Coup attempt affected Turkey-EU relations, damaged EU’s image as declared champion of democracy, rule of law, human rights
It seems that the European Union (EU) has issues in reconciling its rhetoric with its actions. After its failure to take a just moral and ethical stance for democracy and oppose the coup d’état against the first democratically elected president in Egypt in 2013, the July 15, 2016, coup attempt in Turkey was yet another litmus test for the EU to stand by its declared principles. Alas, it failed once more.
Such inconsistency, which amounts to hypocrisy in the eyes of some, affected not only the relations with Turkey but also dented the EU’s reputation as a promoter of democracy and human rights around the globe, especially when one considers the Union’s founding principles, which are based on the promotion and protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. July 15, 2019, marks the third anniversary of the coup attempt in Turkey. On that day, a subversive and clandestine organization, known as FETO [Fetullah Gulen Terrorist Organization], which is notorious for infiltrating Turkish state institutions, such as the army, the judiciary, the police, as well as the bureaucracy, tried to overthrow the democratically elected government in Turkey.
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