Turkey continues to broaden its crackdown on media with suspected links to the Gulen movement, which the government accuses of orchestrating a failed July 15 coup attempt.
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Journalist Nazli Ilicak, a well-known government critic, has been detained after Turkey ordered the arrest of 42 journalists.
Turkish authorities said at least 290 people died in the coup, including more than 100 “coup plotters”.
The Government of Turkey, on Thursday, said it had alerted the Federal Government on the existence of schools and hospitals owned by suspected terrorists in Nigeria. Erdogan wants to bring the General Staff and the national intelligence agency directly under the president’s control, officials say, though he needs the support of opposition parties for such a change that would require a constitutional amendment. CNN reports more than 9,000 soldiers have been detained and some 1,700 military officers have been fired.
Tarkan Kadooglu, president of the business group, said: “The society is in need of a political language that is uniting, not one that is polarizing”.
The top diplomat added the ties restored between Turkey and Russian Federation was not an alternative to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the European Union.
Asked about the journalist arrests, State Department spokesman John Kirby reiterated USA concern about press freedom in Turkey.
“There is a need for an intelligent and rational review by our interlocutors”, Albayrak said Wednesday.
“There’s no question this is going to set back and make more hard cooperation with the Turks”, Clapper said.
“If we hadn’t removed the people this coup attempt would have been successful”, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara Friday, speaking about the crackdown. Those air operations were temporarily halted following the coup attempt.
However, the list includes journalists, such as Sahin Alpay, known for their leftist activism who do not share the religious world view of the Gulenist movement.
“These journalists worked in media organisations that belonged to this terror organisation”, Mr Cavusoglu said.
They were identified as Vice Chairman Sukru Boydak and Executive Halit Boydak. Erdogan has blamed Gulen for the failed coup that killed nearly 250 people, which the U.S.-based cleric has denied.
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At the time, Turkey’s leaders said they had to adjust their policy of diplomatic outreach, dubbed “zero problems with neighbors”, because of rapidly unfolding, historic change.
