Gov’t, MHP slam ‘new coup’ rumors

ANKARA

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli addresses his party's parliamentary group in Ankara, Turkey, on Feb. 18, 2020. (İHA Photo)

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli on Feb. 18 stressed that coming up with rumors that a new coup attempt in Turkey was underway was a “betrayal to the country.”

“If anyone considers a coup d’état, they would see the resistance of the 82 million of Turkey,” he said, speaking at his party’s parliamentary group meeting.

Hearsay of a new coup claims was on the agenda of everyone, he said, recalling a report by the U.S.-based RAND Corporation which brought a possibility of a coup attempt by mid-level members of the Turkish army.

The MHP will stand against ever kind of coup attempt, he said.

Elaborating on the “probability of coup” discussions in RAND’s 277-page report for the Pentagon, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said there is no institution or person in Turkey that can attempt a coup. Speaking to daily Hürriyet, Soylu said the government is well prepared against such a possibility.

Keeping Turkey’s agenda busy with coup rumors means removing the country from its targets, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesperson Ömer Çelik told reporters on Feb. 18.

The officers in the Turkish Armed forces stand against the putschists of July 15, 2016 coup attempt, Çelik said.
“There is no such agenda. A coup is a superfluous debate agenda for Turkey. All our institutions connected to democracy are awake [ against such an attempt],” he stated.

“The Turkish armed forces perform its duties heroically. It carries out major operations in Syria. Making rumors of coups is an effort to close the eyes and minds of the state, which should look outside. All the institutions of the state showed their commitment to democracy,” Çelik said.

The report by the RAND Corporation for Pentagon claimed that the Turkish government’s decision to expel hundreds of army officers after a failed coup attempt in 2016 caused disappointment in the Turkish military.

“Mid-level officers are reported to be extremely frustrated with the military leadership and concerned about being removed in the continuing post-coup purges,” the report said.