“As a milestone, I hereby withdraw all the cases filed for insulting me and forgive all the offenders”, Erdogan told a Martyrs’ Memorial Day ceremony at the presidential complex the other day in Ankara to commemorate victims of the failed coup.
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Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said he is dropping all lawsuits against those charged with insulting him, and warned western countries to “mind your own business” following concerns about retribution against suspected coup plotters.
Turkey declared a state of emergency following the coup attempt and almost 16,000 people were detained over suspected links to the failed uprising.
“Those countries or leaders who are not anxious about Turkey’s democracy, the lives of our people, its future – while being so anxious about the fate of the putschists – can not be our friends”.
Turkey’s government has repeatedly said the deadly coup attempt, which martyred more than 230 people and injured almost 2,200 others, was organized by USA -based preacher Fetullah Gulen’s followers and FETO. Its clampdown seeks to target anyone suspected of ties to USA -based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the government accuses of masterminding the plot.
Approximately 13,000 members of the military, police, and judiciary, as well as civil servants, have been detained since the failed putsch, and tens of thousands more removed from their posts.
According to the latest figures by Interior Minister Efkan Ala, over 9,000 people, mostly military, have been put under arrest in the aftermath of the failed coup, which caused the deaths of over 200 people. The cleric denies the charges and Erdogan’s critics say the president is using the purges to clamp down on dissent. “The putschist is in your country already”, the president said while referring to Fethullah Gulen.
“We have concerns emergency rule may increasingly be used against the true opposition in Turkey, those outside the Gulen movement”, he said, adding it was “extremely suspect” the 100 or so journalists in detention or awaiting arrest were involved. As home to millions of Syrian refugees, it is also the European Union’s partner in a deal reached a year ago to halt the biggest flow of migrants into Europe since World War Two.
Several hundred flag-waving protesters staged a peaceful protest march near the Incirlik base on Thursday, chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) and “Damn the USA”, the pro-government Yeni Safak newspaper reported.
The crackdown on Gulenists pressed on unabated on Friday.
Turkish authorities blame the coup on US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen and now seek to weed out his followers from all aspects of Turkish life, including the military, legal system, media and education.
“You are taking the side of coup plotters instead of thanking this state for defeating the coup attempt”, Erdogan said.
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Gulen, whose Hizmet (Service) movement stresses the need to embrace scientific progress and inter-faith dialogue, said he still strongly backed Ankara’s bid to join the European Union, saying this would buttress democracy and human rights in Turkey.
