Turkish authorities rounded up dozens of senior military personnel and judges in a ruthless crackdown today, after thousands massed in the streets nationwide overnight to denounce a coup aimed at ousting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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Turkish officials are still hunting for the helicopter-borne troops who swooped on the hotel on Friday night shortly after Erdogan had left after being tipped off about the attempted coup.
In a statement, the CHP also said the military must not be portrayed as the enemy.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said yesterday that the coup had been defeated and life had returned to normal. He is a former Erdogan ally turned bitter foe who has been put on trial in absentia in Turkey, where the government has labeled his movement a terrorist organization.
“We can not delay this anymore because in this country, those who launch a coup will have to pay the price for it”, he said.
Yildirim said those involved with the failed coup “will receive every punishment they deserve”.
Earlier, Mr Yildirim said any country that stood by Mr Gulen was no friend of Turkey and should be considered at war with the country. So far, officials have not offered evidence he was involved. “There is nothing in his actual statement that indicates the USA believes Turkey is in a danger in this sense”. Akin Ozturk, an air Force commander, were detained.
Abolishing capital punishment, as Turkey did in 2004 before it could open the formal process of accession negotiations with the European Union, is a prerequisite for holding talks on membership.
The pilots were contacted by radio and warned that their flight is illegal, at which point they responded by claiming to be acting on the orders of the air force command and turned off the radio equipment, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported, citing military sources.
A Turkish government official said that the commander of the base, Gen. Bekir Ercan Van, was among those detained.
Turkish officials said the situation was under control with F-16s patrolling Turkish airspace late Sunday. In addition to Incirlik, they searched the Air Force Academy premises and residences in Istanbul, Anadolu reported.
The Turkish government has accused US -based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen of orchestrating the coup, but he’s denied any connection with it.
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Almost 3,000 soldiers were detained and more than 2,700 judges were sacked on Saturday as the government sought to re-assert its power. Dominique Soguel, Emrah Gurel, Bram Janssen and Cinar Kiper in Istanbul and Mucahit Ceylan in Ankara, Desmond Butler in Washington and Michael Rubinkam in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania also contributed.
