Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Credit: AP Photo/Kayhan Ozer Presidential Press Service, via AP Pool. All rights reserved.Turkey is in crisis. Its President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has declared a three-month state of emergency. His purge following the failed coup is just the tip of the iceberg, with much worse to follow. The aftershocks of Turkey’s failed coup on 15 July are unprecedented. The symbol of Turkish parliamentary democracy, the Grand National Assembly, was bombed by members of the country’s own security forces; police and military forces exchanged gunfire and coup plotters attacked civilians on the streets of Istanbul and Ankara. The human toll is high: there have been around 232 deaths, over 1,541 injuries, according to official figures, and more than 60,000 state officials jailed or dismissed, with numbers increasing ever day.
Turkey’s international image as a strong member of NATO and a bastion of stability between Europe and the Middle East, has been damaged. Tensions in US-Turkey relations have increased since Ankara demanded the extradition of Pennsylvania-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen, who is blamed by Erdogan for the coup attempt.
Turkey’s international image as a strong member of NATO and a bastion of stability between Europe and the Middle East, has been damaged
