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Turkish president, opposition drop cases against each other

President Erdogan insists that the coup was masterminded by US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen and has demanded his extradition.

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Ahead of the gathering, Turkey’s development minister said that the economic impact of the foiled military putsch would be minimal.

General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the USA joint chiefs of staff, was to meet with Turkish chief of staff General Hulusi Akar and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.

“Unfortunately, the West does support terrorism and stands by coups”.

Erdogan earlier said his swift escape had saved him from being killed or taken hostage. Gulen denies any knowledge of the attempt to overthrow the government.

Lawmaker Utku Mahmut Tanal broadcast live on periscope the damage sustained by the Turkish Parliament building in the capital Ankara after an attempted coup.

According to the gazette, the 1,389 military personnel targeted on Sunday were dismissed for suspected links to the Islamic preacher Gulen.

“Our aim is that we set up such a system that nobody within the armed forces would ever consider a coup again”, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told a news conference in Ankara, explaining the latest reforms.

“Is the West on the side of democracy or on the side of terror?” he added, also accusing Belgium of failing to hand over a leftist militant linked to the 1996 killing of Turkish businessman Ozdemir Sabanci. More than 60,000 people in the military, judiciary, civil service and education have since been detained, suspended or are being probed. Although the CHP leader claimed the failed coup was a victory for democracy, he also warned about the dangers of authoritarianism.

“The cleaning up of members of the Fethullah Gulen terrorist network from the state, armed forces and police will bring dynamism and the government will speed up reforms”, Elvan said.

Turkey’s head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan was set to address the demonstration, which drew about 30,000 people, via video link. About 18,000 people have been detained or arrested, a lot of them from the military, and authorities have said the purge will continue.

A spokeswoman for the German embassy in Ankara told Agence France-Presse that the charge d’affaires had “been summoned to the Turkish foreign ministry at 1:00 pm (1000 GMT)” on Monday over the rally.

In a statement responding to Erdogan, Amnesty said it had “repeatedly condemned the appalling violence committed by those behind the 15 July failed coup attempt”.

Germany’s highest court rejected a bid Saturday night to reverse local judges’ ruling that a screen at the event couldn’t be used to show addresses from outside speakers – a decision that Turkey says prevented an address by Erdogan.

The Pakistan army chief is also guided by the deep Chinese mistrust of Erdogan which stems from allegations made by China in the past against Turkish government for issuing passports to fundamentalist Chinese Uyghurs from Xinjiang, including members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which allowed them to move to Turkey easily.

One soldier with the “death squad”, as an interior ministry official called it, is still suspected to be at large.

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Germany is home to three million ethnic Turks – the biggest Turkish diaspora in the world.

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