News of the firings and detentions came as the US and European Union urged the government to uphold democracy and human rights as it pursues the military officers and anyone else involved in the coup attempt.
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“We shall rapidly conduct the cleansing operation so that they can not again show the audacity of coming against the will of the people”, he said, adding those already in custody “will receive every punishment they deserve”.
However, Erdogan noted that the Turkish parliament had to decide on this issue.
“However”, says CNN, “the sounds of fighting were still being reported in Ankara and Istanbul after the chaotic attempt by members of the military to wrest control from Erdogan”. Funeral ceremonies and prayers for those killed in the coup were held in Ankara and Istanbul on Sunday, where relatives beside themselves with grief.
The EU has called on Turkish authorities to exercise restraint, saying the reinstatement of the death penalty would threaten its membership bid. The nationwide arrests and dismissals have unsettled a country that was already bitterly divided over what many describe as a years-long effort by the Turkish leader to cripple his rivals and weaken independent institutions.
Late on Friday, Turkish authorities said that an attempted coup took place in the country.
“We will certainly support bringing perpetrators of the coup to justice – but we also caution against a reach that goes well beyond that”.
Mr Yildirim said 232 people were killed in Friday night’s violence: 208 of them were civilians, police and loyalist soldiers, and a further 24 were coup plotters. As many as 6,000 people were arrested for the participation in the mutiny, including Erdogan’s chief military adviser.
Thousands of supporters gathered in Taksim Square in Istanbul singing songs and waving flags overnight, with similar scenes in the capital Ankara and other cities.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan often has accused the cleric, Fethullah Gulen, of trying to overthrow the government. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman said Monday that Turkey reinstating the death penalty would mean the end of negotiations for the country to join the EU.
But his secretary of state, John Kerry, warned Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu that public suggestions of a USA role in the plot were “utterly false” and harmful to relations.
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Bass on Monday said that if Turkey to submit such a request “it will be considered under the terms of the U.S. -Turkey extradition agreement”.
