Daily Times

July 15, every year, will now be celebrated as the democracy day in Turkey in remembrance of the sacrifice and valour shown by the Turkish people to defeat an unconstitutional coup, which would have set their country back by many years.

It was around midnight here in Pakistan when news started filtering in that martial law may have been imposed in Turkey. This was confirmed when the Turkish military released a statement through the state broadcaster TRT that a coup was under way, accusing the government of eroding the secular and democratic order of Turkey. It was further reported that Army Chief General Hulusi Akar and some other high-ranking officials had been detained. The junta members had also closed down the iconic Bosporus and Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridges, which link the European and Asian sides of Turkey. The government responded through different channels that the coup had been imposed by only a “faction” inside the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF), and that the government was still in charge, and would overcome this crisis with the perpetrators paying heavily for their crime.

As the night wore on, it became apparent to the coup plotters that this was not going to be as easy as it seemed. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoðan, who was reportedly holidaying in Marmaris, took to FaceTime to call on all his supporters to gather in squares and airports, and reject the coup plotters. The prime minister and other officials had made similar calls to the people of Turkey. That the people of Turkey responded and defied the curfew so quickly shows how far they have come in recent years despite having a history of acquiescing to military interventions. This was despite that the rebels used their nation’s tanks, soldiers, F-16 fighters and helicopters against their own people.

Reports also came in that the Turkish Grand National Assembly, the National Intelligence Agency, and the Turkish National Police buildings had been bombed. The Turkish foreign ministry has confirmed that over 290 people have died in the failed coup, with over a 100 of them a participant in the coup.

In the immediate aftermath of the botched coup, the government circles in Turkey have blamed Fethullah Gülen for this attempted coup. Also known as the “parallel state” in Turkey, Gülen has supporters in the Turkish judiciary, bureaucracy and the armed forces. Government has swiftly moved to consolidate its position against this group. Around 6,000 suspects, including military generals and judiciary members, have been detained as part of a wide-scale operation launched following the deadly coup attempt. Turkey has also demanded the return of Gülen from the US, and has vowed to use this opportunity to cleanse Turkey of the remaining Gülen supporters.

In Pakistan, the reactions to the coup attempt in Turkey can be taken as an interesting case study of prevalent mindsets regarding democracy vis–à–vis a military take over. As the coup was launched, there were calls on social media for a similar step here as well. Memes, jokes and justifications for martial law were aplenty. By Saturday as it became clear that the coup attempt had failed, some other interesting views started to surface, especially regarding the failure of the coup. Two of the most prevalent ones were that the coup was “ill-planned,” and that there is a “difference in democracy” in both the countries.

The first view that the coup was not planned well does not seem to hold much weight, especially when you look at how the coup unfolded. The coup plotters had achieved all the elements needed for a successful coup. They had the element of surprise, had cut off the public from the civilian leadership, detained the un-cooperating military staff, blocked important road links, and used the air force and other military vehicles to intimidate the public. They also had international support in countries like Syria and Egypt, who are on not so good terms with the government of Erdogan. So, the coup was well on its way to being successful had it not been for the ensuing public response. The coup plotters had just not planned for such an eventuality. Never before in the history of Turkish history has a coup attempt been thwarted so quickly and efficiently by the public. The coup plotters in Turkey had planned for 100 outcomes but the 101st outcome spoiled everything for them.

The second view about there being a difference in democracies between both countries is a tricky one. What this implies is that elected governments in Pakistan have failed to deliver on the economic front for the common man, and hence martial law here will be welcomed. As if, successive periods of martial law in Pakistan have had this issue solved for the poor man. And if the public here is so supportive of military interventions why have there never been nation-wide protests to keep a dictator indefinitely?

This viewpoint also implies that the civilian leadership in Turkey is better than that in Pakistan in terms of allegations of corruption and other forms of incompetence. While this may be true, readers would be well advised to read up on the numerous allegations against Erdogan. These include financial mismanagement, curbing media freedom and ruling Turkey like an autocrat. The Turkish people came out on the street to put a stop to the coup not because they are satisfied with the political process in their country but because they have come to understand that extra-constitutional measures are harmful for their country, a fact that is still not completely understood here.

There are lessons for us in this Turkish episode, despite having lived through many military interventions of our own. The bravery of leadership, the power of the people, the coming together of all political parties, and the use of police and social media to protect the democratic order in a country is probably a first for our nation. The political forces in our country can take solace in the hope that if the political process continues here long enough our people too will become attuned to using the power of their vote to oust leaders they don’t like rather than support any extra-constitutional misadventures. The die has been cast and a precedent has been set for people to follow.

The writer is an Islamabad-based professional services consultant. He can be reached at omerraja@live.com and on Twitter @raj_omer