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Is a coup really looming in Turkey?

Amid Turkey’s deepening economic woes and the COVID-19 pandemic, the main opposition has come into the government's crosshairs for allegedly inciting a military coup, which is no coincidence.
A picture of main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) Istanbul chair Canan Kaftancioglu is displayed on a screen outside the Justice Palace, the Caglayan courthouse, in Istanbul, Turkey, September 6, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1B167BFEA0
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As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to exacerbate Turkey’s economic turmoil, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has found itself accused of coup incitement in a fresh onslaught by government members and crony media led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The harshest accusation came May 4 from the top seat of power after a Cabinet meeting that Erdogan chaired via video conference from his presidential mansion in Istanbul, where he has been staying during the pandemic. Erdogan was expected to focus on the government’s “normalization” plan to ease pandemic restrictions, but instead he spent a good part of his speech raging at the main opposition.

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