you no gun you have in your home is going to stop them

i just saw a video of tank rolling of over a Peuegot or whatever in the streets, nothing in the closet gon stop that
 
This is why I'm against banning guns in America. :smh:

Now what are Turkish citizens going to use to protect themselves? Rocks, bottles and baseball bats?

They're not gonna start going after civilians indescriminatly like that :lol:,the military over there already has more approval and a higher standing amongst the public than the current/former government. From their perspective, they're "saving" the country from Erdogan
 
 
This is why I'm against banning guns in America.
mean.gif


Now what are Turkish citizens going to use to protect themselves? Rocks, bottles and baseball bats?
da turkish military are more representative of the people's sentiments than that of their current government Erdogen heads up...so this is not really comparable
 
"There are decades when nothing happens. There are weeks where decades happen"
-Vladimir Lenin
 
They're not gonna start going after civilians indescriminatly like that :lol:,the military over there already has more approval and a higher standing amongst the public than the current/former government. From their perspective, they're "saving" the country from Erdogan
Reports are saying they're shooting civilian Erdogan supporters actually. Not sure how reliable that information is.
 
There's some pretty shocking video of a helicopter firing at civilians floating around...:smh:
 
Seems just about over now...

@ikoker Irem Koker: #Erdogan's plane lands in Istanbul airport, escorted by F16 warjets. We can expect a victory speech soon

Gonna be real interesting seeing how he responds to it,I think he'll be merciless
 
Seems just about over now...
Gonna be real interesting seeing how he responds to it,I think he'll be merciless
He's been a cruel dictator for years, he'll definitely be ruthless about this :smh:
 
When will the USA have its next coup? The last attempted coup was to overthrow FDR and thwart the 'New Deal', but when it's all said it seems like those who wanted to overthrow the USA government in the 1930's still got their way.
 
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