He said he did not want to link the USA use of Turkey’s Incirlik airbase with Ankara’s request for the extradition of his foe Fethullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally who lives in exile in the US and who is accused by the president of standing behind the coup attempt.
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Ankara on Tuesday piled pressure on the White House over Gulen, saying it had delivered four dossiers to the Americans to support its request for Gulen’s transfer to face charges in Turkey.
Any extradition request from Turkey, once submitted, would be evaluated under the terms of a treaty between the two countries, he added.
In light of the presence on US soil of someone the Turkish government regards as a “terrorist” and a direct threat to its national security, would Turkey be justified in dispatching a weaponized drone over Pennsylvania to find and kill Gulen if the USA continues to refuse to turn him over, or sending covert operatives to kidnap him?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced a three-month state of emergency for Turkey following a failed coup attempt over the weekend.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has again refused to rule out reinstating the death penalty for coup plotters if it is approved by parliament. “I urge the US government to reject any effort to abuse the extradition process to carry out political vendettas”.
“This is no different really than claiming 9/11 was orchestrated by the United States – and that the Paris and Nice attacks were orchestrated by the French government”, Ibrahim Kalin told foreign reporters.
Gulen spokesman Alp Aslandogan told Reuters Television on Wednesday that the Turkish government had arrested and persecuted the cleric’s supporters in Turkey since 2014, after his followers in the judiciary and police helped lead a corruption probe into senior politicians and business people close to Erdogan.
Authorities have revoked the licenses of 21,000 teachers working in private education institutions who are being investigated under the same auspices, state news agency Anadolu reported.
Tuesday’s dismissals touched every aspect of government life.
Some 257 staff have also been removed from duty at the prime minister’s office for suspected involvement in the attempted military coup, while 492 personnel were removed by Turkey’s religious affairs directorate. Dozens of others were still being questioned. He also said that while the country has returned to normal, “We can not think that everything is over”.
Addressing hundreds of supporters outside his Istanbul residence early Tuesday, Erdogan responded to calls for the reintroduction of the death penalty with the simple statement: “You can not put aside the people’s demands”. “We are happy that under the shadow of your good management and the resistance of the honorable Turkish people, we are witnessing the return of stability in a friendly country”.
Turkey’s armed forces have been dealt a significant psychological blow by the attempted coup, and their prestige and status have been damaged. Moreover, at least 82 generals and admirals – including the accused ringleader, Gen. Akin Ostuk – are among the thousands detained, and a call went out Tuesday for almost 1,600 university deans to resign, the Turkish agency further reports. 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.
Academics have been banned from travelling overseas in what a Turkish official said was a temporary measure to prevent the risk of alleged coup plotters in universities from fleeing.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, meanwhile, lashed out at Europe, whose leaders have expressed concerns over the purges underway across Turkey’s key state institutions.
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“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.
