Three news agencies, 16 TV channels, 45 papers and 15 magazines will be shut, and almost 90 reporters and journalists have been detained this week in a move that rights group Amnesty International labels “a brazen attack on press freedom”.
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The media purge in Turkey followed the July 15 military coup attempt, which was suppressed the following day.
Those detained include staff of Zaman newspaper, which was seized by authorities earlier this year over its ties to exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, the archenemy of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkey accuses US -based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen of masterminding the coup and has suspended or placed under investigation tens of thousands of his suspected followers, including soldiers, judges and academics.
Turmoil in Turkey’s armed forces raises questions about its ability to contain the Islamic State threat in neighbouring Syria and the renewed Kurdish insurgency in its southeast, military analysts say. The council, which decides on promotions and retirements, was expected to announce more dismissals on Thursday.
The discharge of the generals – most of whom are now under arrest – came a day ahead of a meeting of Turkey’s Supreme Military Council on Thursday which is expected to agree one of the most radical shake-ups of the armed forces in years.
Late Wednesday, the government issued a decree that removed the paramilitary police force and the coast guard from military command and placed them under the control of the Interior Ministry.
The Turkish armed forces said that 8651 personnel – or 1.5 per cent of the military – participated in the abortive coup and that the rebel faction used 35 planes, 37 helicopters, 74 tanks and three ships during the operation. Now, after the failed uprising, the government is trying to rid the military, judiciary and other institutions of suspected Gulen supporters.
A total of 726 military officers and 1684 soldiers have been discharged, a senior Turkish official said.
“Especially at the level of general, the problem is high. Quantity wise the problem is low”, he said.
Anadolu said almost 1,700 soldiers – including 87 generals – have been fired. Zaman was shut down in March for its alleged links to the Gulenist movement, which the Erdogan administration is blaming for the attempted coup.
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Tens of thousands of Turkish civilians have also lost their jobs since July 15.
