Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan pinned the coup attempt that gripped the country on a self-exiled cleric living in the US named Fethullah Gulen.
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Gulen lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, but he has denied having involvement in the failed coup attempt.
The government has branded Gulen’s movement a terrorist organization and has launched a sweeping crackdown on its alleged followers since the attempted coup.
But the Turkish cleric, who has been in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999, has denounced the arrest warrant as meaningless, saying that it was typical of a justice system which was not independent.
But Washington has said Ankara must provide clear evidence of Gulen’s involvement in the failed military coup before any extradition process can move forward.
“I think their secretary of state is coming on the 21th (August)”, Erdogan said in a live interview with state-run TRT television.
Ankara has come under harsh criticism from the West for the ongoing purge in which over 60,000 people within military, judiciary, civil service and education have been dismissed, detained or are now under investigation for suspected links to the Gulen movement. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to go after businesses.
On Friday, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev became the first foreign head of state to visit since the failed coup and declared that his country stood in solidarity with Turkey.
Since then, more than 25,000 people have been detained of which 13,000 have been remanded in custody, while almost 75,000 passports have been cancelled.
Secretary of State John Kerry has said that the US will extradite Gulen if Turkey gives the U.S.
Western allies including the European Union have expressed alarm over the purges.
Agency reports said those sacked are believed to be linked in some way to Gülen whose supporters were accused of also being responsible for the recent match-fixing involving Fenerbahce whose President Aziz Yıldırım served time in jail.
The paper cited sources claiming that evidence presented by Ankara in private talks between the two countries have not convinced USA authorities.
“The (Gulen movement) is not only a threat to Turkey it is a threat to all countries in which it has a presence”, Erdogan said during their joint news conference.
The branch sent out letters to its members including a “payment receipt” and a note entitled “Human rights under threat in Turkey”.
“Dunford’s visit shows the U.S. and Turkey are still bound in a sustainable strategic alliance”, said Unal Cevikoz, former Turkish ambassador to London. It also called on local branches to avoid “agitation and gossip” during the purges.
Open claims of having supported Gulen, who runs a chain of Islamic charter schools in the United States, are part of Erdogan’s campaign to rally opposition to Gulen.
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The crackdown that has also targeted journalists accused of links to Gulen has set off alarm bells in the global arena.
