Turkey’s Western allies have expressed solidarity with the government over the coup attempt but also alarm at the scale and swiftness of the response, urging the country to adhere to democratic values.
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Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said in a television interview that members of the movement loyal to Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, were involved in the attempted military takeover.
“The president’s expectation is that people from Turkey want to see a full investigation and accountability for those who are complicit”, Earnest told reporters.
Kerry and Mogherini spoke after a meeting in Brussels that also included the bloc’s 28 foreign ministers, and after a weekend when Turkey’s government responded to the coup attempt by rounding up some 6,000 people, including hundreds of judges and prosecutors.
A harsh crackdown is underway in Turkey following the foiled coup, with the arrest of thousands of suspects from the military, the police and the judiciary.
“Some news reports – and, unfortunately, some public figures – have speculated that the United States in some way supported the coup attempt”, Ambassador John Bass said in a statement Monday.
He said Friday’s coup bid was unprecedented in Turkey’s history of military interventions because civilians were targeted. “We will dig them up by their roots so that no clandestine terrorist organisation will have the nerve to betray our blessed people again”.
Staged coup The cleric has denied any role in the revolt and suggested that Mr Erdogan staged it as an excuse for a crackdown after a steady accumulation of control during 14 years in power.
Mr Erdogan said there could be no delay in using capital punishment and the government would discuss the measure with opposition parties.
With expectations growing of a heavy clampdown on dissent, European politicians warned Erdogan the coup attempt did not give him a blank cheque to disregard the rule of law, and that he risked isolating himself internationally as he strengthens his position at home.
In addition, 257 people working at the office of the prime minister were dismissed and the Directorate of Religious Affairs announced it had sacked 492 staff including clerics, preachers and religious teachers.
Numan Kurtulmus would not provide details about the files but said they include the past actions of the group that Gulen leads. About half of the dead, the foreign ministry said, were part of the coup.
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Turkey has faced global calls for restraint in its handling of the aftermath of the failed coup.
