New US neoconservative project wants a change in government in Turkey

The line-up of a new neoconservative lobby group calling itself the "Turkish Democracy Project" has brought together a cohort of well-known right-wingers in American politics that have supported the overthrow of governments around the world.

One of the latest figures to join the self-described "non-partisan" organisation is the right-wing former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, John Bolton.

From 2013 until Trump tapped him to be his national security adviser in 2018, Bolton was the chairman of Gatestone Institute, an anti-Muslim think tank based in New York.

Gatestone Institute has been described as "focused on stoking fears about immigrants and Muslims." The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights and advocacy group, has called Gatestone a "key part of the whole Islamaphobic cottage industry on the internet."

Other notable individuals include George W Bush's brother, former governor of Florida and failed presidential candidate, Jeb Bush. The former associate deputy director of operations at the CIA, Robert Richer, is also on the advisory board.

The organisation is purportedly concerned about the state of democracy in Turkey, a tried-and-tested claim that has previously led the CIA to topple governments it doesn't like.

Bolton has also been accused of attempting to orchestrate a coup in Venezuela during Trump's tenure in a bid to give US oil companies access to the country's natural resources.

Throughout his career, Bolton has also been on a crusade against Iran, advocating for the overthrow of the country's current system of governance. In place, Bolton has supported the People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (MEK), a cult-like group that was until recently a recognised terrorist organisation for killing civilians.

The "Turkish Democracy Project" says that it seeks a return of the days when the country "was a reliable ally and a model in the region of liberal ideals and cultural freedom."

Between Turkey's first democratic election in 1946 and 2000, the country experienced four coups. After the 1980s coup, Muslim women were forbidden to wear the headscarf in any public building, including schools. As a result, the law stifled women's education.

Those decades were far removed from the "liberal ideals" the organisation purports to want to take the country back to for many people in Turkey.

As Turkey has sought to pursue its national security interests in its immediate region, some politicians in the US have lamented the good days where Turkey would act in Washington's national interests.

The project's advisory council has several anti-Iran extremist voices, including the group's CEO, Mark D. Wallace, who set up a similar group but called it "United Against Nuclear Iran."

One lesser known member of the new project is Aykan Erdemir, a wanted man in Turkey for destroying, stealing, and misusing state documents related to national security and links to the banned terrorist organisation behind the failed July 15 coup attempt known as FETO. 

Erdemir was listed on the website as part of the advisory board according to the Web Archive, a website that tracks changes on sites. However, since June 23, when the organisation formally announced itself, Erdemir's name has disappeared from the website. 

READ MORE: The story of the February 28 coup, as never told before