On the 24^th of December 2017, emergency decree No.696 was proclaimed by the Government of Turkey. It states that “regardless of an official title or duties or the lack thereof, people who played a role in the suppression of a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016 and subsequent events and terrorist activities will be exempt from criminal, administrative, financial and legal liability.” It is an amendment to Article 37 of decree No.667, which gave immunity to government officials in the pursuit of removing alleged Gulenists from Turkish society. No.667 has been used to justify torture and ill-treatment against ‘enemies of the state’, and to deny investigation or prosecution into complaints. The newest decree extends immunity to civilians, promoting pro-state vigilantism.

Nationalist Violence

Turkey has a history of nationalist violence. In the latter half of the 20^th century, alongside state-supported massacres against minority Greeks and Alevis, numerous Kurds were lynched in response to the PKK conflict. Then the 2000’s saw the rise of the Red Apple Coalition. The Coalition claimed that Turkey was under threat by imperial powers (i.e. the USA, EU and Israel) and their domestic collaborators. This was fuelled by conspiracies surrounding the fall of the Ottoman Empire and subsequent coups in the Turkey republic.

By 2005, the Red Apple Coalition had produced nationalist vigilante organisations such as The National Force Association, Association of Union of Patriot Forces, and Association of Turkish Socialist Nation. These groups spread anti-minority propaganda and held military training camps. Members were allegedly complicit in the infamous murder of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. They also targeted the Kurdish. In the words of Turkish journalist Fehim Tastekin, “In Turkey’s near history, mobs targeted mainly Armenians, Syriacs, Jews, Greeks, Alevis and Kurds”.

Although these vigilante groups tended to anti-AKP, holding the view that the party was in cahoots with the imperialists, this started to change in the late 2000’s. Erdogan and the AKP began to push similar propaganda, blaming the ills of the Islamic world on the West and their collaborators.

AKP Support for Vigilantism

As well as inciting nationalist violence through propaganda, Erdogan has sought informal security structures to ensure loyalty and control. He has a fear of political overthrow, grounded in Turkeys history of coups and ‘military campaigns against Islam’. This is why Erdogan encouraged Gulenist infiltration of official security structures (and judicial system) until his fallout with Fethullah Gulen in 2013. The fallout, combined the 2013 Gezi protest, increased his paranoia.

The most notorious vigilante group affiliated with Erdogan and the AKP is the Osmanlı Ocakları (Ottoman Hearths). These neo-ottoman nationalists were officially registered in 2009, and now have about 2 million members across Turkey. They were allegedly set up by Erdogan himself as a counterpart to the Idealist Hearths, known as the grey wolves, which are associated with AKP ally the nationalist MHP party. The Ottoman Hearths were implicated in attacks against opposition parties HDP and CHP, and against the Hürriyet Daily newspaper in 2015. The latter was incited by AKP member Abdurrahim Boynulkalın. Despite CCTV footage of this, Boynulkalın was subsequently promoted to the AKP’s National Executive Board.

Erdogan also developed a close relationship with military contractor SADAT. Some claim that the nationalist firm is providing protection to the Turkish government as a ‘personal militia’. SADAT was founded in 2012 by Adnan Tanriverdi, a former general who was dismissed in 1997 for radical Islamism. Its mission is to build a “Defensive Collaboration and Defensive Industrial Cooperation among Islamic Countries to help Islamic World”. The firm’s website includes a letter penned by Tanriverdi outlining how Islamic countries, exploited by Western powers, need to work together to become a superpower – with Turkey leading the way. Apparently, this includes the removal of the ‘enemies of Turkey’. He has stated that “NATO has been a tool for American imperialism that is under Jewish control, just as the United Nations”. Opposition members have queried the AKP’s links to the organisation in parliament to no avail.

Likewise, Erdogan has been criticised for inciting less-organised vigilante violence. In 2014, he claimed that “when need be, shopkeepers are police, soldiers, combatants or guardians of the neighbourhood”. After his remarks, several high-profile incidents occurred. For example, in 2015 one Nuh Koklu was stabbed to death by an Istanbul shopkeeper after hitting his window with a snowball, and an off-duty Air Force pilot was attacked by shopkeepers after he was accused of being a PKK member. There has also been pro-Islam vigilantism, with those caught eating during the day throughout Ramadan being attacked. In 2016, a record-shop owner was assaulted and threatened with death for playing Radiohead and serving beer.

On top of this, there have been hundreds of mob attacks against Kurds and their businesses, and attacks against left-wing bookstores since military operations resumed against the PKK in 2015. Police often fail to intervene. Both the Ottoman Hearths and Idealist Hearths have been involved. SADAT was also implicated, with Kurdish politician Sebahat Tuncel claiming that members attempted to burn 34 villagers in Diyarbakir. Nationalist violence has increased again following the 2016 coup attempt, with alleged Gulenists becoming the target.

Civilians Supress the July 2016 Coup

On the night of the coup, Erdogan called for ordinary citizens to take to the streets and protest the “illegal action against the democratically elected government”. Calls were issued from minarets, on orders from Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs, for civilians to take responsibility for the protection of their homeland “for the love of Allah and Muhammad.” Military officers were lynched, with one soldier beheaded on the Bosphorus Bridge where large mobs had gathered. Another had his throat cut in Taksim Square. The night after the coup, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım continued to request civilians to occupy the streets. Pro-government Islamist mobs attacked several churches this night.

Vigilante violence continued long after the event, with those deemed ‘anti-government’ assaulted on the streets of Ankara and Istanbul. In August, Hazal Olmez, a secretary at the left-wing daily Evrensel, was accused of being “a coup supporter and a Gulenist” then beaten with several onlookers refusing to help. In January 2017, fashion designer Barbaros Sansal, an outspoken critic of the AKP, landed in Istanbul. He was immediately attacked by a mob at the airport, and then arrested for ‘inciting hatred’. The Ankara Mayor condoned the attack, and called defenders of Sansal “traitors”. In March 2017, a former police chief who was dismissed due to alleged Gulenist links was attacked in the streets of Samsun. A video of the incident circulated social media. Dismissed academics have also been subjected to nationalist mob violence and threats of lynching.

Furthermore, structured vigilante and militia groups have played a role in the post-coup purges. The ‘People’s Special Forces’ (Halk Özel Harekat or HÖH) is a pro-state militia of about 7,000 who played a role in preventing the 2016 coup after calling it ‘jihad’. SADAT members were involved in Bosphorus bridge mob attacks on coup perpetrators. SADAT founder Tanriverdi was appointed as senior advisor to Erdogan in August 2016. In October 2016, the chairman of the Ottoman Hearths used his twitter account to call for AKP supporters to take up arms to protect Turkey from another coup, with #AKsilahlanma (AK armament) going viral. His twitter account also has numerous pictures of himself posing with Erdogan, and he has called the group ‘Erdogan’s soldiers’.

There have been reports that Orhan Uzuner, father of Erdogan’s daughter-in-law, has formed a nationalist paramilitary force called ‘Keep Fraternity, Turkey’. A Cumhuriyet Daily investigation found that members receive drone training from the Civil Aviation General Directorate, first aid training from the Health Ministry, and learn how to build wireless communication tools. There is a focus on facilitating mass civilian mobilisation if necessary. Erdogan has also reinstated the controversial Night Watchmen, pro-state civilians who undertake armed night patrols.

Vigilantism against Kurds has also continued post-coup. In September 2017, a mob attacked at the funeral of Hatun Tuğluk, the mother of a HDP deputy who was under arrest for ‘helping terrorists’ (the PKK). The mob even kicked the dead body. Although already at the scene, police failed to stop the attack, and the governor of Ankara was criticised for downplaying the incident. What is more, attacks by pro-state vigilantes against the Kurdish and their supporters have been documented abroad.

Violence Spreads Abroad

One Turkish nationalist group undertaking violence abroad is the Osamen Germania (Germania Ottomans) in Germany. With 20 chapters and 2,500 members, the self-claimed boxing club has been labelled a gang by the German police. The former head, Mehmet Bagci, was arrested in 2016, and investigations show that he pledged to an Erdogan advisor to fight ‘terrorists’ in Germany. In 2017, it was revealed that Matin Kulunk of the AKP funded the Osamen Germania, instructed them to target Kurds and Erdogan critics, and organised protests against Germany’s decision to label the Ottoman massacre of Armenians as genocide. Kulunk denied the accusations and said that Germany was supporting the PKK and FETO (Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Group).

Similarly, the AKP-affiliated Ottoman Hearths and MHP-affiliated Idealist Hearths have been linked to attacks on Kurds in Antwerp, Belgium. In the lead up to the 2017 Turkish referendum, a pro-Erdogan mob attacked pro-Kurdish voters at the Turkish consulate in Brussels, and violence ensued in the Netherlands following a row over campaigning. A couple of months later, peaceful protesters outside the Turkish embassy in Washington DC during a visit by Erdogan were brutally assaulted by both his supporters and security guards.

Decree No.696

Within days of decree No.696 being announced, nationalist fanatics took to social media inciting violence, including threats to kill alleged Gulenists and coup-plotters. Emin Canpolat, head of the Ottoman Hearths wrote “With the new government decree the people who have saved the country have been protected against the traitors. Those who oppose this law and those who betrayed the country on July 15th are the same people. Whose side are you?  Traitors? The defenders of the homeland?”. The HÖH have said they would take to the streets again if Erdogan ordered them to. In Addition, the İYİ Party Chairperson revealed that pro-Erdogan civilians were receiving weapons training in Tokat and Konya provinces, with pictures released by local media. SADAT are allegedly involved.

Numerous people and organisations have denounced the new decree, both in Turkey and abroad. This includes a rare show of opposition by Turkey’s former president Abdullah Gul, an ally of Erdogan. Turkey’s opposition Republican People’s Party has said that they will appeal the decree at the constitutional court. Yet the government continues to defend the decision, with Prime Minister Yıldırım stating that critics are “no different than coup plotters”. Officials have continued to incite violence and spread nationalist propaganda. Just this week, Tourism and Culture Minister Norman Kurtulmuş called the incursion into Afrin a fight against the imperialist forces seeking to divide the Middle East.  The MHP leader threatened to send thousands of Idealist Hearths into the offensive.

By facilitating pro-state vigilantism, the Turkish government is attempting to shore up support in anticipation of another coup attempt or civil unrest. Certainly, the official police, gendarmeries and military services are severely underequipped given the extent of officers purged due to alleged Gulenist ties. Approximately 26,000 have been dismissed from the Ministry of Interior services (e.g. police, gendarmes, coast guard) alongside another 8,000 from the military, with many being top-ranking generals. By allowing informal pro-state security structures to reign with immunity, Erdogan is cementing his authoritarian control.

Under the ongoing state of emergency, Turkey has issued yet another controversial decree on December 24, 2017 granting immunity to civilians who were part of the mobs which suppressed the 2016 failed coup attempt against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. Authorities say such a measure was necessary to protect those civilians who risked their lives to shield their elected government on the night of July 15 and the early hours of July 16, 2016 from putschists.

But the decree is so vaguely worded that it is possible for one to interpret it as granting immunity from prosecution for actions that one may have taken post-July 15 or may take in the future against a government critic on the pretext of suppressing the continuation of events of the night of the coup.

Regardless of its gravity and profound detrimental effect on the rule of law in the country, such a step by the AKP government hardly took anyone by surprise. Over the past couple of years, there have been multiple reports of the AKP government establishing private militias loyal to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

One of the such prominent groups is SADAT which allegedly had dozens of its men armed with semi-automatic rifles on the streets of Ankara and Istanbul assaulting and killing many of the renegade soldiers on the night of July 15, 2016. Interestingly, SADAT also stands accused of killing a number of innocent civilians on that fateful night in order to boost public anger and help the government create a victim narrative.

The newly issued decree practically means that not only SADAT and a number of other shadowy outfits like it will not be punished for these crimes, but they will also not be brought to justice should they take law in their own hands in the future in circumstances they argue were similar to that of July 15, 2016.

This move has led many to believe that the government is preparing for an imminent clash between President Erdogan’s Islamist and Dogu Perincek’s ultranationalist camp who despite being contemptuous of each other formed an alliance in the aftermath of the coup attempt to purge state institutions of pro-Western officials.

Dogu Perincek was jailed in 2008 during the Ergenekon trials for plotting to overthrow the AKP government but his conviction was annulled in 2014 when Erdogan started to target the Movement of Fethullah Gulen. On stepping out of the prison complex he talked to the media waiting for him and thundered that he will dismantle the “regime of Tayyip Erdogans, Abdullah Guls, Fethullah Gulens”, referring to the perceived alliance between the AKP and the US based cleric.

Since then Perincek has been back in business growing the influence of his tiny far-left Patriotic Party on important state institutions, especially on the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). The “Perincek group”, as the ultranationalist pro-Russian companions of Dogu Perincek are often referred to in the Turkish policy chattering circle, has been the biggest beneficiary of the massive purge of pro-Western officials from the TSK following the coup attempt in 2016.

The meteoric growth in influence of an ultranationalist group which has always despised the Islamist rooted AKP poses an existential threat to the Erdogan regime – and Erdogan knows it very well.

On the other hand, many analysts see this move as Erdogan’s preparation for another “false flag operation” which will justify crackdown on the remaining few voices of dissent in the country – the way the July 15 events justified suppression of the Gulen Movement.

Even though there is no effective opposition in the country, there are still pockets of resistance and/or potential rivals which Erdogan would like to neutralise. The likes of former president Abdullah Gul, a few defiant MPs from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), and of course the Perincek group are certainly not the type of forces Erdogan wants to accommodate in his vision of a totalitarian regime in Turkey.

Regardless of whether Erdogan had the former or the later motive in his mind while drafting this decree, the situation that it may lead to cannot be peace and order – which Turkey needs desperately. It will certainly push the country towards chaos and instability, perhaps even towards a civil war.

Platform for Peace and Justice (PPJ) has just released its report examining the state of emergency decree laws published in aftermath of the failed coup of July 15 2016. The report shows that the state of emergency decree laws dismissing tens of thousands of civil servants and bringing about comprehensive changes in the judicial and bureaucratic system were promulgated in a very short time following the declaration of the state of emergency. This calls into serious doubt that they were prepared in advance and waited for a suitable time and backdrop. This strengthens the possibility that a dictatorial power who had been preparing for a long time to change the regime and the state apparatus was planning to create the reasons for the state of emergency.

The report underlines that a new regime is being built by the AKP government by means of State of Emergency Decree Laws. A number of unlawful practices have been institutionalized issuing decree laws which establish an antidemocratic authoritarian regime says the report.

Download Construction of a New Regime By Decree Laws

PPJ- 24 December 2017

2 Decree Laws issued by the government overnight enact crucial changes that will lead to grave rights violations. The Decree Laws include a list of 2756 public servants dismissed from the government offices. Also 14 NGO has been closed by the Decree Laws without referring to any illegal action except ambiguous “aiding terror” charges.

One of the most critical enactment included in the Decree Laws is a revision of an earlier Decree Law which provided impunity for public officials who involve torture and extrajudicial killings. With the latest Decree Laws, ordinary citizens who are not public officials included within the scope of this law. Those who help repressing “coup” or “terror” will not be held  accountable before courts for their actions. Many legal experts like Kerem Altiparmak argue that this will lead assasins, torture, enforced disappearances and those who have become victims of such actions should apply directly  to the European Court of the Human Rights (ECHR). According to Altiparmak, Decree Laws can not be annulled by the Constitutional Court which means no domestic recourse exist for the victims of post-coup torture and mistreatment incidents.

The Decree Laws also stipulate wearing a Guantanamo-like uniform for tens of thousands of suspects during the coup trials. Legal experts criticize the enactment for violating the presumption of innocence, the most basic principle of the Universal Law.

By ATILLA KOC

Throughout history, people who accumulated sufficient power have elaborated different ways to annihilate their opponents. Notorious Roman General Lucius Cornelius Sulla had developed an authentic style to destroy ‘enemies of state’ which is called proscription lists.

In 83 BC, Sulla’s arch-enemy and his former commander Gaius Marius returned to Rome and started to revenge from Sulla supporters. Thereupon, Sulla quickly settled his conflicts in Asia minor and started his march on Rome with his army. Sulla, in Italy, found Marius jr. who had replaced his late father, and his army near Rome. In a fierce battle just outside the city, Sulla’s experienced army inflicted a defeat on their enemy.

This victory made Sulla the only master of Rome. He did not show mercy to enemy forces who already had surrendered, giving the order of killing thousands of prisoners. Yet, it was not the end of the bloodshed.

The Civil War inflicted deep wounds in the society. People were divided as supporters and enemies of Sulla. Given Sulla’s absolute victory, for Sulla supporters, it was time to take revenge from enemies.

In Rome, Sulla appointed himself as a dictator first time after almost a century. He acknowledged that he has to cleanse all enemies to give Rome a better governance. He did not wait too much to live up to his promises. In fact, his supporters, organized as death squads, had already been hunting the rest of the society.

However, the target names were not declared, it was a chaotic atmosphere, and nobody, including Sulla supporters, was sure about his life.

Although Roman senators did not have courage and power to stop Sulla, Rome was a state of law. So, they dared to ask Sulla guilty names to save the rest of the society from terrifying uncertainty. Yet, Sulla had used this opportunity for more frightening campaign. Next day, he issued a list of names in the Forum, and the following day another one. New lists and new names were acknowledged every day. People whose name were on the list were killed immediately, their properties confiscated, and their sons and grandsons barred from all public offices. The consequences of being listed were catastrophic including for their families. All Roman aristocracy especially the wealthy ones were in potential danger. Sulla had promised to give properties of slained people to their killers as spoils of enemy in order to encourage his supporters.

Sulla, who was inspecting chopped heads in person, had been giving bounty to the assassins. As a result, proscription lists had turned to be a way to get easy money. Having an estate was enough for a citizen to see his name on the list even if he was pro-Sullan. During his reign, Sulla had given no respite to his enemies. In so much that he had been asking from citizens to divorce from their wives who had any kind of affinity with an anti-Sullan.

In some cases, victims’ names were added to the lists after their illegitimate killings.

It was one of the tragic eras in the Roman history, but not the last one. Sulla’s invention of proscription lists, which marked Sulla’s reign as a bloody tyranny, has been used in various times and places.

Today, in 2017, proscription lists are once again revived by Erdogan’s Turkey to annihilate dissidents.

Last year, on July 15, 2016, a group of soldiers were used as bait to establish a full dictatorial regime in the country. Some of them were totally unaware of what was happening and some had believed that they were there to prevent a coup attempt. Yet these thoughts did not save them. Angry crowd, who was organised better than the alleged coup plotters, beaten them severely, and even cut their throats, like in IS videos.

However, the terror in Turkish society did no end at that night. Erdogan, who defined the failed coup as a gift from God, was determined to annihilate all his opponents.

After declaration of state of emergency, the government started to issue decree laws, one after another to cleanse all dissidents from public offices; to confiscate their property; and to close hospitals, schools, etc.

Until now, more than 160.000 people has been purged from different branches of state apparatus. Even after a year, all public officers, Gulenists, Kemalists, Kurds have been continuing to feel the same fear when they hear about a new decree law. Instead of tablets hanged in the Forum in the ancient Rome, people check their names on lists attached to decree law published on the website of the official gazette.

People on the lists lose not only their jobs but also their all activities in the society. Due to the publicity of the purges and detentions, they are marked as the enemies of state or traitors. This paves the way for their exclusion from society. They can hardly find a new job in private sector. Since they lose their insurance, it is almost impossible to go to a hospital for them if they do not have saving. Besides, in most cases, they are excluded from their families.

Being on the Erdogan’s proscription lists does not mean death sentence for now. Nevertheless, it is not a remote possibility. Put Erdogan’s eagerness to bring back death sentence aside, AKP supporters have been taking up arms and preparing openly for a bloody score-settling for a long time. Leading figures of the AKP have been provoking their partisans for taking up arms and revenge. A state supported mafia leader has been intimidating opponents of Erdogan with blood baths. Also, there are ‘fatwas’ religiously legitimizing the killing state enemies, seizing their property as spoil of war, and taking their wives and daughters as concubines, making rounds.

Erdogan did not leave rewarding his partisan out. Prominent AKP supporters are appointed as trustee to victim’s confiscated property. Since they are seen as spoil of the enemy, this plundering has become the norm for AKP constituent. As a matter of fact, they show their delight from the government campaign against traitors whenever possible.

Even after securing the absolute power, purging more than 160.000 people, and arresting more than 50.000 people, Erdogan has not quenched his thirst for oppression yet. AKP’s preparations clearly shows us Erdogan wants a ‘final solution’ for his opponents.

Dictators, in most cases, face a tragic end and they share their victims’ destiny. Nevertheless, until then, they inflict great pains on their societies and bring their countries on the brink of collapse.