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ISTANBUL Even before President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey was inaugurated last week, he began elbowing his way into the front ranks of the globes strongmen.

Hours before taking the oath of office after 15 years already in power Mr. Erdogan published a 143-page decree changing the way almost every government department and public body in the country operates.

In the days since, he has issued several equally lengthy decrees and presidential decisions, centralizing power and giving him the ability to exert control in nearly all areas of life with almost unchecked authority.

At a moment when democratic systems around the world are under increasing pressure, Mr. Erdogan, who was re-elected in June, is among those leaders, like Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and Viktor Orban of Hungary, who are using the levers of democracy to vastly expand their authority.

Among the changes Mr. Erdogan has put in place under the new presidential system are these:

The prime ministers office has been abolished;

The military has been brought under firmer civilian control;

The president will draft the budget and choose judges and many top officials;

The president can dismiss Parliament and call new elections at will;

The president appoints the head of the National Intelligence Agency, the Religious Affairs Directorate and the Central Bank, as well as ambassadors, governors and university rectors, among other top bureaucrats;

Virtually none of the presidents appointments require a confirmation process.

None of the amendments Mr. Erdogan decreed were subject to public debate before becoming law. The vast accumulation of power fulfills Turkeys shift from a parliamentary system to the presidential one that was narrowly approved by voters in a referendum last year.

The voluminous decrees, analysts say, promise months of administrative upheaval as agencies are abolished and government employees reassigned.

Critics have voiced concern at the lack of checks on the presidents increased powers.

The state is being reorganized around Tayyip Erdogan, the columnist Asli Aydintasbas wrote in the secular opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet last week.

Many of the changes, analysts point out, merely formalize what was already the case: It is Mr. Erdogan who makes the decisions. But the consolidation of his power is far-reaching.

Mr. Erdogan has also amended the counterterrorism law in expectation of lifting the state of emergency, which expires on Thursday and was put in place two years ago after a failed military coup against him.

The new measures bring the powerful Turkish military firmly under civilian control a step that the president says is in line with changes required under the European Unions accession process. The bloc has dangled admission before Turkey for years.

But Mr. Erdogan and his fellow Islamists have long called for a presidential system and for greater civilian control over the military. Turkeys recent history has been filled with military coups, and the Islamists chafed more than others under military rule.

Mr. Erdogan has placed the chief of staff of the armed forces under control of the Defense Ministry, and the Supreme Military Council, which decides senior appointments in the armed forces, has been reconfigured to include more civilian ministers than military commanders.

Mr. Erdogan appointed a loyalist, the former chief of staff, Gen. Hulusi Akar, as his first defense minister under the new system. General Akar opposed the 2016 coup he was taken prisoner on the night of the failed coup by rogue officers and has overseen a comprehensive purge of the armed forces in the two years since.

It seems Erdogan has planned the transition to be as smooth as possible by naming Akar, Turkeys top soldier, as the defense minister, the columnist Murat Yetkin wrote in The Hurriyet Daily News.

Mr. Erdogan outlined his own powers in one new decree after his inauguration. He will appoint the chief of staff of the armed forces along with the commanders of the land, air and naval forces and the deputy chief of staff by presidential decision, which needs no confirmation process. The president will also make promotions in the upper ranks of the security forces from colonel upward.

Decree 703, issued just before Mr. Erdogan was sworn in to his new term, also removed many of the regulations in the selection process for appointments.

For instance, the president will appoint the rectors of Turkeys public and private universities, without the usual shortlisting procedure by the university and Higher Education Board.

Yes, U.S. President Trump can appoint a replacement to a vacant seat in the Supreme Court, but he does not appoint a police chief in Massachusetts or a public theater director in Boston, Ms. Aydintasbas commented in Cumhuriyet. He cannot appoint a state governor or even a university rector, she added.

The decree also lowers the qualifications for judges appointed to the governments administrative courts, which regulate government departments. Previously, judges had to hold law or political science degrees, but they can now be drawn from any degree program, as the Justice Ministry sees fit.

One of Mr. Erdogans most controversial moves has been the appointment of his son-in-law Berat Albayrak as minister of the newly combined Treasury and Finance Ministry.

A presidential circular published in the Official Gazette over the weekend also placed the Central Bank under the responsibility of the ministry.

Mr. Erdogan has emphasized that changes are needed to make state institutions more responsive and efficient. But the latest regulations diminish the legal and practical independence of the Central Bank, Umit Akcay, an associate professor of Economics at the Berlin School of Economics and Law, said in emailed comments.

Turkish equities and the countrys currency fell in value in the days after Mr. Erdogans appointment of a new cabinet that removed two highly regarded officials Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek and Finance Minister Naci Agbal and that promoted Mr. Albayrak.

Mr. Albayrak addressed the changes at the Central Bank last week in an effort to calm the markets.

The policy in the new period aims to render the Central Bank more effective than ever, he said at a news briefing last week. The Central Banks decisions will be driven by market conditions, he said, promising a more predictable, simple and determined monetary policy in line with the objectives.

Yet Mr. Albayraks appointment is part of the concern unsettling investors, the credit ratings service Moodys said in a statement the same day. Such appointments will inevitably raise questions regarding the independence and experience of Mr. Erdogans government, Moodys said.

Ms. Aydintasbas warned that centralizing power had never worked in Turkey.

I believe that such concentration of power will tire Turkey out, lock out the state and overload the economy, she said. I hope Im mistaken.

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Erdogan, Flush With Victory, Seizes New Powers in Turkey ...

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump held a phone call on Monday and discussed the importance of implementing the joint roadmap in Syrias Manbij, Turkish presidency said in a statement.

FILE PHOTO: President Donald Trump and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gesture as they talk at the start of the NATO summit, July 11, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Under a deal reached between the United States and Turkey last month, the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia would withdraw from Manbij and Turkish and U.S. forces would maintain security and stability around the town.

During Mondays phone call, the two leaders said the implementation of the Manbij deal would significantly contribute to the solution of Syria problem, the statement said.

It added that Erdogan and Trump also repeated their determination to further improve bilateral ties in all areas.

Reporting by Orhan Coskun; Writing by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Humeyra Pamuk

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Erdogan, Trump emphasize importance of Manbij roadmap ...

In the days before his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki Monday, President Donald Trump upset relations with America's allies during a visit to the United Kingdom and a contentious meeting with NATO leaders in Brussels.

In addition tocalling the European Union a "foe" of the U.S.and criticizing British Prime Minister Theresa May for her handling of Brexit, Mr. Trump slammed fellow NATO countries for not contributing more towards defense spending.

On "CBS This Morning" Monday, Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group and a CBS News senior global affairs contributor, said that backstage at the NATO meeting there were elements that were even more eyebrow-raising than reports have suggested.

"One is that emergency session where they asked the Georgian and Ukrainian presidents to leave in the middle of their presentation. Apparently Trump said, 'OK, we're done with you now,'" Bremmer said.

"Trump was very frustrated; he wasn't getting commitments from other leaders to spend more. Many of them said, 'Well, we have to ask our parliaments. We have a process; we can't just tell you we're going to spend more, we have a legal process.' Trump turns around to the Turkish president, Recep Erdogan, and says, 'Except for Erdogan over here. He does things the right way,' and then actually fist-bumps the Turkish president."

It was a startling gesture of support for the increasingly authoritarian Turkish leader, who recently won another term and is widely expected to continue consolidating his power.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium, July 11, 2018.

REINHARD KRAUSE/REUTERS

"If you want to talk about to what extent the allies are comfortable with Trump as a person, a strongman leader, what we saw at the G-20. at that second meeting, what we see now with NATO and the Putin meeting, this is a very visible suggestion," Bremmer said.

"Which would make a fist bump unattractive and disturbing to people it's a universal sign of 'Way to go, good job,'" said co-host Gayle King.

Bremmer agreed that heralding a strongman leader like Erdogan, who has initiated purges internally against critics and who has no effective domestic opposition, would make other European leaders nervous. "Turkey is hardly a liberal democracy at this point," he said.

Bremmer also spoke to Mr. Trump's announcement at the end of the NATO talks when he took credit for an increase in allies' defense spending despite no announcement of increase.

"Apparently the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, was the last person to intervene at the summit," said Bremmer. "Before Trump had his press conference he said [to the president], 'Look, you're really frustrated. Why don't you just take a victory lap? Say that the allies have been spending $32 billion more since you became president. Take credit for it.' That's the last thing Trump heard before he left the meeting."

While Mr. Trump has been lambasting U.S. allies, he has also been praising Russian President Putin, congratulating him for hosting the World Cup tournament.

On Monday, before sitting down for their private one-on-one meeting, the two men spoke to the press. "We have discussions on everything from trade to military, to missiles, to nuclear, to China. We'll be talking a little bit about China, our mutual friend President Xi," Mr. Trump said. "We have great opportunities together as two countries that frankly we have not been getting along very well for the last number of years.

"I think we'll end up having an extraordinary relationship," he predicted.

Mr. Trump added that the fact the U.S. and Russia share a commonality in being nuclear powers is "not a good thing; that's a bad thing."

King asked Bremmer, "What do you make of the comments the two men made, President Putin and President Trump, before they sat down together?"

"I think [it's] interesting that Trump specifically talked about China, talked about China up there a bit more than any other thing he mentioned," Bremmer replied.

"He did not mention Russian meddling [in the U.S. election]," said King.

Bremmer replied, "There are many people that do believe that, long term, the United States and Russia should have a good relationship, [and that] China is the problem. China is the emerging superpower. China is actually the true competitor undermining America, but also undermining the Russians long term. I think that was Steve Bannon's view when he was chief strategist for the White House.

"I think it's interesting that Trump's clearly turning against Beijing. The $200 billion announced in tariffs that may be coming down, the unhelpfulness more recently on North Korea (from his perspective), I think he'd love talking to Putin on that."

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Trump fist-bumped Turkish leader Erdogan, said he "does ...

ANKARA, Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan was sworn in on Monday for a five-year term under a new Constitution that gives Turkeys president sweeping executive powers. He promptly named his son-in-law finance minister, an appointment that unsettled financial markets and raised new concerns about the concentration of so much power in one politician.

We as Turkey, and the Turkish nation, are making a new start here in your presence, Mr. Erdogan told hundreds of foreign leaders, dignitaries and party members gathered in the gardens of the presidential palace in Ankara, the capital. We will make major moves in every area from macroeconomic balances to investments to make Turkey one of the 10 biggest economies of the world.

Mr. Erdogan, who has been at the helm of Turkish politics since 2003, received a fresh mandate from voters last month on promises to make Turkey more efficient, and a great and strong state. As a result of a referendum he championed last year, the once-ceremonial presidency has vastly expanded powers.

Whether Mr. Erdogan can get a grip on the shaky Turkish economy is another matter. Government debt has exploded, fueled by borrowing for vast infrastructure projects, many of them built by contractors with ties to Mr. Erdogan and his allies. Turkeys economy is still one of the worlds fastest growing, expanding at a rate of 7.4 percent last year, but the lira has fallen recently, a reflection of creditors and investors anxieties.

The currency fell further on Monday after Mr. Erdogan named his son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, a former energy minister, as treasury and finance minister. The new cabinet, announced late in the evening, was keenly awaited for an indication of what Mr. Erdogan plans with his newfound powers.

Many of the appointments were of bureaucrats; only four were of elected politicians. The foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, kept his position; the former army chief of staff, Hulusi Akar, was named defense minister; and an American-trained bureaucrat, Fuat Oktay, was named vice president.

Mr. Oktay had served as under secretary in the prime ministers office, which was abolished with the transition to a presidential system.

This means there will be more continuity than change, Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, the director in Ankara of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said before the announcement. They will be implementers, he added, so he is taking things into his own hands.

Mr. Erdogan has defended his constitutional change to introduce a strong presidential system passed by referendum last year as necessary for greater efficiency and a responsive government.

The presidential government system is not coercive but a specific choice that the history directed us to, he told his guests. For the first time in history since Ottoman times, Turkey made its choice at a critical crossroads not by force of a military coup, he said, but with the free will of our nation.

Critics warn the new presidential system will not solve Turkeys problems, from growing economic strains to its bitterly divided politics.

It is completely false that if we change the system problems will be solved, said Murat Sevinc, a professor of constitutional law who writes a column for the newspaper Duvar. They have built a system that is nongovernable, nonmanageable, whoever is elected.

Few Western leaders were present the only leader from the European Union was the president of Bulgaria although a former chancellor of Germany, Gerhard Schrder, who has maintained close relations with Mr. Erdogan since his time in office, was present.

Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia sat in the front row, alongside the presidents of Somalia, Sudan, Chad and Pakistan. The emir of Qatar was the only Arab leader present, and President Nicols Maduro of Venezuela was the lone leader from the Americas. The United States was represented by Philip S. Kosnett, the charg daffaires at its embassy in Ankara.

The United States and European nations have criticized Mr. Erdogans growing authoritarianism in recent years, and in particular his harsh crackdown against political opponents since a failed coup in July 2016. Over 100,000 people have been arrested under a state of emergency since the coup, and 150,000 purged from their jobs.

Hours before his inauguration, Mr. Erdogan dashed off a decree ordering the firing of another 18,000 state employees, most of them members of the police and army, but also teachers and academicians.

The symbols of the days events were scrutinized for how they reflected on what is to come. Some of the celebrations were canceled out of respect for the 24 people killed when a train derailed in northwestern Turkey on Sunday evening.

Legislators from the main opposition parties the Republican Peoples Party and the Good Party, and the pro-Kurdish Democratic Peoples Party refused to stand as Mr. Erdogan took his oath before the newly elected Parliament. Mr. Erdogan entered the chamber to applause, but some boos rang out in the chamber as well.

The president remained stern faced throughout, even when waving to clapping supporters.

Mr. Erdogan won the presidential race with 52 percent of the vote, but his party failed to win a majority in Parliament and will work in alliance with the Nationalist Movement Party. Nearly half the Parliament representing a population the size of Spains remains opposed to Mr. Erdogan, said Soner Cagaptay, author of a book on Mr. Erdogan, The New Sultan.

A clap of thunder sounded the moment after Mr. Erdogan took his oath, and rain descended upon the crowd gathering to celebrate the inauguration across town in the gardens of the presidential palace.

First, Mr. Erdogan paid his respects at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkish republic.

Esteemed Ataturk, he wrote in a visitors book. I promise to go on strengthening the unity and fraternity of our nation, aggrandize our country, glorify our state.

The gesture seemed intended to mollify opponents who have accused Mr. Erdogan of seeking to unravel the secular parliamentary republic that was Mr. Ataturks legacy.

Mr. Erdogan rode in a black car carpeted in red carnations, flanked by a mounted police escort to the presidential palace, arriving as Turkish artillery sounded a 21-gun salute.

On land that Mr. Ataturk had set aside for an experimental farm, Mr. Erdogan built a monumental palace four times the size of Versailles.

In regal procession, he walked the length of the palace gardens, with his wife, Emine, by his side, past a colorful honorary guard in medieval costumes. He greeted guests and supporters, and allowed himself a smile.

An earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to a book on Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, by Soner Cagaptay. It is The New Sultan, not The Last Sultan.

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Erdogan Begins New Term and Names His Son-in-Law Finance ...

After the first cabinet meeting under Turkey's new presidential system, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesmanIbrahim Kalin said Turkish authorities were considering lifting the state of emergency, which was imposed following a failed coup in July 2016.

"As of now, it is foreseen that the emergency rule be brought to an end on the 18th [of July] and the fight against terrorism will continue with current laws in place," Kalin said, although he added that in the event of an extraordinary threat, the state of emergency could be revived.

Read more: Opinion: A dark time for democracy in Turkey

After years of free market reforms, Turkey's transition slowly begins to reverse. Islamist Abdullah Gul's candidacy as president in 2007 marks a clear shift away from secularist policies, and strains relations between the ruling AKP and the military. However, with broad support from both conservative Muslims and liberals, the AKP wins the parliamentary elections and Gul is elected president.

Then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan tables a constitutional reform increasing parliamentary control of the judiciary and army, effectively allowing the government to pick judges and senior military officials. The amendment, which is combined with measures also aimed at protecting child rights and the strengthening the right to appeal, passed by a wide margin in a public referendum.

Pent-up anger directed by young people at Erdogan, Gul and the Islamist-rooted AKP hits a boiling point in May 2013. The violent police breakup of a small sit-in aimed at protecting Istanbul's Gezi Park spurs one of the fiercest anti-government protests in years. Eleven people are killed and more than 8,000 injured, before the demonstrations eventually peter out a month later.

A fragile ceasefire deal between the Turkish government and the Kurdish rebel PKK group breaks under the weight of tensions aggravated by the war in Syria. Military forces resume operations in the mostly Kurdish southeast of Turkey. In early 2016, the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) a breakaway PKK faction claim responsibility for two bombings in Ankara, each killing 38 people.

A military coup attempt against the government shakes Turkey to its core and briefly turns the country into a war zone. Some 260 civilians die in overnight clashes with the army across five major cities. Erdogan, however, rallies supporters and the following morning rebel soldiers are ambushed by thousands of civilians on the Bosporus Bridge. The troops eventually drop their guns and surrender.

In the aftermath of the failed coup, Erdogan announces a state of emergency, leading to arrests of tens of thousands of suspected coup sympathizers and political opponents. Among those detained are military and judiciary officials and elected representatives from the pro-Kurdish HDP party. The purge is later expanded to include civil servants, university officials and teachers.

As part of Erdogan's crackdown against supposed "terrorist sympathizers," Turkey becomes one of the world's leading jailers of journalists, according to Reporters Without Borders. The government shuts down around 110 media outlets in the year following the coup and imprisons more than 100 journalists, including German-Turkish correspondent Deniz Ycel.

With a referendum on expanding Erdogan's presidential powers set for April 2016, AKP officials look to galvanize support among Turks living in Europe, particularly in Germany and the Netherlands. However, the Netherlands forbids Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu from landing in the country, while Germany opts to cancel two rallies. Erdogan accuses both countries of Nazi-style repression.

Erdogan narrowly wins the referendum vote expanding his power. As a result, Turkey's parliamentary system is abolished in favor of a strong executive presidency. Erdogan is also allowed to remain in power potentially until 2029. However, international election monitors claim that opposition voices were muzzled and that media coverage was dominated by figures from the "yes" campaign.

Erdogan secures a new five-year term and sweeping new executive powers after winning landmark elections on June 24. His AKP and their nationalist allies also win a majority in parliament. International observers criticize the vote, saying media coverage and emergency measures gave Erdogan and the AKP an "undue advantage" in the vote.

Author: David Martin

Gulen still blamed

Ankara blamesUS-based Islamic cleric and erstwhile Erdogan allyFethullah Gulenfor orchestrating the coup attempt. The state of emergencyhas been extendedseven times since coming into effect in 2016.

Over 70,000 people have been arrested in connection with the coup attempt and more than 110,000 people have been purged from the civil service and military. About 1,300 associations and foundations have been shut down under the measures.

Erdogan said earlier on Friday that there would be commemoration ceremonies in 81 provinces on Sunday to make the second anniversary of the coup attempt "unforgettable."

Erdogan,who is now both the head of state and government after the move to an executive presidency,promised if re-elected in the June 24 presidential elections that he would lift emergency rule.

jbh/sms (dpa, AFP)

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