Coup in Turkey

About an hour and a half ago, reports began to emerge out of Turkey that a coup was underway. As with all coups, the first reports were confused, conflicting and impossible to confirm. Recent developments, however, indicate to us that as of now the coup seems to have succeeded.

Here is what we know. Some elements in the Turkish military high enough to organize this attempted a coup. It was a large segment of the military. A source told us that the special forces were involved and were deployed in Ankara and battling resistance from the national police. At first it appeared that control of the media, one of the first key goals of a coup, was not yet solidified by those attempting the coup.

However, the military now seems to have control of Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT). The announcers at TRT said they were made to read a statement coming from the military. The statement said that martial law had been declared across Turkey, that airports were closed, and that a “Peace Council” guaranteed the freedom of Turkish citizens, a new constitution and a secular rule of law. The military, then, controls state media and Atatürk airport.    

It is increasingly apparent to us that the coup in Turkey has succeeded. Turkish media is reading statements from the military. There is a guarantee of the Atatürkian tradition of secularism. Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who we believe was in Bodrum at the time of the coup, appeared on CNN Turk via FaceTime to attempt to tell supporters to come into the streets. There are various reports about Erdoğan’s whereabouts, including one from NBC citing a U.S. military source saying that Erdoğan is seeking asylum in Germany. None of that is clear yet, and more speculating beyond what we know, which is that a military faction appears to have taken control of the country. More analysis on what this means will follow as we have more details.