Secretary General Zannier expressed faith in the wisdom of the Turkish leadership: “ I call on the Turkish Government and democratic institutions to exercise restraint in the aftermath of last night’s events. Rule of law, democracy, respect for human rights and freedom of the media must be upheld even in difficult times. We stand ready to support Turkey in safeguarding the common values and principles that constitute the cornerstone of the OSCE,” said Zannier.
“As a result of its adventurous policy in the field of foreign policy Turkey appeared on the threshold of heavy geo-political defeat, that’s why they attempted to overcome that situation by settling its relations with Russia and Israel. Crisis was observed inside the country as well: basically, Kurdish rebel movement continues, and they fail to put an end to that. On the other hand, we observe among the society, that polarization between powers sharing different views is intensifying, and a part of the army decided to put an end to that situation and alienate Islamists, represented by Erdogan, from the authorities. However, we observed, that the army didn’t act united,” the Turkologist said.
Turkish president Tayyip Erdoğan is reportedly seeking asylum in Europe, as a military coup continues in Turkey, U.S. military sources tell NBC News. Erdoğan’s presidential jet was allegedly denied landing rights at Istanbul’s airport, before heading out of the country. He was then denied asylum in Germany, according to NBC, before heading to London.
Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ announced 1563 members of the Turkish armed forces have been arrested, 5 generals, 29 colonels were dismissed from their posts for the coup attempt. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced that one of the generals supporting the coup has been killed during the operations. According to the preliminary data, the Armenian citizens or Armenians didn’t suffer during the military operations in Turkey.
The video shows Turkish military personnel crossing the Bosphorus bridge with their hands in the air following an attempted coup against the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
At least 42 people – mostly police officers – were killed in Ankara in a gunfire exchange with a helicopter near the parliament complex, Turkey’s NTV reported, citing the attorney general’s office. At least 1,000 people in Istanbul and Ankara were hospitalized after a night of violence rocked the country.
In Washington, US President Barack Obama urged all parties in Turkey to support the “democratically elected government.” Nato called for “full respect” for Turkey’s democratic institutions. European Council President Donald Tusk said the country was “a key partner for the European Union”.
“Go to the streets and give them their answer,” Erdogan said via the video chat app. “I am coming to a square in Ankara. This was done from outside the chain of command. Those who are responsible, we will give them the necessary punishment.”
“We have discussed the situation on the borders. Until morning we will monitor the situation and for the security of our citizens we have limited border access in the direction of Turkey and have closed the air border,” Kvirikashvili said adding that the decision might be reconsidered on Saturday morning.
Turkish military have announced that the power completely passed into their hands, AP reports. It is mentioned in the statement issued by the military that a necessity for a coup arise in order to “restore constitutional order, democracy, human rights and freedoms, and rule of law and order to prevail in the country again”. The statement also mentioned that all the international treaties and commitments of Turkey remain in place. “Our commitment to have friendly relations with all the countries of the world will be preserved”, reads the statement.
