Military coup in Turkey

[Greyblades]

https://twitter.com/Nayn_Co/status/754086295186661376

Helicopter fired from the skies over ankara.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y60wDzZt8yg

Sky news livestream says it was quickly shot down by jet.

[AE Bravo]

Reap what you sow. Its time for him to pay the price of the MB government he made just like Morsi did. Now go flee just like the thousands of Syrian women and children you displaced. Dirty games bring dirty outcomes.

[Greyblades]

https://twitter.com/socialbook1/stat...86215775756288

Coup forces have apparantly been peacefully evicted from a provincial government building.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Well, looks like it's failed - unless it turns out the Army's Chief of Staff is actually leading the coup that's it, Erdogan 4 Life now.

My first reaction was "well, it's about time, surprised it took them this long." but it appears this was likely a small Kemalist remnant, not the traditional Turkish Army coup designed to kick out the tin-pot dictators the people occasionally elect.

Before you all go off on me being an anti-democratic hypocrite, what they have in Turkey right now isn't Democracy.

[Husar]

Seems to be still going on with reports that Erdogan will soon land in Istanbul, it's like noone can decide yet who won...

What I find most disturbing, almost insulting, is how a lot of Erdogan supporters, and even Obama, seem to insinuate that Erdogan is the beacon of Turkish democracy. We can talk all day about how a military coup is not democratic, and I'd even agree, but placating Erdogan as some kind of poster child for democracy is just idiotic as well....

The guy closed all the free press he could find, tried to shut down social networks when they were used against him, suppressed corruption allegations against him and his family, built himself a big palace and allegedly even dealt with ISIS. Oh and he also tried to shut down criticism in Germany. If that is what counts as a democratic leader nowadays, then I can just say

[Pannonian]

Seems to be still going on with reports that Erdogan will soon land in Istanbul, it's like noone can decide yet who won...

What I find most disturbing, almost insulting, is how a lot of Erdogan supporters, and even Obama, seem to insinuate that Erdogan is the beacon of Turkish democracy. We can talk all day about how a military coup is not democratic, and I'd even agree, but placating Erdogan as some kind of poster child for democracy is just idiotic as well....

The guy closed all the free press he could find, tried to shut down social networks when they were used against him, suppressed corruption allegations against him and his family, built himself a big palace and allegedly even dealt with ISIS. Oh and he also tried to shut down criticism in Germany. If that is what counts as a democratic leader nowadays, then I can just say

Turkey lacks the liberal bit of liberal democracy.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Turkey lacks the liberal bit of liberal democracy.

So does America - that doesn't mean it can't be a Democracy full stop.

[Husar]

So does America - that doesn't mean it can't be a Democracy full stop.

It's more like a tyranny of the majority then, the point of a majority is that the minority is also at least heard and that there is a free press as part of the checks and balances and so on. Yes, the greek democracy was different, but we talk about a modern understanding of democracy. The US is not nearly as bad, they have a free press and an opposition that is allowed to talk and appear on TV etc.

I also entered a Turkish tweet into Google translate and it supports the last smiley of my last post...

President Erdogan in Istanbul . Armageddon greets a crowd of President Erdogan Airport.

[Pannonian]

So does America - that doesn't mean it can't be a Democracy full stop.

The US is possibly the most liberal state in the world. Americans are fanatical about the rights and freedoms and checks and balances guaranteed by their constitution and republic.