Erdogan supporters threaten Turkish people with civil war

Mahmoud al-Batakoushi

The relationship between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the opposition has reached a dead end, especially in light of the criticism against him due to poor policies his regime has pursued in the fight against the Covid-19 corona virus.

Death lists

Supporters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) did not like the criticism against the regime, and they threatened the opposition, announcing the preparation of death lists that include names of opposition members so that they can be easily assassinated if necessary.

Erdogan’s supporters confirmed that they had succeeded in thwarting the July 15, 2016 coup attempt with knives, but this time they are ready with weapons that were stored by AKP leaders, which threatens a real civil war, as the Turkish president will not accept abdicating his power, even at the cost of shedding blood.

The death lists are not alien to the Turkish regime, which has distributed weapons to its civilian supporters during the alleged coup in the summer of 2016. Erdogan also has an armed wing militia similar to the Revolutionary Guards in Iran that were recently formed to protect his regime, in addition to the SADAT Foundation, which stands ready to protect the pillars of the regime both at home and abroad.

Erdogan terrified by his people

These blacklists and crude threats confirm that the Turkish regime has reached a state of obsession and fear, especially after the successive disappointments of Erdogan’s policies at home and abroad.

Everything that happens confirms that Erdogan has harnessed all legitimate and unlawful possibilities to consolidate and protect his throne and has not been blamed for suppressing or killing his opponents in the absence of a clear state of law that died at his hands.

Ergenekon trials

This is not the first time that lists have been prepared to suppress and threaten the opposition with death. The Ergenekon trials, in which senior military figures, politicians, journalists and civil society figures were accused of forming an armed organized crime empire to topple the government, revealed the existence of lists including the names of thousands to be arrested and detained at any sign of a coup.

There was also the list of Kurdish businessmen who were blackmailed during the civil war following a car accident scandal near the town of Susurluk, which revealed Turkish officials’ connections to illegal organizations and the criminal world, which is the first time the public heard about the list of people who allegedly helped the PKK, which has been fighting for its independence from Turkey since 1984.

The Kurdish businessmen on this list were kidnapped and killed if they refused to pay large sums for their freedom.

Prominent AKP leader Ismail Karaosmanoglu said on his Twitter account that they only had a number of knives during the July 15 coup attempt, but now they have enough weapons and ammunition.

“And there are hundreds of thousands like me who have this amount of weapons. If you have the intention to change power in another way, then you will know that we have many fantastic things we will test on you,” Karaosmanoglu said.

“My list is ready, our family accommodates 50 people. We are very well equipped with this,” said Aişe Sevdâ Noyan, wife of Turkish singer Engin Noyan, while participating in a program on a pro-regime television channel.

Aişe Sevdâ confirmed that her enthusiasm had been crushed because they were not able to kill anyone on July 15. “The July 15 coup remained inside us; we couldn’t do what we wanted. Our family can kill 50 people like this,” she said.