The Turkish government is arresting thousands of members of the military following a failed overnight coup attempt. “I’m confident there will be some discussion about that”.
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In a televised speech Saturday, Erdogan called on the United States to extradite Gulen, saying Turkey had never turned back any extradition request for “terrorists” by the United States.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States would entertain an extradition request for Gulen, but Turkey would have to present “legitimate evidence that withstands scrutiny”. “I pray to God for Turkey, for Turkish citizens, and for all those now in Turkey that this situation is resolved peacefully and quickly”.
“The situation is completely under control”, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said outside his Ankara offices, flanked by Turkey’s top general who had himself been taken hostage by the plotters.
“I send love and light out to all of my Turkish friends”, adds Hayes, who is careful to separate his personal support for Turkey and its people from the Oliver Stone movie, in which his character curses the Turkish authorities. In a news conference Saturday in Pennsylvania, Gulen denied having anything to do with the unrest.
Speaking to a small group of journalists in a rare and brief interview, Gulen again denied his involvement in the coup, suggesting that it could have been staged by Erdogan himself. Dundar said at least 104 “coup plotters” had died. Turkey’s renewed offensive against Kurdish militants – who seek more autonomy and are implacable foes of IS – has complicated the USA -led fight against IS.
The United States urged Turkey on Saturday to exercise restraint after a failed military coup sparked a government crackdown, and warned its North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally that public suggestions of a USA role in the plot were “utterly false” and harmful to relations.
“Government should be won through a process of free and fair elections, not force”.
Fadi Hakura, a Turkey expert at the Chatham House think tank in London, said it was not clear who was behind the attempted coup, but it appeared to have been “carried out by lower-ranking officers – at the level of colonel”.
Gulen quickly condemned Friday night’s coup attempt by military officers that resulted in a night of explosions, air battles and gunfire that left dozens dead. He said the military sees its institution as protector of the Turkish state power against governments that are more Islamist or ideological-driven.
A successful overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has ruled the country of about 80 million people since 2003, would have marked one of the biggest shifts in the Middle East in years, transforming a major United States ally.
“They have confiscated properties and media organisations, broken doors and harassed people in a fashion similar to Hitler’s SS forces”, Mr Gulen said, as he described how his followers in Turkey had been mistreated over recent years by Mr Erdogan’s party.
Ethan, who is working with an global legal non-governmental organization in Israel, is booked to fly back to Tel Aviv on Sunday but she’s not sure if the airport will be accessible.
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“A new wave of purges in military will likely weaken overstretched security services. even if basic policies will remain same”, said Howard Eissenstat, associate professor of Middle East history at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. Another senior official directly blamed the United States. A spokesman for the center told the Financial Times that Gulen’ s health is very fragile. American commercial aircraft were barred from flying into or out of Turkey, according to a statement issued Saturday by the Federal Aviation Administration. Gulen’s influence in Turkey had spread years ago to the nation’s largest media organizations and deep within law enforcement. Police used heavy force in 2013 to suppress mass protest demanding more social freedom. Gulen has said the videotape was doctored. Erdogan apparently believed Gulen’s allies in the judiciary were responsible for the inquiry, and responded by dismissing many in the judicial system considered close to Gulen, a powerful political force in his own right.
