Turkey’s government has said the attempted coup was organized by followers of USA -based preacher Fetullah Gulen, who is accused of a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through supporters within Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming the parallel state.
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US President Barack Obama on Tuesday pledged US assistance to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the investigation into last week’s attempted coup, the White House said.
Turkey’s government has accused USA -based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen of masterminding the coup, in which more than 200 people were killed.
Dozens of others are still being questioned, while thousands suspected of involvement in the coup attempt are said to have been rounded up and as many as 20,000 state employees removed from their posts.
The government has also announced an “important decision” is expected later in the day after a meeting of the national security leaders, raising expectations that more purges will follow.
President Erdogan greets his supporters outside his residence in Istanbul early July 19, 2016.
A rally organized by the opposition secular Republican People’s Party, (CHP), is planned for the weekend – because the opposition actually supported Erdogan against the coup, the government’s response to the rally is widely seen as a test of its commitment to democratic freedoms.
“The fact that so many judges have been detained, never mind the workload at the courthouses, will render them inoperable”, said Vildan Yirmibesoglu, a human rights lawyer.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said any criticism of how the government treated coup suspects was tantamount to backing for the overthrow bid.
The battle over Mr. Gulen’s fate unfolded in parallel with another very public argument between the American and Turkish governments over a widespread purge of Mr. Erdogan’s opponents that began just hours after the coup collapsed. “I’m confident Turkey will come out of this with much stronger democracy, better functioning market economy & enhanced investment climate”. The extent of purges, aimed at supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a US -based cleric and former Erdogan ally blamed for the uprising, raised speculation that the rebellion fallout accelerated plans to overhaul Turkish institutions, accomplishing in days what might have taken years.
The Turkish Parliament on Thursday approved the state of emergency declaration by a 346 to 115 vote.
ISTANBUL/ANKARA, July 19 (Reuters) – Turkey vowed to root out allies of the USA -based cleric it blames for an abortive coup last week, widening a purge of the army, police and judiciary on Tuesday to universities and schools, the intelligence agency and religious authorities.
The action quickly morphed into a wider protest by millions at Erdogan’s perceived authoritarianism and faced a bloody crackdown, but Erdogan shelved the development.
“Believers of the rule of law, democracy and the high value of our nation and its noble aims were the victors”, it added.
It has revived talks of the death penalty, imposed media restrictions, blocked websites and placed a ban on academics leaving the country.
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On Sunday, Yildirim said the coup had failed and life had returned to normal, but he and other officials also urged people to take to streets at night, saying risks remained. At least 24 coup plotters were also killed.
