I condemn the military coup attempt in Turkey in the strongest terms. Governments should be changed through fair and free elections, not by force. I … - Fethullah Gülen

Despite my unequivocal protest, similar to statements issued by all three of the major opposition parties, Turkey’s increasingly authoritarian president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, immediately accused me of orchestrating the putsch. He demanded that the United States extradite me from my home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania where I have lived in voluntary exile since 1999.

Turkey’s current leaders seem to claim an absolute mandate by virtue of winning elections. But victory doesn’t grant them permission to ignore the Constitution or suppress dissent, especially when election victories are built on crony capitalism and media subservience. The A.K.P.’s leaders now depict every democratic criticism of them as an attack on the state. By viewing every critical voice as an enemy — or worse, a traitor — they are leading the country toward totalitarianism.

The failure of the July 15 coup attempt is an event of historical importance as an anti-democratic intervention against the government that came to power through elections was repelled with the support of the people. However, preventing the coup is not enough for democracy to win. Neither the rule of a minority, nor the rule of the majority and its resulting oppression of the minority, nor the autocratism of the elected people are true democracy. Democracy cannot be mentioned without fundamental human rights and freedoms, especially the rule of law, separation of powers, and freedom of expression. For Turkey, real victory in the name of democracy is possible with the revival of these fundamental values.