All language subtitles for VICE S05E18 Power to the President

This week on Vice:

the historic vote in Turkey

that could change
the face of Europe.

This is a
proposal to turn Turkey

into Wahhabist's version
of North Korea.

This is what we are fearing.

It's the day before the
referendum here in Istanbul,

and President Erdogan is
holding several rallies.

Go, go, go!

We are not animals!

Sync & corrections by honeybunny
www.addic7ed.com

Last summer, television
cameras from around the world

were transfixed by a
dramatic coup in Turkey.

An attempted coup in Turkey.

The military claiming
it has seized power

from Turkey's president.

The president says
the coup has failed.

We're watching
people right now

pouring into the streets
after this military coup.

President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan

used the passions and
political tensions

to push through a referendum

that granted him
sweeping new powers

and moved Turkey's democracy
closer to dictatorship.

Turkey is
a crucial American ally

and a longtime member of NATO,

but now,
Erdogan's victory in April

is shaking old alliances
with the West.

So, we sent Isobel
Yeung to Istanbul

to witness this historic vote.

Everyone's outside,
celebrating jubilantly.

This right here is
President Erdogan's home,

and people have gathered
in their thousands

to congratulate each other

and to celebrate the results,
despite the tight margin.

Turkey's historic
referendum has the potential

to be a major turning point in
the future of global politics.

With the fall of the Ottoman
Empire after World War I,

Turkey was established
as a republic,

long known for secularism
and democracy.

But those principles
have slowly been eroded

under the leadership
of President Erdogan.

He's built a cult of personality

stemming from years

of economic booms...

defending Islamic values,

and defying Turkey's
international rivals.

After serving the maximum three
terms as prime minister,

Erdogan was elected
president in 2014.

A role which, until now,

has largely been ceremonial.

With this vote, Erdogan is effectively
rewriting the constitution.

There will no longer be
a prime minister,

the president assumes
broad control

of the judiciary,
can rule by decree,

and could remain
in power until 2034,

which critics fear will cement
his one-man rule.

We followed the run-up
to this highly-divisive vote

to understand why a key American
ally is pulling away from democracy.

That journey began
in Washington, D.C.

We're at Washington Dulles
Airport, and these guys

that just pulled up here
are Turkish delegates

who have arrived with
thousands of ballot papers

that they've been collecting
over the last few weeks

in preparation
for the referendum.

Turkish citizens all around
the world rallied

for this historic referendum,

convinced that
the future of the country

hung in the balance.

As tensions mounted,

Turkish relations
with the EU hit a new low.

Here in the US, we traveled
with delegates from each side.

Omer supports a "Yes" vote,

while Yurter is from
the opposing party.

Three million Turkish diaspora,

that's pretty significant. These
votes could make a real difference.

Yeah, it changes about three
percent of total votes.

Why should the world care, in
general, what happens in Turkey?

Number one,
Turkey is a NATO member.

Number two,
Turkey is the only secular

and democratic country with a
predominantly Muslim population.

And number three, because of
its geostrategic location.

Turkey is the gateway

between Europe
and the Middle East.

It's home to over three
million Syrian refugees

more than any other nation.

And a recent string
of terrorist attacks

by ISIS and Kurdish insurgents

have further
destabilized the country,

garnering support
for Erdogan's strongman rule.

In the world's
most volatile region,

Turkey is a vital Western ally,

maintaining the second-largest
military in NATO.

But factions of that military
shocked the world in July 2016,

with an attempt to overthrow
President Erdogan.

As the coup plotters
took to the streets,

President Erdogan spoke to
journalist Hande Firat.

Maybe you can just give us an account
of what happened that night.

Galvanized by
Erdogan's call to arms,

crowds of people
confronted the coup plotters

on Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge.

Melih Ecertas,

leader of the AK
Party Youth Branch,

was there to fight
for what he saw

as a pivotal moment for Erdogan.

There were four tanks.

There were maybe 60
soldiers with rifles

The people were
walking down to here...

protesting.

The soldiers were shooting.

So, you saw
several people die.

I saw several people martyred,

so we feel this is
a battlefield.

The police officers
throughout the country

just start shooting with them.

After half an hour,
the soldiers,

they are giving up.

And then the people
are screaming,

"We got
the Bosphorus Bridge."

At the end of the night,
50 people were killed in here.

In all Turkey, around
250 people were killed.

Support for Erdogan
surged after the coup

and emboldened him to crack
down on those responsible.

He began by arresting followers

of Islamist cleric
Fethullah Gulen,

his former ally, now living
in exile in Pennsylvania.

But critics claim Erdogan has
since used the state of emergency

as a chance to purge
all opposition.

Meanwhile, supporters like Mileh

are tirelessly campaigning
for a "Yes" vote

to expand Erdogan's powers.

Obviously, you've spoken
to so many people

over the last few weeks
in your campaigning.

What are the biggest issues they
have with constitutional change?

They would like to understand
the basic change,

and we will start telling them,
"We need a strong Turkey.

We need
a strong judiciary system."

They start understand.

In total, across Turkey,

how many volunteers do you have?

Wow.

Thanks to a strong
parliamentary backing,

the "Yes" campaign draws on significant
funding and state resources.

You all are? If I see Erdogan, I'll
tell him he has a very big fan base here.

The AK Party
Youth Branch has held

7,000 of these
"Yes" campaign events

in the 45 days leading up
to the referendum.

Right now, they're
playing on the screens

scenes from July 15th
of the attempted coup.

It's
a very strong reaction

as soon as anyone from the
opposition comes on the screen.

There was a clear momentum
behind the "Yes" campaign.

In part, that's because critics
have largely been silenced

in the post-coup purge.

Over 110,000 people
have been detained,

accused of being Gulenists
or enemies of the state.

Police officers, civil servants,

and journalists
have been sacked.

And in academia,
tens of thousands

of teachers and professors
have been dismissed,

but some of those professors
are attempting to fight back

by taking their classes
underground.

Many of these professors
formerly taught at Ankara University.

How long have you
been working in academia?

Are you saying that none of the
professors who were dismissed

were in any way linked
to the Gulenist movement?

What do you think this
means for the future of Turkey?

And it's not just
academia that's under attack.

Lawyers and judges
who are seen as sympathetic

to detainees
have also been targeted.

A group of lawyers
are staging weekly protests

against the arrests
of their colleagues.

One of them agreed
to speak with us.

As a lawyer, do you feel like
the current judiciary system

in Turkey will provide justice?

The deterioration
of the rule of law

has fueled opposition to Erdogan's
proposed constitutional changes.

Groups like this one
are campaigning for "No,"

"Hayir" in Turkish.

We're with the "No" campaigners

as they're handing out
leaflets as well.

Slightly more mellow campaign

than it was when we were
with the AKP guys.

It's really divided.
You can see the difference.

Like, when you're
in Kadikoy or here,

it seems, like, great,
and you feel more confident,

and then, like, in just 20
minutes, everything changed.

You're in a conservative
neighborhood,

and you can feel
just the opposite.

Yeah, it does feel very divided.

It feels very, very different.
Yeah, it is like

Turkish community
is so divided now.

Tensions are running very high by the
looks of things. Yeah, yeah, of course.

What are the main reasons that
you're campaigning for "No"?

This is scary. I mean,
as a woman, especially,

I really don't want to live
in a religious country.

We know this from other,
like, Middle Eastern countries.

If there is a "Yes" vote, what does
Turkey look like in 10, 20 years time?

Some people talks
about civil war.

And yeah, there's
no good scenario at all.

We will have, obviously,
a dictatorship with "Yes."

Why is it, do you think, that so
many people are voting for "Yes"?

Turkish people feel
like they're alone,

and, like, Europe hates them,

like-- I don't know-- America
hates them, everybody hates them.

That popular
belief stems in part

from 30 years of being
denied entry to the EU,

which many believe
is rooted in Islamophobia.

Widespread disappointment
at this rejection

has helped garner
nationalist views

that have only deepened the
polarization within society.

I was attacked
by 15 members of parliament,

who were female members,

with screwdrivers
and scissors in their hands.

For the past six years,

Safak Pavey has served

as a parliamentary member

for Turkey's main
opposition party.

Anyone who is
a non-supporter for them,

is gonna be facing
imprisonment, social lynching.

This is a proposal
to turn Turkey

into Wahhabist's version
of North Korea,

so this is what we're fearing.

President Erdogan
is incredibly popular.

I see his image everywhere.

A lot of people that I've
spoken to have sung his praises

and have said that Turkey has
transformed under his leadership

and that economic transformation,
financial transformation,

infrastructure's being built
under his leadership,

which wasn't built
under the CHP's leadership.

Um, no. I-- I have to say that
this is part of their propaganda.

Government controlled media
is about 99 percent

of Turkish media right now,

so there's almost no space
allowed for our messages.

But the biggest power that they
have is the religious populism.

I mean, just this week,
Erdogan has declared

that those citizens
that vote for "No,"

they will lose
their place in heaven.

In Turkey, the mosques are
directly answerable to the state,

meaning the government
can easily reach

the congregation of millions
of people a week.

What sort of role do you think that
religion plays here in Turkey?

Why is it that you
weren't able to go to school

with your headscarf before
AK Party came to power?

Is there anything about
Turkey you think that, uh...

people in the West, people in
America might not understand?

That sentiment, that Erdogan
is the reason for Turkey's strength,

is echoed by huge swaths
of the population.

It's the day before the
referendum here in Istanbul,

and President Erdogan is holding
several rallies throughout the city.

They're expecting hundreds of
thousands of people to be attending

and to be rallying and
campaigning for the "Yes" vote.

In the height
of this frenzied atmosphere,

we finally caught
a glimpse of the man

at the center
of this divisive vote.

With the "Yes"
campaign at a fever pitch,

it was finally the day
of the referendum.

A massive 85 percent of the
population turned out to vote.

We went to a "No" campaign
HQ, where what played out

over the next few hours would determine
the direction of Turkey's entire future.

The atmosphere here is
getting more and more subdued

as all the votes are coming in.

Almost all of them
have been counted now,

and it's standing
at about 52 percent "Yes"

and 48 percent "No."

It's not the result that
these guys are hoping for.

In spite of the significant
advantages afforded

to the "Yes" campaign,
the vote was nearly split,

signifying just how deeply
divided the country really is.

Do you see this as a turning
point in Turkey's history?

We've heard that there is Erdogan
supporters out on the streets already,

so we're heading towards
President Erdogan's house,

to see what's
going on down there.

How are you feeling tonight?

What do you think this means
to the rest of the world?

While Erdogan supporters

celebrated their victory
against the world,

international monitors
slammed the validity

- of the referendum itself.
- They don't believe

this referendum was fair.

The State
Department acknowledged

the concerns the international
monitors raised.

The 16th April
constitutional referendum

took place on an
unlevel playing field.

To understand
how the country

can move forward, we sat down

with Deputy Prime
Minister Veysi Kaynak.

There are widespread protests
throughout the country.

Can you understand why
almost half the population

feels deeply concerned
that Turkey is now

on a path to one-man rule?

I have to bring it to you that

not only opposition groups,
but also international monitors

around the world have said
that that these results

are heavily, heavily contested.

How do you plan
to reconcile those issues?

It seems like there's a real distrust of
media in Turkey, including foreign media.

Why do you think it is that Turkey
struggles so much with freedom of press?

Turkey has locked up
more journalists

than anywhere else in the world.

Obviously, freedom of
press is an issue here.

What happens to your role now
that, under this new system,

the prime minister's position
is obsolete?

Presumably the deputy prime
minister's position is also obsolete.

Have you done yourself
out of a job?

But whether this
transfer of power to Erdogan

actually brings more stability
remains to be seen.

Since the referendum,
Germany has moved

to withdraw its troops
from a NATO airbase in Turkey,

and Erdogan's own bodyguards violently
attacked protesters on an official D.C. visit.

In Turkey, the state of emergency
was extended once again

and thousands more have
been fired and detained.

We followed as protesters
took to the streets.

It's not just even
Middle East or Islam.

The whole world is going to be
more and more conservative,

populist, religious, as you can
see even in the US for example.

We do know how
vital our struggle is

to keep modernity alive
in Turkey.

This is our struggle's name,

and it has global consequences,

whether we can survive
out of this or not.

Sync & corrections by honeybunny
www.addic7ed.com