They did everything to please their masters

The NATO Summit, for which the Palace administration has mobilised for the sake of the imperialists, has arrived. The first session of the 36th NATO summit, which will last for two days in Ankara, will begin today with a speech by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. 56,000 security personnel will be on duty throughout the summit.

At the meeting, the upcoming policies and roadmap of the war organisation NATO—the architect of dozens of wars and the murderer of millions—will be discussed. How "NATO 3.0" will be implemented, what its reflection on the Middle East will be, and the role to be assigned to Türkiye remain matters of curiosity.

Vying for all tasks to be assigned for the summit, to which President from the AKP Tayyip Erdoğan attaches great importance, the regime is struggling to consolidate the legitimacy it seeks from the outside.

At a stage reached with Tom Barrack’s 'monarchy' proposals for Türkiye and the region, the AKP government, which is presented as a "skilled ally" by NATO, has declared a near de facto state of emergency against every single move that would cast a shadow over these praises, starting primarily from the capital.

OVER 500 DETAINED, OVER 170 ARRESTED

While a massive wave of operations has been launched for days across the four corners of the country against citizens claiming the public's will for independence, nearly 500 people have been detained across the country. Over 170 people have been arrested.

A MESSAGE IS BEING SENT TO NATO

While the regime wants to make all segments that raise the voice of independence invisible, the entire pro-government media cannot find enough praise for the relationship with the imperialists.

Many pro-government media outlets, trying to legitimise the war organisation NATO, are attempting to convince society of this dependent relationship with headlines such as: "Ankara is the centre of the world," "Ankara is the hope in Ukraine," and "Türkiye will fill the USA’s place."

The Palace administration, which seeks its legitimacy in US imperialism, views the NATO Summit as an opportunity to maintain its power. Everything that it does not deem worthy of the public continues to be offered to the imperialists.

NATO MONEY MINTED

Finally, within the scope of the preparations, the General Directorate of the Mint and Stamp Printing House minted a specially designed 5 Lira commemorative coin that can be used in circulation in memory of the 36th NATO Summit held in Ankara. The obverse side of the commemorative coin prepared in this scope features the NATO logo, the place and date the summit was held, and a graphic image of the Presidential Palace. The reverse side features the 5 Lira coin's design in circulation.

Extensive bans and restrictions also came into force in the capital before the summit. While numerous roads were closed to traffic, parking and motorcycle courier bans began to be implemented on designated routes.

At Esenboğa Airport, air traffic will even be halted at certain hours. The government, which is paving roads, painting the facades of buildings, and erecting barriers so that squatter neighbourhoods are not seen, has also allocated special vehicles for the leaders. The leaders will attend the summit in TOGG-brand extended limousines.

WE ARE MARCHING AGAINST NATO

On the other hand, citizens demonstrating the country's will for independence against all the regime's attacks continue to call for action across the country. While actions titled "NATO Get Out!" were organised in Kayseri, Sivas, Balıkesir, and Gaziantep, marches against imperialism and its collaborators will be held in Ankara, Izmir, and Istanbul on the first day of the summit. The "No to NATO Coordination" called for action against the summit in Ankara and Izmir. The coordination called for action at the Kolej entrance of Kurtuluş Park at 11:00 on Tuesday, 7 July, and at 19:00 in front of the Şirinyer IZBAN Station in Izmir. The action was announced with the title "NATO Get Out, this homeland is ours!" The Istanbul Labour, Peace, and Democracy Forces called for a meeting in front of the Taksim Atatürk Cultural Centre at 19:00 on 7 July. The statement included the expressions, "We are continuing the tradition of '68, we are marching to Dolmabahçe."

THEY ARE MOCKING US!

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte held a press conference at the Presidential Complex ahead of the 36th NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government to be held in Ankara. After his opening remarks, Rutte answered questions from journalists, and he was asked by a Dutch journalist about the ongoing process regarding comedian Deniz Göktaş and the detentions preceding the NATO Summit.

The journalist asked, "You thanked the hosts. In the last few weeks, there have been steps taken here against dissidents, and specifically a comedian. Do you think Ankara is the best place for liberal democracies to convene? Will these issues be discussed with President Erdoğan?"

Rutte said democracy required more than elections alone: "And of ​course democracy is for people to organise demonstrations if they so choose. So ‌it's ⁠much more than only free elections, and when it comes to media," he added.

THE FIRST PRESIDENT TO ARRIVE IN 17 YEARS

US President Donald Trump will be the first US President to visit Türkiye in 17 years. Barack Obama was last hosted in Ankara in April 2009. Erdoğan and Trump last met face-to-face at the White House on 25 September 2025.

Tom Barrack, the US Ambassador to Ankara and the so-called 'Governor of the Middle East', commented on this meeting, stating, "Trump will give Erdoğan the legitimacy he needs."

Trump, who politely pulled out a chair for Erdoğan to sit at the table, sold Türkiye liquefied natural gas (LNG) at an exorbitant price, alongside 225 Boeing passenger aircraft. Within the scope of the agreement, which stipulates that BOTAŞ (Petroleum Pipeline Transport Limited Company) will supply approximately 70 billion cubic metres of LNG from the USA over 20 years via the Mercuria company, Türkiye imported 305.5 billion cubic feet of gas from the USA in the five months up to May. A payment of 2 billion 667 million dollars was made for this.

Trump will arrive in Ankara on Tuesday afternoon and will be welcomed by President Erdoğan with a state ceremony. Bilateral talks will commence at 15:00. A joint press conference is expected to be held following the meeting.

It has been reported that Trump will also meet with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Colani, the leader of the jihadist HTS administration in Syria.

MEASURES TAKEN

The following is a brief list of the preparations made by the government for NATO:

The transit routes of leaders, accommodation facilities, and meeting areas were declared "red zones." Iron barriers were placed in these areas, and intensified identity, driver's licence, body, and luggage searches were initiated.Gendarmerie Commando teams began special watch and patrol duties at Esenboğa Airport and Ankara (Etimesgut) Airport, where the leaders will land, and on the routes surrounding them.All open/closed car parks (including the Karum Shopping Mall car park) and roadside parking areas within the red zones, which were evaluated as potentially posing a security risk, were closed to vehicle use.With a decision by the Ankara Governorate, all kinds of gatherings, press statements, demonstrations, and protest marches in open areas throughout the province were temporarily banned during the summit.Notifications were served to some critical media organisations and workplaces located on protocol lines, instructing them to remain closed during the summit days for security reasons.To prevent an unsightly appearance, the exterior facades of old buildings located on the transit routes of leaders and delegations were painted free of charge or covered with visual cladding.Large-scale asphalt paving and landscaping/afforestation works were hastily carried out on the city's main arteries and roads leading to the summit area.A mandatory uniform requirement was introduced for taxi drivers to ensure urban transportation and security during the summit.Crèches in Çankaya were closed. Forests and parks were closed for the morning run of French President Macron.In public and city hospitals across Ankara, the appointment duration, which is normally around 5 minutes, was increased to 20 minutes for the duration of the summit to keep human/vehicle mobility within and around the hospital at a minimum.

"IF YOU DO WHAT WE WANT OUTSIDE, YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT INSIDE"

Prof. Dr. İlhan Uzgel evaluated both the secret diplomatic document from 1980 released by the United Kingdom (UK) and the political atmosphere ahead of the NATO Summit on BirGün TV.

Assessing the document published by the UK National Archives, which contains the minutes of a meeting between the then-Minister of Customs and Monopolies Gün Sazak and the British Ambassador, as "historical evidence," Uzgel stated that the document has formalised relations that had long been known.

"AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE KNOWN, BUT A FORMAL DOCUMENT IS SIGNIFICANT"

Uzgel stated that the document in question confirms connections that have been discussed for many years rather than producing new information. "Actually, we could call this an announcement of the known. Because we more or less knew and predicted these connections. However, when these appear in an official document emerging from the British archives, the nature of the matter changes. We now have concrete historical evidence," he said.

Stating that the document is significant not only for the meeting between Gün Sazak and the British Embassy but also for illustrating the nature of the relationship between right-wing politics in Türkiye and the West during the Cold War years, Uzgel emphasised that while diplomatic meetings are ordinary in themselves, the decisive factor is their content.

"TÜRKİYE WAS ONE OF THE FRONTLINE COUNTRIES OF THE COLD WAR"

Expressing that it would be incorrect to detach the document from its historical context, Uzgel pointed to the strategic importance Türkiye held for NATO throughout the Cold War. "During that period, the fundamental axis of global politics was anti-Sovietism. Almost every development in the world was evaluated with the question: 'Does this serve the Soviets or not?'" Reminding that Türkiye was one of the two NATO countries neighbouring the Soviet Union, Uzgel stated that Western countries were therefore closely interested in Turkish politics. "Türkiye was the most critical country of NATO’s southern flank. You could not have expected the West to remain indifferent to such a country."

THE LOGIC OF MHP’S FOUNDATION IS A PRODUCT OF THE COLD WAR

Uzgel stated that the document also helps in understanding the historical position of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). "The phenomenon we call Cold War nationalism in Türkiye defined itself on an anti-left and anti-Soviet axis. This was also the founding logic of the MHP," Uzgel said, adding that the interventions of Western countries in political processes in Türkiye and Europe were not limited to military coups. "Interventions in countries like Türkiye sometimes occurred in the form of overt coups. But sometimes they took place in the form of supporting political parties, providing financing, or directing the intellectual sphere." Citing the Gladio structure in Italy as an example, Uzgel noted that similar operations in Europe were also revealed years later with documents. "The system operates in multiple layers. We see the coup because there are tanks on the street. But there are many methods of intervening in politics without a coup."

POLITICS OF OPPRESSION IS BEING IMPLEMENTED

In his evaluation regarding the detentions and bans in Ankara ahead of the NATO Summit, Uzgel stated that these cannot be explained as security measures. Pointing out that the detention of journalists, academics, students, and artists cannot be associated with the security of NATO leaders, Uzgel spoke as follows: "There are no measures in Ankara. The NATO Summit has been turned into an opportunity used to move to a new stage in the politics of oppression. How could university students, academics, journalists, or comedians have any connection to the security of Trump or Macron? They have no connection at all."

Stating that the government is pursuing another goal here, Uzgel expressed that this is a message given to society. "The message 'We can do whatever we want' is being given to society. At the same time, they are measuring how much oppression society can endure." Uzgel also expressed his concern that policies of oppression could become even more severe after the NATO Summit.

Uzgel stated that the summit is an ordinary NATO meeting in terms of international politics, while in Türkiye, the government has turned this into material for domestic politics. Uzgel said that the summit's primary agenda is the USA's redefinition of its role in European security. "NATO’s most important issue is American-European relations. America is trying to reduce Europe's security burden. Europe, on the other hand, is rearming. In the coming years, a significant portion of civil industry in Europe will shift to military production. This is a very serious transformation."

WHAT FALLS TO US IS MORE OPPRESSION

At the end of the programme, stating that Western countries have pushed the democratic regression in Türkiye to the background, Uzgel argued that this provides room for manoeuvre for the Erdoğan government. "The role assigned to Türkiye is clear. Do the requested tasks in foreign policy, and do whatever you want inside. Democracy and human rights violations are largely ignored," Uzgel said, concluding his remarks with the following assessment: "At the end of this bargain, what falls to us is more tear gas, more batons, lower wages, and a society crushed under inflation."

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Efendilerine yaranmak için her şeyi yaptılar, published in BirGün newspaper on July 6, 2026.