However, Gulen has insisted he has had nothing to do with the military coup and even suggested Erdogan staged it himself to justify a major clampdown on opposition forces.
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On his call with Erdogan on Tuesday, Obama pledged USA assistance in Turkey’s investigation into the attempted coup, but stressed to the Turkish leader the need to follow democratic processes in carrying it out, the White House said.
A thousand pro-government demonstrators gathered for a rally in Istanbul Tuesday, waving flags and chanting slogans and songs praising President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Fethullah Gulen, who is accused by the Turkish government of orchestrating the failed coup. “We will, one by one, cleanse the state of (Gulen’s followers) and eliminate those who are trying to harm the country”.
What is the Turkish government saying about all these arrests and dismissals?
On Tuesday, authorities shut down media outlets deemed to be supportive of him and said 15,000 people had been fired from the education ministry.
A further 492 were sacked from the Religious Affairs Directorate and 257 from the prime minister’s office.
Turkey’s purge of public servants widened further yesterday when 15,000 people were suspended from the education ministry and the deans of the country’s universities were all ordered to resign. We would like to see cooperation from the USA authorities on this issue.
“We need unity … and brotherhood now”, he said.
Erdogan’s suggestion the death penalty could be reinstated has also sent shudders through Europe, with the European Union warning such a move would be the nail in the coffin of Turkey’s already embattled bid to join the bloc.
“As you surely know, universities have always been crucial for military juntas in Turkey, and certain individuals are believed to be in contact with cells within military”, the official said, The Washington Post reported.
He told supporters: “You can not put aside the people’s demands”.
“We must not confound the issue of extradition of Gulen and the relations with the United States over air base Incirlik”.
Western leaders have expressed solidarity with the government over the coup attempt but also alarm at the sweeping response, urging Turkey, where tensions are running high after the coup bid, to adhere to democratic values. About 8,000 police officers, including in the capital Ankara and the biggest city Istanbul, have been removed on suspicion of links to the plot. A second building was riddled with bullet fire from helicopters, while a charred X-ray machine could be seen inside the wrecked security clearing area at the entrance of the complex.
His first moves offered little reassurance – removing more than 2,700 judges and prosecutors who’ve been persistent thorns in Erdogan’s side as he presses his increasingly undemocratic agenda of imprisoning dissenting journalists and human rights activists.
“We thank our European friends for their support against the coup, however their sentences starting with “but” did not please us at all”, he said.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, meanwhile, reflected the triumphant mood of authorities.
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‘We will dig them up by their roots so that no clandestine terrorist organisation will have the nerve to betray our blessed people again’. “I want to ask our friends in the USA, did you ask for proof when you demanded the terrorists after the Twin Towers fell on September 11?”
