Several Turkish prime ministers tried to eliminate the Deep State. An informal, hard right-wing, secularist group composed of military and intelligence officers, judges, corporatists and organized crime groups.
The Deep State was part of NATO’s Operation Gladio during the cold war and, applying a strategy of tension, was responsible for the killing of several thousand people. Several military coups de état were done under its directions.
It is back in action:
An entity established by a former military general has been working to
influence the political and social atmosphere in Turkey, the Taraf
daily reported in its weekend editions.Called the Republican Work Group (CÇG), the organization is similar to the Western Work Group, which was known to be active in most of the events that led up to the unarmed military intervention of Feb. 28, 1997 that overthrew the government.
The Deep State, of which the CÇG is the silent lobbying part, is alleged to have prepared another coup in 2004 when the AK Party won local elections. But the plotters were not put on trial. Instead the editor of the magazine that published proof in form of a diary of one of the plotting generals was investigated and the magazine temporarily shut down.
The reappearance of the group points to new activities and is seen as the direct threat to the government.
The mildly Islamic AKP of Prime Minister Erdogan is already in trouble. It passed a constitutional amendment to allow for headscarves to be worn in universities. The Turkish Constitutional Court, in a 9 to 2 vote, declared the amendment unconstitutional and a "threat" to the country’s secular order.
With this vote the court put itself firmly into the Deep State camp of the conflict and against the popular government. Additionally public prosecutors are trying to ban the AKP.
The party won 48% of the popular vote in the last election and it is ruling quite successfully. It is now considering another snap election to confirm that it has the support of the people.
While the Deep State is secular and nominally liberal, it is also rightwing and anti-democratic. Internationally it has support from the neocon AEI and Israel. AEI’s Michael Rubin a few day’s ago called Erdogan Turkey’s Putin and demanded his prosecution.
A coup against Erdogan, with guns or by partisan judges, would likely lead to a radicalisation of the followers of his party.
That again would heat up the cauldron in the Middle East by several hundred degrees.