The Supreme Military Council meets a day after Turkey discharged close to 1,700 officers, including 149 generals and admirals.
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The council will decide on the personnel changes needed – in particular at general level – with lower-ranking officers expected to be fast-tracked to fill the gaps in the top positions.
Almost 16,000 people were detained for questioning over suspected links to the coup attempt, and about half were arrested to face trial, Interior Minister Efkan Ala said.
Sources from the office of the president said before the meeting that Erdoğan would invite the three party leaders over their united stance against the coup attempt and also listen to their views on ongoing measures against supporters of USA -based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen within the state.
And authorities issued warrants for the detention of 89 journalists. A total of 8,113 people have been formally arrested and are awaiting trial. “It would have been a totally different Turkey”, said Bozdag.
The military has insisted only a tiny proportion of the total armed forces – which number around three quarters of a million, the second-largest in North Atlantic Treaty Organisation after the United States – took part in the attempted coup.
The decree Wednesday targeted three news agencies, 16 television channels, 23 radio stations, and 45 newspapers.
A senior AK Party official said on Wednesday the parties were discussing plans to increase parliamentary control of a key state body that appoints judges and prosecutors. The U.S. has told Turkey to present evidence against Gulen and let the U.S. extradition process take its course.
Simsek, respected by Western investors as a safe pair of hands in guiding the Turkish economy, also said he saw no reason to downgrade Turkey’s credit rating following the coup.
“My concern has to do with the fact that the actions here are very tough and the principle of proportionality is not always central”, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin.
Their relatives have since denied the youths were willing participants in the coup attempt, saying they were summoned to school from vacation by commanders who duped them into taking part in the rebellion and deployed them onto Istanbul’s streets.
The council is due to start at 0800 GMT after paying homage to Turkey’s modern founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk at his mausoleum.
“There is no doubt that we will eradicate all terrorist organizations threatening our state, our nation and our territorial integrity”, Yildirim said, reading from a message he wrote in the mausoleum visitors’ book.
Turkish officials have complained of what they perceive as a lack of support from the EU over the coup, while European leaders have urged Ankara to show restraint and a sense of proportion in bringing those responsible to justice.
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The army said Wednesday that 8,651 of its military personnel had been involved in the rebellion-1.5 percent of its total number-along with 35 planes, 37 helicopters, 74 tanks and three ships.
