29 Mar 2024
Tuesday 18 July 2017 - 11:14
Story Code : 268785

Turkey's divisions on display on 'Day of National Unity

Al Monitor | Cengiz Candar: July 15 marked the first anniversary of last year'sbotched military coup in Turkey. The date has been officiallydeemedDay of Democracy and National Unity,"and the celebration ceremonies and commemoration of the martyrs who lost their lives during the turmoil on that night and during the early hours of July 16revealed deep divisionswithin Turkish society. Those splits and further polarization exposed on the first anniversary of the failed putsch were accentuated by the two articles published in the British daily The Guardian.


One was by Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan titled Turkey, a year after the attempted coup, is defending democratic values.

Erdogan wrote in hisop-ed piece, The thwarting of the coup marked a turning point in the history of democracy; it will be a source of hope and inspiration for all peoples who live under dictators.

Yet hethen followed bydirectingvenomous criticism toward Turkeys Western allies, writing,Unfortunately Turkeys allies, particularly our friends in the west, have beenunable to fully appreciatethe significance of what happened. Their hypocrisy and double standards deeply disturbed the Turkish people, who risked everything to defend freedom.

The other was an op-ed byKemal Kilicdaroglu, the main opposition leader of Turkey,titledIn the year since Turkeys failed coup, democracy has become near dictatorship.

The Republican People's Party leader wrote,In the year since, Turkish democracy has given way to a near-dictatorial regime. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president, exploited the crisis to declare a state of emergency, led a purge against all oppositional voices and started ruling by decree."



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