After the coup, the counter-coup
The failed putsch was the bloodiest Turkey has seen; the backlash is as worrying
THE brutality of the soldiers’ power-grab still horrifies many Turks. Each day brings fresh footage and stories of what took place during the long, bloody night between July 15th and 16th: one mobile-phone video shows a group of bystanders near the presidential palace in Ankara overwhelmed by the blast of an air strike; another captures a man diving to the ground between the tracks of a tank to avoid being crushed, rising to his feet, then falling again to save himself from another one; a third records soldiers shooting down unarmed protesters.
Stories are told of how the rebels kidnapped their commanders. The chief of general staff, General Hulusi Akar, was told by his aides to sign a declaration of martial law. When he refused, they tightened a belt around his neck, but he would not yield. He survived the ordeal.
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline "After the coup, the counter-coup"
From the July 23rd 2016 edition
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