Turkey is proceeding with an extradition request for United States-based cleric Fetullah Gulen, who the government blames for orchestrating the coup attempt. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says Turkey must provide hard evidence that Gulen was behind the foiled coup, and that mere allegations of wrongdoing wouldn’t suffice.
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About 60,000 soldiers, police, judges, civil servants and teachers have been suspended, detained or are under investigation since the military coup attempt.
More than 20,000 teachers and administrators have so far been suspended by the ministry, with 95 academics removed from their posts at Istanbul University alone, state TRT television reported.
Like Erdogan, Cevik also said the Turkish people were instrumental in resisting those behind the attempted coup.
Shortly after Friday’s attempted coup, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to find those responsible.
Today’s action largely targeted supporters of Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania but retains vast interests in Turkey ranging from media to finance to schools and wields influence in various apparatus including the judiciary and police.
Erdogan spoke following a National Security Council and cabinet meeting at the Parliament building in Ankara, which was targeted by bombing during the failed uprising on 15 July.
There are already longstanding tensions between Turkish nationalists and Kurds who support the Kurdistan Peoples Party (PKK) and Kurdish separatist movements from Turkey, both of which live in great numbers in Europe.
As soon as it became clear that the coup had failed, the purges began – first with the security forces, then spreading to Turkey’s entire civilian infrastructure.
On Wednesday, officials announced that 99 of Turkey’s 360 military generals have been charged over their alleged roles in last Friday’s attempt to overthrow the government.
The Turkish government has launched an unprecended crackdown on those suspected of being involved in the events of last week.
If Turkey were to reintroduce the death penalty, which it scrapped more than a decade ago in order to meet one of the standards for European Union membership, it would spell doom for any possibility of its joining the bloc. He also asked that global observers be allowed to visit Turkey’s detention centers.
In an apparent attempt to calm fears that the military’s powers will be increased, the president said the military will be under the government-appointed governors’ command and work closely with the regional governors.
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Earlier the Turkish leader lashed out at critics of the sweeping purge, telling France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault – who had warned Erdogan not to use the failed coup as a “blank cheque” to silence his opponents – to “mind his own business”.
