Failed Turkey Coup May Signal Beginning of the End for NATO, European Union
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17.07.2016(updated 02:28 17.07.2016) Get short URL
Western
leaders breathed a sigh of relief as the linchpin to addressing Europe’s
growing migrant crisis and the key launchpad for NATO’s Middle East missions
stayed in one piece, but many are wondering aloud just how long will it be
before Erdogan overplays his hand.
The
failed coup attempt in Turkey led by a faction of the military
seeking the overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan citing the
leader’s abysmal record on free speech, democratic freedoms, and human
rights may be the final death knell for both NATO and the European Union
who are holding onto the increasingly undemocratic leader for dear
life.
European
leaders breathed a sigh of relief on Saturday as it averted the
chaos of three million additional Syrian refugees flooding into the
continent and kept alive a controversial deal with Turkey to help
stem the migration crisis that has led to the resurgence
of ultra-right nationalism.
The
United States, notwithstanding allegations by the Turkish Labor
Minister that the coup plot had Washington’s fingerprints all over it, was
also relieved to maintain its leading regional partner and a critical
component in the NATO security force as Turks managed to repel
the government overthrow.
Washington
would have been forced under US law to remove its military forces
from Turkey, including its fleet of fighter jets at the Incirlik
airbase that serves as a critical launchpad for NATO’s missions
in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The United States is barred
from providing military aid or stationing troops in any country that
has fallen under control of a military coup government.
©
REUTERS/ FRANCOIS LENOIR
The
West now faces a troubling decision, with President Erdogan expected
to crackdown on dissent with more fury than ever before,
whether they choose to stand beside an increasingly undemocratic
leader for the sake of preservation or whether they ultimately will
have to transition their national strategies.
"Erdogan
will be judged on his own response," one EU official involved
in the migrant deal with Turkey said, citing arrests of judges
as an early sign that justified “deep concern that this will lead
to a new trampling on rights of freedom of expression and
demonstration.”
In
total, over 2,745 judges have been arrested along with 2,800 soldiers
as the Turkish leader strips away the last semblances of checks and
balances within the country.
©
REUTERS/ JIM URQUHART/FILE PHOTO
Germany’s
foreign affairs committee chair Elmar Brok predicted that "Erdogan will
try to extend his position of power" and French President
Francois Hollande said very simply that he expects "repression."
The
emboldened Erdogan had already stripped opposition Kurdish parliamentarians
of immunity by enacting a constitutional amendment in May
leaving many EU lawmakers to worry that the Turkish president will move
to imprison these opposition lawmakers under the country’s expanded
terrorism code.
Still
another EU official said that "clearly Europe would have more reasons
to worry if the coup had prevailed," but if Turkey proceeds
to imprison peaceful opposition en masse then many European lawmakers
signal that they will be forced to oppose the immigration deal that is
keeping the European Union together by a thread.
Washington
and NATO may have a little less at stake in hoping that Erdogan
transitions his government towards a less autocratic format in the
wake of the coup attempt, a very unlikely scenario, than German who
has already taken in over 2 million Syrian refugees causing widespread
anger among voters who feel that their culture is under siege and
France which faced yet another attack at the hands of radical Islamic
terrorists this week.
©
AFP 2016/ JANEK SKARZYNSKI
However,
the image of the United States as a beacon of democracy, the
motif carried under the banner of both the American flag and NATO
forces, would be ultimately exposed as a myth if Erdogan undertakes a
purge of all opposition moving for mass imprisonment or a return
of the death penalty.
If
Erdogan overplays his cards, Friday’s failed coup may be the final death knell
in the coffin of NATO and the European Union or at minimum a
major destabilizing force for these leading powers in the global
order.
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