Turkey on the Brink

Turkish army threatens to intervene to save secular gov’t

* The Islamo-fascists have been steadily chipping away on Ataturks reforms, which made Turkey ‘secular’ some 70 years ago. Illusions of grandezza and past glory and Ottoman conquests, Islamic propaganda about restoring the caliphate, drive Turkey into a tailspin.

Erdogan and his zealots won’t have it any other way. While Erdogan calls Europe a ‘Christian Club’ – Turkey is turning more and more into the next Islamistan:

Christans are being tortured and murdered, the few remaining churches are being firebombed, priests are being killed, editors are being intimidated and murdered and those who remember how the pope was received on his visit will do so with horror.

Kemalism on the brink. “Turkish government slams army intervention threat,” by Gareth Jones and Hidir Goktas for Reuters, with thanks to Morgaan Sinclair:

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s Islamist-rooted government sharply criticized an army threat to intervene in domestic politics and said on Saturday the military must remain under civilian control.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone with Turkey’s top general, Yasar Buyukanit, after Friday’s statement in which the military said it was ready to act in defense of secularism, government spokesman Cemil Cicek said.

Cicek said the army statement was aimed against the government and was timed to influence the Constitutional Court which is set to study a legal challenge to the inconclusive first round of a presidential election on Friday.

“Turkey’s problems will be solved in the framework of the law, there is no other way … The chief of the General Staff is answerable to the Prime Minister,” Cicek told a news conference.

The army, which has ousted four governments in the past 50 years, expressed concern in its statement late on Friday over the election. It said it was ready to act in defense of the secularist system separating religion and politics.

* Turkey: back to the roots?

Turkey’s secular elite, including the generals and top judges, fear Erdogan’s ruling AK Party will erode the secular system if it captures the presidency.

Erdogan held emergency talks on Saturday with his candidate, Abdullah Gul, who is Turkey’s foreign minister, and other key officials.

Cicek, who is also justice minister, said the government would not allow its foes to whip up tensions between it and the military. He also stressed the government’s commitment to the basic values of the constitution, which include secularism.

The army statement came hours after Gul failed to win enough votes in parliament in his first bid for the presidency. A second vote is set for next Wednesday.

Secularist opposition parties boycotted Friday’s session. One of them has asked the Constitutional Court to annul Friday’s vote because there were fewer than two thirds of deputies in the chamber at the time. The government says the vote was valid.

This just happened last week:

* After Necati read a chapter from the Bible the assault reportedly began. “The young men tied Ugur, Necati, and Tilman’s hands and feet to chairs as they videoed their work on their cell phones,” ICC said, adding that what “followed in the next three hours is beyond belief.”

ICC said the men were “disemboweled, and their intestines sliced up in front of their eyes. They were emasculated and watched as those body parts were destroyed.” The group added that “fingers were chopped off” and “their noses and mouths and anuses were sliced open” as part of what it called “satanic torture.”

It added that “possibly the worst part was watching as their brothers were likewise tortured. Tilman was stabbed 156 times, Necati 99 times and Ugur’s stabs were too numerous to count.” Finally, their throats were sliced from ear to ear, and their “heads practically decapitated,” ICC said.

Read it all…