Poirot,

Erdogan is nothing if not an opportunist. He certainly has used the coup attempt to move against the judiciary that opposed him, as he has against the press etc. He has now solidified his power to the point where he cannot be removed, and as LF has said is taking Turkey down the path of an Iranian or Saudi Theocracy.

Paul,

Sanctimonious finger wagging as usual. If Erdogan continues on this path, the dead from the coup will be a drop in the ocean in comparison.

Shadow, you may support the right of the West, particularly the United States, to instigate "regime change" in other countries whenever it feels it is in its interest to do so, but I don't. Was not Erdoğan democratically elected, for better or for worse, and i'm sure he's not that great. If the Turkish people want change then I would support the peaceful democratic process as the mechanism to achieve that change. What right do we have to decide who should govern where and when, who should live, and who should die? Is it Sanctimonious to support democracy.

Paul,

Notwithstanding that a certain fella slid into power democratically in Germany in the 30s - and went on to cause quite a stir.

"The President of Turkey has said democracy and freedom have “absolutely no value” in the country after calling for journalists, lawyers and politicians to be prosecuted as terrorists."

"In a speech to local politicians in Ankara, he criticised critics raising concern over Turkey’s record on “democracy, freedom and rule of law” as discussions over a landmark deal on the refugee crisis continue.

“For us, these phrases have absolutely no value any longer,” he said in the televised address, according to a translation by DPA."

"On Monday, the President had vowed to extend the legal definition of “terrorists” to include MPs, activists and journalists."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/president-erdogan-says-freedom-and-democracy-have-no-value-in-turkey-amid-arrests-and-military-a6938266.html

I think we can now safely assume that the word "democracy" can now be referred to in the past tense in any discussion associated with Turkey.

Paul,

In the same that you may support totalitarian regimes massacring civilians. I'm assuming that your massive ignorance of the situation has lead to such idiotic comments.

Erdogan was democratically elected, but in the last decade has been eviscerating the democratic system, first replacing the military with sympathisers, shutting down all dissent on TV and newspapers, jailing opposition members, and is now moving against the independence of the judiciary.

There is no longer any chance of free and fair elections in Turkey by which he can be removed, and the prospect of a coup now instead of a bloody civil war such as in Syria is by all means the lesser of two evils.

Hi Poirot,

As usual, I'm with you on this.

Whether Erdogan provoked this attempted coup or not, is neither here nor there: he will capitalise on it. After all, he's quoted as saying that democracy is like a bus: you get on it, and get off where you want to go.

Do you reckon that destroyed parliament building will get re-built in a hurry ?

Joe