Shortly after the attempted coup of July 2016, more than one million Turks gathered at a celebratory rally in Istanbul. "Each and every one of you fought for freedom and democracy," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the crowd. "All of you are heroes." The coup had been real enough. The loyalist army chief of staff had been held captive by one of his own officers, 250 people died, the country's parliament had come under bombardment, while Mr Erdogan escaped from his holiday hotel only minutes before mutinous soldiers had arrived to capture him (or even worse).
The leaders of the two main opposition groups, Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the Republican People’s Party, and Devlet Bahceli of the Nationalist Movement Party, also addressed the rally in a show of unity. Mr Erdogan asked those attending to bring only Turkish flags, not party political banners. All Turks were to stand together to declare that the bad old days, when the army would stage a coup once a decade or so if the democratically elected government wasn’t to their taste, were over. "There is a new Turkey," said Mr Kilicdaroglu, and for a time it appeared he might be right.
Everyone knew that the Gulenist movement which had inspired, if not directly controlled, every aspect of the plot, had spent decades infiltrating the country's institutions. They had, of course, previously been Mr Erdogan's allies before becoming bitter enemies. But the Gulenist attempt to overthrow the government was seen as an attack on all, and a threat to the stability and primacy of Turkey's democracy, not just Mr Erdogan's AKP. So the Gulenists had to be rooted out. And yes, that might mean many thousands would have to be removed from positions in the armed forces, the judiciary and other agencies.
If one wanted to allow Mr Erdogan a very generous measure of doubt out of respect for the electoral victories the Turkish people have handed him time and again, one could point out that although 50,000 people have since been arrested, 48,000 have been released. One could respond to the fact that 150,000 people have been sacked or suspended in a similar vein, by suggesting that perhaps there were even more Gulenists than had been thought.
But the litany of oppression and jailings of figures whose crimes consist only of criticising Mr Erdogan, or of drawing attention to matters he doesn't like, has reached such a length that the patience of those who wish to find acceptable motives for his conduct has been exhausted. An opposition MP given 25 years in jail for “spying”. Newspaper editors and columnists detained and silenced. Other news organisation banned, and Wikipedia blocked. The list is endless.
Why make the effort to defend him? Why even be inclined to do so? Well, there are many in Europe and America, on both the left and the right, who are heavily invested in arguing that Islam and democracy are, in the end, just not compatible. However much they may say they support “brave Muslim moderates”, they believe ultimately that Islam is the problem.
Turkey's governing AKP once looked like a rejoinder to that. It was a vehicle for the views of the conservative Muslim masses who had finally been granted a fair share in the democratic process, after having been excluded by an overly strict and western-inspired secularism for so long. And having been made to wait so long, their commitment to democracy and equal rights was firm. They would not seek to impose their own version of a tyranny of the majority that had - ludicrously in a Muslim country - banned women from wearing headscarves in schools, courts and civil service premises.
There was also the view that the AKP represented a moderate end point that other Islamist parties might eventually reach, just as Ennahda in Tunisia has, as Hussein Ibish wrote recently in these pages.
Instead, the increasing authoritarianism of Mr Erdogan and the AKP (the two are now synonymous, although initially the party had been less of a one-man show) fuels the accusation that Islamist parties of any kind cannot be trusted. They are bound to start subverting the institutions and separations of power that underpin democracy, as Mohammed Morsi did in Egypt, because at heart, they don't really respect them.
That this should be the legacy of the coup, one year on, is a tragedy for Turkey, for all those who believe that Islam and democracy are entirely compatible, and for Mr Erdogan himself. He could have been the towering figure who gave voice to those who had been voiceless in Turkey for too long, but succumbing to his autocratic tendencies has diminished both him and his party. It is not too late to change course. If Mr Erdogan cares to remember it, the "new Turkey" could still be the one of last August's hopeful, inclusive and united rally.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDirect%20Debit%20System%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sept%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20with%20a%20subsidiary%20in%20the%20UK%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elaine%20Jones%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
Stuck in a job without a pay rise? Here's what to do
Chris Greaves, the managing director of Hays Gulf Region, says those without a pay rise for an extended period must start asking questions – both of themselves and their employer.
“First, are they happy with that or do they want more?” he says. “Job-seeking is a time-consuming, frustrating and long-winded affair so are they prepared to put themselves through that rigmarole? Before they consider that, they must ask their employer what is happening.”
Most employees bring up pay rise queries at their annual performance appraisal and find out what the company has in store for them from a career perspective.
Those with no formal appraisal system, Mr Greaves says, should ask HR or their line manager for an assessment.
“You want to find out how they value your contribution and where your job could go,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave enough to ask some questions and if you don’t like the answers then you have to develop a strategy or change jobs if you are prepared to go through the job-seeking process.”
For those that do reach the salary negotiation with their current employer, Mr Greaves says there is no point in asking for less than 5 per cent.
“However, this can only really have any chance of success if you can identify where you add value to the business (preferably you can put a monetary value on it), or you can point to a sustained contribution above the call of duty or to other achievements you think your employer will value.”
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
UAE%20Warriors%2033%20Results
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The British in India: Three Centuries of Ambition and Experience
by David Gilmour
Allen Lane
Kibsons%20Cares
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BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
The years Ramadan fell in May
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now