Posters depicting Turkey’s failed coup of 2016 appeared around Lahore’s Mall road last night in what is being called ‘the support for democracy.”
The posters apparently put up by MUSIAD’s Pakistan’s branch during the night between Friday and Saturday, featured pictures of the coup with the slogan: “Turkey stands FOR democracy.”
Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (MÜSİAD) is a “businessman association” established in Istanbul in 1990. MUSIAD has pioneered in encouraging the expansion of the Turkish businessmen abroad, and developing their international relations on the issues such as their export, import, investment partnerships and technology exchange.
Today marks the first anniversary of last year’s failed coup on Saturday, in which 250 people were killed and over two thousand others injured. On July 15th, 2016, a group of soldiers, led an attempt to overthrow Turkish democracy. The attempt was made impossible due to the resistance of the Turkish people.
Giant billboards with paintings representing the defeat of last year’s failed coup have have sprung up in Istanbul and other Turkish cities, including many other parts of the world showing people confronting pro-coup soldiers on the night of July 15, 2016.
These posters are part of intense publicity campaign by the authorities under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to remind people of the importance of the defeat of the bid to oust the government, ahead of commemorations of the first anniversary on Saturday.
In Pakistan however, this incident sparked an interesting controversy leading to a lot of speculation among analysts and commentators as to what could be the real intention behind the sudden display of these banners on one of Lahore’s busiest roads at such a politically significant time in the country’s history.
This is how Twitter reacted to it:
#MallRoad Banners! Just 1 year ago failed coup attemp in #Turkey ! Just 1 month ago PM Sharif appeared before #JIT ! Meaningful coincidence! pic.twitter.com/mIU2YdTmbW
— Gharidah Farooqi (@GFarooqi) July 15, 2017
Sharifs’ gimmicks in Lahore! Turkish ppl stood up against army coup, Pakistani ppl will stand up against corruption to strengthen democracy. pic.twitter.com/GSVG3qjQPg
— Usman Dar (@UdarOfficial) July 14, 2017
“Turkey stands for Democracy n etc”
Who posted these banners on pols around Mall Road Lahore? And wht exactly is the purpose of this drama?— Ajmal Jami (@ajmaljami) July 14, 2017
What message is portrayed by Banners on Mall Road Lahore? July 15, 2016 first anniversary of Turkish people for democracy foiled army coup pic.twitter.com/TeNd9knNGc
— Nazir S Bhatti (@nazirbhatti) July 15, 2017
Banners on Mall road is another blunder of Sharifs in panic.
— nas (@naskhan206) July 14, 2017
@imMishalBukhari despite section 144 who in Mid-Night fixed banners on Mall-Road Lahore saying #Turkey stands with democracy??????????
— syed hassan reza (@shahryar530) July 14, 2017
رات کی اندھیری میں لاہور مال روڈ پر اچانک ترکی کے عوام کے حق میں بینر آویزا- کیا ان بینرز کا مطلب عوام کو افواج پاکستان کے خلاف ورغلانا ہے ؟ pic.twitter.com/ttICUrfXcT
— fouzia shafiq (@fouzi_s) July 15, 2017
رات کے اندھیرے میں لاہور میں ترکی کے لیے بینرز لگانے کا مطلب فوج کو پیغام دینا ہے کہ PM جانے کو تیار راستہ چاہیے https://t.co/6130Qn5jer
— Atif Zia (@atifzia) July 15, 2017
Putting a banner in support of democracy is a crime, while the banners asking Raheel Sharif to not leave are kosher. #MostIntelligentNation https://t.co/lI638l6m1e
— Marvi Sirmed (@marvisirmed) July 15, 2017
This is a particularly significant time in Pakistan’s history where Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is continuously rejecting the JIT report which recommended that a reference against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his sons Hassan and Hussain Nawaz be filed with National Accountability Bureau.
According to their spokespersons, the JIT report is nothing but a conspiracy to send packing an elected prime minister on technical grounds and is hence an attack on democracy.
PM Nawaz has also made it clear that he will neither dissolve the assemblies nor resign from his position in a meeting to discuss course-of-action of the ruling party after JIT report.