Insanity. There's no other way to describe what happened in Turkey last night. As best as I can tell, a faction in the military attempted a coup against the government. First, they arrested the army chief, then took over the streets of Ankara and Istanbul.
They shut down the state media, shut down social media, even shut down Ataturk Airport, flying helicopters and fighter jets in the sky, only to be stopped by the Turkish people as they attempted to storm the presidential palace. In the middle of all of this madness President Erdogan and the Prime Minister Yildirim asked people to go to the streets and protest against the coup.
At least 60 people were killed and hundreds of conspirators arrested. The coup army bombed the Turkish Parliament, Ministry of Interior, Intelligence, Armed Forces HQ, Police HQ, and the Presidential Palace.
President Erdogan was in an unknown location but was able to finally land in Istanbul where he was greeted by his supporters and supporters of the government.
The Turkish people bravely stopped tanks in the streets and arrested soldiers responsible for the coup. All of the political opposition parties stood with the government against the coup. The people who went to the streets were not just pro-Erdogan and pro-AKP, as even Kurdish communities that voted overwhelmingly against Erdogan protested against the military coup.
I pray for the people of Turkey and I pray that their leader takes this moment to unite the Turkish people with an inclusive message for his country and to address the legitimate grievances some may have, while restoring security in the least oppressive way possible.
God Bless Turkey,
Kenan R.