News   /   Interviews

Coup attempt in Turkey will seriously weaken army: Journalist

A Turkish army armed vehicle drives in Istanbul on July 16, 2016. ©AFP

What happened in Turkey in the wake of a military coup on Saturday would lead to a serious weakening of the army, a Beirut-based journalist has predicted.  

Omar Nashabe, with the Al-Akhbar newspaperdescribed the coup as an illegal attempt by some elements beyond Turkey to weaken the country’s democratically-elected president through creating chaos.

“This apparently will weaken Turkey. I think that Erdogan is victorious and perhaps the democratic principal is victorious but Turkey will be weakened," he told Press TV on Saturday night. 

Nashabe said recent images showing civilians and policemen humiliating the men in uniform and officers in uniform will weaken the army.

“I think what happened in Turkey, regardless of the outcome, is the situation that the army will not be in a full power as it was in the past,” he said. 

Mehmet Solmaz, a news editor with Daily Sabah from Istanbul, pointed the finger at supporters of US-based Fethullah Gulen within the air force. 

Solmaz accused Gulen of writing a letter in 1997 in which he allegedly said that "his movement is ready to give all sorts of service to the coup plotters."

"And during the 1980 coup which was like 40 years ago again, Fethullah Gulen wrote an article in his magazine at that time and explained it as a religious reform,” he added.

Touching on reasons behind the coup failure, Solmaz said, "If you don’t have land support in such coup attempts and if you don’t have police department next to you or even naval forces next to you, you are not going to be successful and this is what we have seen today.”


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku