President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Gulen (pictured) of being behind the attempted military coup in Turkey.
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US Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday said the United States will help Turkey investigate the failed coup and invited Ankara to share any evidence it has against Gulen. A source at the office of the presidency, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government rules, said the 161 toll “excludes assailants”.
“Now today after this coup attempt I say one more time: Give this person in Pennsylvania to us”.
He blamed the intrigue on the followers of Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric living in exile in Pennsylvania, who was the President’s ally until a bitter falling out three years ago.
“I told you that these people were attempting a coup but you didn’t listen”, Erdogan told the crowd of supporters in Istanbul.
“The situation is completely under control”, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said outside his Ankara offices, flanked by Turkey’s top general, who had allegedly been taken hostage by the plotters. He said he and his firm “have attempted repeatedly to warn the US government of the threat posed” by Gulen and his movement.
Gulen said that reprisals likely await those alleged to have plotted the coup, comparing Erdogan’s tactics to those used by Adolf Hitler to clear the political field in Germany in the 1930s, which turned it into a police state.
Earlier, on a visit to Luxembourg, Kerry told reporters the US would entertain an extradition request for Gulen if the Turks provided evidence of wrongdoing.
President Erdogan and his AK Party have become experts at winning elections, but there have always been doubts about his long-term commitment to democracy.
“The United States, without hesitation, squarely and unequivocally stands for democratic leadership, for the respect for a democratic elected leader, and for a constitutional process”, he said.
In the statement released on Friday, the group said: “For more than 40 years, Fethullah Gulen and Hizmet participants have advocated for, and demonstrated their commitment to, peace and democracy”.
“We call for restraint by all parties”, Trudeau’s statement said.
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“All of that continues as before”, Kerry said. It’s host to more than 2,000 American soldiers, so restoring order, and trying to heal this deeply polarized society will be critical not just for the stability of the country but the region and the world. “But on the other hand, you watch what Erdogan has done, and he’s essentially staged his own coup”. In the event things take a turn for the worse, the two have worked out two different plans to get out sooner.
