“I condemn and reject in the strongest terms the attempted coup”, Fethullah Gulen, 77, said in an interview with USA TODAY and several other reporters. “Tip-offs that these (people) are mostly linked with terrorist activities have been taken into consideration”, the ministry official said, without elaborating. The U.S. Air Force has used the air base in Incirlik to launch air strikes against Islamic State.
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Mark Toner, deputy spokesman at the State Department, said Turkey this morning sent the State Department materials “which we are in the process of analyzing under the treaty” that governs extradition requests.
In a bid to calm markets roiled by the coup attempt, Turkey’s central bank cut a key interest rate Tuesday to shore up liquidity in the economy.
The Pentagon also announced on Sunday that operations from Turkey by the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State had resumed after Ankara reopened its air space, which had been closed during the coup attempt. Nevertheless, the US long has expressed concerns about a drift toward authoritarianism in Turkey.
The U.S. criticized the attempted coup as it was unfolding, with Obama calling on all parties to “support the democratically elected government of Turkey”.
The military has often had strained relations with Erdogan’s Islamo-conservative government as the traditional guardians of Turkey’s secular system and has carried out coups in the past.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim accused Washington, which has said it will only consider an extradition request if clear evidence is provided, of double standards in its fight against terrorism. “They will pay a heavy price for this”, he said. Perhaps the Turkish leader was anxious that the cleric knew too many secrets about Erdogan’s modus operandi and might reveal them during a trial.
At a rally late on Saturday, his supporters demanded that the coup leaders be executed.
For the authoritarian Mr Erdogan, it has been a huge “told you so” moment vindicating the increasingly conspiratorial tone of his speeches about the dark forces at work within the Turkish state. Work was under way to purge the civil service.
The top United Nations human rights official urged Turkey on Tuesday to uphold the rule of law in the wake of the failed coup and voiced “serious alarm” at the mass suspension of judges and prosecutors.
“He would strengthen his position domestically, but he would isolate himself internationally”, Oettinger, an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
Erdogan has butted heads in the past with his country’s judiciary. “It would really finish itself”, Gulen said. Now through this attempted coup, it looks like they have strengthened their hands. But, he denies the accusations. ISIS has also carried out a series of attacks in Turkey. We are taking all necessary precautions. One of the biggest rifts occurred in 1960 when, despite appeals for clemency from the Queen, the Pope and the US President, generals hanged the prime minister, Adnan Menderes, following their successful coup d’etat.
Turkey’s Interior Ministry has fired almost 9,000 police officers, bureaucrats and others and detained thousands of suspected plotters following a foiled coup against the government, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported Monday. At least 294 people were killed and more than 1,400 wounded in the rebellion that took the government – and much of the world – by surprise.
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Kerry echoed Mogherini’s comments and emphasized that Turkey, as a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member, has an obligation to respect democracy, and suggested alliance officials will be monitoring whether Ankara follows the rules.
