Is it too much of a stretch to suggest that President Erdogan of Turkey orchestrated the coup himself back in July 2016 to precipitate the need for a purge of tens of thousands of the most benign and obscure ranks of the bureaucracy? After that exercise and abuse of Presidential power, what bureaucracy would dare proclaim a no vote, even if that’s what the official count delivered?
The rise and rise of the bespoke, lounge suited Recep Tayyip Erdogan is another example of how even a moderate, westernised Muslim nation, similar to Iran back in the late 80’s, can go rogue and be radicalised in a very short space of time.
We shouldn’t be at all surprised in the not too distant future, if Erdogan with his new turbo charged Presidential powers uses the ensuing street protests in light of the close referendum result, as his pretext for dissolving parliament and becoming the 21st century’s version of the North Korean Kim dynasty right on Europe’s doorstep.
From John Lyons Turkey Leaders Extraordinary Power Play in The Australian “..He showed how he will use his power last year after a failed coup against him. He launched a brutal crackdown across the country, claiming that as many as 60,000 people had supported the coup. His security forces detained 9000 people and sacked thousands of teachers and government officials. Many of the 9000 who were imprisoned were judges, police and soldiers. It …appeared that the teachers who were sacked were simply critics — or alleged critics — of the government. Clearly, Erdogan used the crackdown to take revenge on anyone regarded as a critic of his presidency..”