Page 22 - TURKRptMay19

“This title shows that the incident was planned and systematic and it was expected by the newspapers and the press who create provocative publications,” the Bar added.
Pro-government mobs. “Since 2013, pro-government mobs have repeatedly targeted perceived enemies; since the coup attempt, mass rallies and a militant language of martyrdom and defiance has become a staple of Erdogan’s rule. The government’s narrative and a compliant press describe a proud Turkey that must be defended against traitors, terrorists, and a duplicitous West. Erdogan has weaponized long-standing elements of Turkish nationalism into a new culture of mass mobilization, one that represents a fundamental change in Turkish political culture. In the past, popular ceremonies and rallies only highlighted loyalty to the state; today, mass mobilization is seen as coequal, or even superior, to state power. It is a powerful weapon, but the risk of it being turned against peaceful opposition or simply spiraling out of control into broader violence is very real,” Eissenstat also wrote in December 2017.
As a final reflection, for those Alices going down the rabbit hole chasing rabbits, including Davutoglu, Gul, Babacan or the “Turkey Alliance” comments by Erdogan and his wretched press, Nicholas Danforth of the German Marshall Fund said in a series of tweets: “It’s entirely possible that [the claimed division and discontent within the AKP right now] is completely true, I just wish people writing this piece[s] would acknowledge it was also written repeatedly after elections in 2015 and 2017.
“In any case, the Western media has now anointed Imamoglu as the new savior of Turkish democracy, following the Gezi generation, Abdullah Gul, Selahattin Demirtas, probably Abdullah Gul again, and then Muharrem Ince. Not to mention Erdogan before any of them. There were plenty of AKP ‘insiders’ urging Erdogan to draw the right lessons after his loss in June 2015. Guess what? They're not AKP insiders anymore. You can certainly make the case for why things will be different this time—a number of people have quite articulately—but it’s a stronger case if you acknowledge why these expectations were dashed before.”
Matter of liberty or incarceration. To be fair, there are some differences each time we live through this cycle, but they don’t produce different results thanks to Erdogan’s uncanny instinct for dealing with any emerging threats to his rule. Not losing his place at the helm is possibly a matter of liberty or incarceration for Erdogan and his family because there is a long list of alleged crimes that have taken place during his 17 years in charge that opponents would dearly love to try him for.
The differences that Erdogan must this time deal with in the wake of an election result that became a referendum verdict on his rule, opening up vulnerabilities, are several. They include a marked draining of his economic power and leverage now that the Fed is ending monetary easing, the deterioration of his several rows with the Trump administration and the fact that Imamoglu has become a clear and present danger with popular support. But perhaps the most serious-as-much-as-fragile peril he faces is the fact that the Kurds—where there were no HDP candidates standing—tactically voted for the CHP in municipal polls including that of Istanbul. And that was despite all the attempts at divisiveness employed by the executive president as he dished out his angry rhetoric day after day, rally after rally on the stump. But it’s wise to note—dispiriting as it may be—that he might find that Kurdish dilemma addressed relatively easily should violence be fuelled in the country.
Whatever tactical and strategic issues are playing on his mind these days, rest assured that with Erdogan the plot never does anything but thicken. “It is likely that [Erdogan’s] desire to purchase the Russian-made S-400 Air Defense System—a significant source of tension between Turkey and NATO—is based
22 TURKEY Country Report May 2019 www.intellinews.com