“In the short term, this failed coup plot will strengthen President Erdogan”.
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The uprising was launched Friday night with military jets overhead, tanks and soldiers in the streets and firepower that left at least 161 dead and 1,440 wounded, according to the government. Thousands of alleged coup participants – among them five generals and 29 colonels, along with numerous judges – have been arrested. He said a change of government should only come through a legal, constitutional process.
The chaos came amid a period of political turmoil in Turkey – a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member and key Western ally in the fight against the Islamic State group – that critics blame on Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian rule.
The Turkish media on Saturday cited two military figures as leading the coup attempt.
Broadcaster CNN Turk was reportedly taken over by soldiers, and its live broadcast was cut.
Erdogan’s Islamist government has also been accused of playing an ambiguous – even double-sided – role in Syria. He spoke by telephone from Istanbul.
The uprising appears not to have been backed by the most senior ranks of the military, and Turkey’s main opposition parties quickly condemned the attempted overthrow of the government. Even though resolved, it will take a damaging toll on Turkey’s economy and domestic dynamics, Erdemir said.
“This is going to hit Turkish markets badly and hit Turkish democracy badly”, Erdemir said. “It will destabilize the country and erode trust in institutions”.
“I don’t know who my followers are”, Gulen told The New York Times from his compound, when asked if any of his backers were involved in the coup attempt. He said 2,839 plotters had been detained.
“They were stuck airside as the coup attempt began, and their onwards flight was grounded”. The Erdogan regime has launched a broad campaign against Gulen’s movement in Turkey and overseas, purging civil servants suspected of ties to the movement, seizing businesses and closing some media organizations. The Turkish government in April seized control of the country’s best-selling newspaper Zaman, which had links to Gulen and had become a fierce opponent of Erdogan’s rule, especially as he moved to concentrate power in an executive presidency. “It could be a lie, it could be a false accusation and I seek refuge from God in false accusations”, Gulen said.
Yildirim described Gulen as the head of a “terrorist organization”.
Roughly half of Syria’s almost 5 million refugees are in Turkey, straining the country’s resources. While Turkey demanded their extradition, Greece said it would hand back the helicopter and consider the men’s asylum requests.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says Australia continues to support the democratically elected government in Turkey in the wake of a failed coup.
“We haven’t received any request with respect to Mr. Gulen”, Kerry told reporters.
The Foreign Office also advised people to “stay indoors” and to avoid public places and areas of conflict.
In a statement today the US Federal Aviation Administration said it had issued a notice “that prohibits all US commercial and private aircraft from operating into or out of any airport in Turkey”. So it surprised everybody, including the people of Turkey.
The White House said Obama was briefed on events in Turkey during a special meeting Saturday with his national security and foreign policy teams.
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USA -based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whose followers Turkey blames for a failed coup, said on Saturday the attempted overthrow may have been staged, and he urged the Turkish people not to view military intervention in a positive light.
