The purges against suspected Gulen supporters follow earlier aggressive moves by Erdogan’s administration against Gulen loyalists in the government, police and judiciary following corruption probes targeting Erdogan associates and family members in late 2013 – prosecutions the government says were orchestrated by Gulen.
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What is the Turkish government saying about all these arrests and dismissals?
“We’re racing against time, we need to quickly take decisions and rapidly reach results”, Erdogan said on Tuesday. Erdogan has referred to it as a “virus”. At least 24 coup plotters were also killed. “I’m confident Turkey will come out of this with much stronger democracy, better functioning market economy & enhanced investment climate”.
“We will implement this [state of emergency] within the framework of the rule of law”.
“I urge the U.S. government to reject any effort to abuse the extradition process to carry out political vendettas”.
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. “If their numbers are 3,000, 5,000 or 7,000, it doesn’t matter – they will be arrested and prosecuted”.
The state of emergency puts the military firmly under government control, and allows for new laws that critics say could suspend civil rights.
It has also demanded the resignations of 1,577 university deans.
The state telecommunications authority has also announced it has blocked access to WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing website, after it announced the release of almost 300,000 emails from Erdogan’s party.
Washington has said it will only consider an extradition request if clear evidence is provided. He called for fair trials and the rule of law.
“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.
In their first telephone conversation since the attempted overthrow, President Barack Obama pledged U.S. assistance to Erdogan for the investigation into the putsch, which has threatened to once again raise tensions between the uneasy North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies.
“We need to be more sensitive”.
There was no immediate statement Wednesday from Turkey’s Telecommunications Board, a government agency that regulates access to websites.
“As you surely know, universities have always been crucial for military juntas in Turkey, and certain individuals are believed to be in contact with cells within military”, he said.
Erdoğan told CNN in an exclusive interview on July 18 that if he had stayed in the hotel for 10 or 15 more minutes, he would have been killed or captured. The lieutenant was one of about 30 soldiers said to be involved in the hotel attack in the resort of Marmais.
What’s it like in Istanbul now?
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Every night, people still go into the streets, as the president has asked.
