Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan says the purge is to clean out the country’s “systemic virus”.
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Speaking through an interpreter in an interview with broadcaster Al Jazeera, Erdogan dismissed suggestions that he was becoming authoritarian and that Turkish democracy was under threat.
The Turkish government claimed the failed coup was organized by followers of Gulen, a USA -based cleric.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said that Obama and Erdogan discussed Gulen and that early Tuesday morning, “there were materials presented by the Turkish government in an electronic form to the USA government related to Mr. Gulen’s status”. One hundred intelligence officials, 492 people from the Religious Affairs Directorate, 257 at the prime minister’s office and 300 at the Energy Ministry have been removed from duty. Some suspect the meeting will be used to seek a change in the constitution that allows the reintroduction of the death penalty.
“We also urge the government of Turkey to uphold the highest standards of respect for the nation’s democratic institutions”, US Secretary of State John Kerry said.
There are now 9,322 suspects linked to the failed coup attempt on late Friday and all of them are going through legal procedures, Kurtulmus said.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced the request Tuesday in Parliament and on Twitter referred to Gulen as a “terrorist leader”.
While rights organizations have complained that the dismissals and detentions appear to have been carried out with little investigation, Turkish officials contend that there has been a long-standing investigation into Gulen’s movement. He has condemned the abortive coup and denied any role in it.
He said Obama “reiterated once again the strong commitment of the United States to the democratically elected civilian government of Turkey” and commended the Turkish people’s effort in “defending the government and repelling the coup” last week. He said he thought that resignations would be accepted only from the deans who are thought to be followers of Gulen.
“This is resembling the pre-genocidal periods in fascist Europe”.
Any temporary suspension of the European Convention of Human Rights must follow the rules of derogation, they said without elaborating, after a Turkish deputy prime minister said Turkey would do so during emergency rule.
Erdogan said Turkey submitted all evidence to the US regarding Gulen’s extradition and Ankara now awaits a decision from Washington.
“Today, we are determined more than ever before to contribute to the solution of regional problems hand in hand with Iran and Russian Federation and in cooperation with them”, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted Erdogan as saying during a telephone conversation Monday. Relations between our countries are based on interests, not feelings.
The question in Turkey now turned to how to punish all the alleged coup plotters, who stand accused of leading an uprising that started late Friday before being crushed by loyalists.
Hours before the state of emergency announcement, ratings agency S&P lowered its sovereign credit outlook for Turkey to “negative” from “stable”, saying the polarisation of politics had further eroded checks and balances.
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“Nothing is going to happen if I don’t take money home during three months”, Ceylan said.
