Apr 30, 2018

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president who catapulted to power 15 years ago vowing to abolish army tutelage, has cowed a putative rival into staying out of the June 24 presidential race. He used the country’s top general as his courier, reported the pro-government news organization Haberturk April 26.

The piece claimed that the country’s Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar and presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin had flown to former president and longtime Erdogan ally Abdullah Gul’s home in Istanbul the day before and had asked him not to run. As the bombshell ripped through the social networks, the story was swiftly taken down. Haberturk’s editor was given the boot. Then on Saturday, Gul declared that he would not be a candidate, ending weeks of fevered conjecture over his plans. Gul explained that he had considered running as a presidential candidate and that the idea had been first floated to him by the small pro-Islamic Saadet or Felicity Party.

In a veiled jab at the shrill objections aired by many within the pro-secular opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Gul said had there been widespread consensus within the opposition he would have run. He bemoaned the polarized political landscape, saying, “We are too busy indulging in personal attacks rather than [focusing on] what is good for Turkey.” But with trademark caution, he dodged questions about the mystery visit. And neither the General Staff nor the president’s office has formally rebutted the reports about Akar and Kalin’s alleged 3½-hour meeting with Gul and claims they had landed their helicopter on his lawn.

CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu insisted the story was accurate, saying, “The news is true but journalists are unable to report it. An internet site’s editor posted it and and was fired. No journalist should forget this dramatic situation.”

Gul, a British-trained economist, is a founding member of Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) who served briefly as prime minister and then as foreign minister for four years. He was elected president in 2007 amid threats of a takeover by Turkey’s then still powerful generals. His wife’s Islamic-style headscarf became a vehicle for their opposition, with claims that a first lady who sported one posed a threat to Ataturk’s secular vision. It was a milestone in the AKP’s battle against military tutelage.