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Hindustan Times
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Turkey's caliphate delusions and India's security concerns
Turkey, once embodying Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's secular, modern vision, now stumbles under the iron-fisted whims of a man chasing the ghosts of the past. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has gone from reformer to radical, from statesman to strongman. His current avatar? A self-styled Caliph of the 21st century, broadcasting delusions of grandeur across the Muslim world. Let us not sugar-coat it, this is not religious revivalism. It is a well-rehearsed, high-budget cosplay of the Ottoman Empire, starring Erdoğan as the lone ranger of the Ummah. His bromance with Pakistan and hostility toward India are not products of ideology but ambition. He treats it as an Influence Olympics and he is doing whatever it takes to win gold. Cloaked in nostalgia and supercharged by social media, Erdoğan's neo-Ottoman propaganda seeks to radicalise young minds from Kashmir to Kerala. His tactics are straight from the dictator's playbook — mask authoritarianism with messianic rhetoric, fund proxies, push propaganda, and exploit identity fault lines. And India, one of the most diverse nations and an exemplar of pluralism, must level up. His drones fly across the Line of Control (LoC), but they carry more than narcotics or arms, they carry messages. Messages that say, 'We're watching, we're coming, and we have got technology too.' The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from across the LoC are manufactured in Turkey and rebranded in Pakistan, similar to Chinese missiles with Pakistani names. Same chips, new lies. It's like watching bootleg missiles in a bad spy movie, except this is real. Whether we like it or not, Turkey has built a formidable drone warfare industry, punching far above its weight. Its UAVs have altered battlefields in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and reshaped dynamics in multiple wars across the Middle-East and North Africa (MENA) region. India needs to stop playing nice and start playing smart. Equip Turkey's adversaries, Armenia, Cyprus, Greece, Saudi Arabia, with indigenous drone tech, cyber-defence systems and engage them in sharper diplomacy. Give Erdoğan a reality check: India does not just vibe, it retaliates. And while Erdoğan plays Sultan on TikTok, real States such as the UAE, backed by Saudi Arabia and Egypt are pushing back — with dignity, not delusional dreams. West Asia is not falling for his bait, and neither should India. These nations are not just challenging his economic model but his ideological export factory. The time has come for a coalition of civilisations, a bloc to counter the radicalism of the Turkey-Pakistan duet. Their CVs are written in blood: Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks, Kashmiris, and Bengalis. Their history of genocidal experiences is no footnote. India must stop doom-scrolling while Erdoğan's bots work overtime. The Turkish dissident Gülenist movement – led by Fethullah Gülen and termed by the Erdoğan administration as the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) — has been crushed inside Turkey, but is alive globally. This offers India a diplomatic opportunity. It should offer asylum and give them platforms. Make India the new Istanbul for liberal Turkish exiles. We did not ask for this ideological war, but we cannot afford to lose it. Meanwhile, the Turkish India-bashing machinery and its infrastructure is vast and well-funded. Over the years, State-backed Turkish media agencies such as the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) and Anadolu Agency (AA), along with countless non-profits and academic institutions, have been hiring ISI proxies from Pakistan as well as Jammu and Kashmir. Similarly, Turkish NGOs such as the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), the Diyanet Foundation and the Turkey Youth Foundation (TUGVA) are running as religious start-ups and trying to dent India's sovereignty. Funded by Ankara and cloaked in cultural exchange, they run recruitment drives without even informing Indian missions. Students lured through flashy scholarships are groomed into soft agents of radicalism. It constitutes academic gaslighting at its finest. Let us set the record straight: Any Indian or Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholder who supports Turkey's radical designs or acts against Indian interests should be stripped of status and access. National identity is not a prop. It is a privilege. Erdoğan is also using entertainment as his weapon of choice. Turkish serials like Ertugrul and Barbaroslar are Caliphate-core propaganda. These shows are not just binge-worthy, they have brainwash potential. The Kashmir Valley is saturated with clips romanticising religious conquest and resistance — Instagram reels today, ideological grenades tomorrow. The Imam Hatip schools, funded directly by Erdoğan, act as radical production houses, manufacturing the next generation of zealots, influencers and apologists. Not to forget the IHH, masquerading as a humanitarian NGO, while running parallel political missions in Kashmir and beyond. Erdoğan is a person of binaries, dichotomies and paradoxes. And while advertising itself as a modern Islamic power committed to dialogue with much fanfare, Turkey's State machinery under Erdoğan simultaneously funds radical voices, fugitives and known extremists in hiding. This duplicity must be exposed. Erdoğan is not a political phoenix but a paranoid populist. Aging, erratic, and increasingly isolated, he knows his time is short. That is why he is sprinting toward the mirage of Ummah leadership with one foot in delusion and the other in desperation. India must wake up, show up and scale up. Use media, diplomacy and diaspora networks. Let Erdoğan's own people turn the tide. We don't need missiles to counter every menace: Ideas are mightier than drones. This is not just an external threat. We can no longer afford to treat Turkey's antics as distant drama. This is not fiction. It is Erdoğan's audition for Caliph, and India must ensure he never makes the cut. Abhishek Singhvi is a senior four-term sitting MP, member, Congress Working Committee, and national spokesperson, Congress. Akash Kumar Singh is a doctoral scholar at the Special Centre for National Security Studies, JNU, and a former LAMP fellow. The views expressed are personal. Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
Arab Times
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab Times
Turkish prosecutors target 63 members of military over ties to a 2016 coup attempt
ISTANBUL, May 24, (AP): Prosecutors in Turkey issued arrest warrants for 63 active-duty military personnel Friday over links to a group accused of attempting a coup in 2016. Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said the suspects included four colonels and came from the army, navy, air force and gendarmerie. Early morning raids across the country resulted in 56 suspects being detained. They are allegedly tied to an outlawed group that Turkey refers to as the Fethullahist Terror Organization, or FETO. Its leader, Fethullah Gulen, died in October last year in the United States, where he had lived since 1999 in self-imposed exile. Some 290 people were killed in July 2016 when rogue military units took to the streets of Ankara and Istanbul in a bid to depose the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Jet fighters bombed the parliament building and presidential palace while Erdogan narrowly escaped assassination or capture while vacationing on the west coast. A subsequent purge of the military, police, judiciary and other state agencies saw tens of thousands arrested. Schools, businesses and media organizations tied to Gulen were closed down. The prosecutor's statement said those targeted Friday were identified through telephone communications and said FETO still posed the "greatest threat to the constitutional order and survival of the state.' Since the failed coup, 25,801 military suspects have been detained, it added. The statement did not specify the exact charges against the suspects. Gulen, a former cleric, amassed a worldwide following over decades and aided Erdogan's rise to power in 2003. The alliance broke down after the government closed some Gulen-run educational establishments and Gulenists in the police and judiciary pursued corruption allegations against Erdogan's government. Gulen always denied any involvement in the failed coup. He was wanted in Turkey, which repeatedly demanded his extradition from the US. The coup attempt contributed to the acceleration of authoritarian tendencies in Turkey, with Erdogan's government implementing measures that consolidated his powers.
Free Malaysia Today
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Turkey arrests 65 soldiers, police for ties to late Erdogan foe
Almost 500 people, including soldiers, were arrested for participating in the 2016 attempted coup. (EPA Images pic) ISTANBUL : Turkey arrested 65 soldiers and police officers early on Friday over alleged ties to the late preacher Fethullah Gulen, who was accused of masterminding the failed 2016 coup. State news agency Anadolu said 56 active-duty soldiers from the Turkish armed forces had been arrested, with another seven still being sought. Halk TV, meanwhile, said nine police officers were arrested, 'most of them in Istanbul'. 'In an operation against the terrorist organisation FETO in 36 provinces centred in Istanbul, 56 of the 63 active-duty soldiers for whom detention orders were issued were captured,' Anadolu said. The FETO – or the 'Fethullah Terror Organisation' – is the name Turkey gives to Gulen's Hizmet movement, which once had widespread influence behind the scenes. Gulen, who died in October, was once a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before the two became bitter enemies. He fled to the United States in 1999 and never returned. Even after his death, Turkey has vowed to pursue his followers across the globe. Quoting a prosecutors' statement, Halk said the arrest operation began in Istanbul at 6am (0300 GMT) and concerned members of the air force, the gendarmerie, and the land and naval forces.
The Hindu
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Turkiye arrests 65 soldiers, police for ties to late Erdogan foe
Turkiye arrested 65 soldiers and police officers early on Friday (May 23, 2025) over alleged ties to the late preacher Fethullah Gulen, who was accused of masterminding the failed 2016 coup. State news agency Anadolu said 56 active-duty soldiers from the Turkish armed forces had been arrested, with another seven still being sought. Halk TV meanwhile said nine police officers were arrested, "most of them in Istanbul". "In an operation against the terrorist organisation FETO in 36 provinces centred in Istanbul, 56 of the 63 active-duty soldiers for whom detention orders were issued were captured," Anadolu said. The FETO — or the "Fethullah Terror Organisation" — is the name Turkey gives to Gulen's Hizmet movement, which once had widespread influence behind the scenes. Gulen, who died in October, was once a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before the two became bitter enemies. He fled to the United States in 1999 and never returned. Even after his death, Turkiye has vowed to pursue his followers across the globe. Quoting a prosecutors' statement, Halk said the arrest operation began in Istanbul at 6.00 a.m. (0300 GMT) and concerned members of the air force, the gendarmerie, and the land and naval forces.
Nahar Net
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Turkish prosecutors target 63 military members over ties to 2016 coup attempt
by Naharnet Newsdesk 23 May 2025, 15:37 Prosecutors in Turkey issued arrest warrants for 63 active-duty military personnel Friday over links to a group accused of attempting a coup in 2016. Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said the suspects included four colonels and came from the army, navy, air force and gendarmerie. Early morning raids across the country resulted in 56 suspects being detained. They are allegedly tied to an outlawed group that Turkey refers to as the Fethullahist Terror Organization, or FETO. Its leader, Fethullah Gulen, died in October last year in the United States, where he had lived since 1999 in self-imposed exile. Some 290 people were killed in July 2016 when rogue military units took to the streets of Ankara and Istanbul in a bid to depose the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Jet fighters bombed the parliament building and presidential palace while Erdogan narrowly escaped assassination or capture while vacationing on the west coast. A subsequent purge of the military, police, judiciary and other state agencies saw tens of thousands arrested. Schools, businesses and media organizations tied to Gulen were closed down. The prosecutor's statement said those targeted Friday were identified through telephone communications and said FETO still posed the "greatest threat to the constitutional order and survival of the state." Since the failed coup, 25,801 military suspects have been detained, it added. The statement did not specify the exact charges against the suspects. Gulen, a former cleric, amassed a worldwide following over decades and aided Erdogan's rise to power in 2003. The alliance broke down after the government closed some Gulen-run educational establishments and Gulenists in the police and judiciary pursued corruption allegations against Erdogan's government. Gulen always denied any involvement in the failed coup. He was wanted in Turkey, which repeatedly demanded his extradition from the U.S. The coup attempt contributed to the acceleration of authoritarian tendencies in Turkey, with Erdogan's government implementing measures that consolidated his powers.
