The popular president whose people helped resist the military coup said he did not want to destroy relations with the U.S., but the country should do as they are asked.
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“In his case, it would be to roust out the opposition forces, elements to his regime so he can arrest them, put them in prison, try them, or maybe just kill them“, Lendman said.
A religious school in the Kasimpasa neighborhood of Istanbul where Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was born.
“The goal of state of emergency is to be able to take most efficient steps to remove threat as soon as possible”, he said.
But Ozturk denied he was the coup ringleader.
Erdogan said: “It is clear it was a minority (of the armed forces)”.
Some 60,000 soldiers, police, judges, civil servants and teachers have been suspended or detained since the military coup attempt, increasing tension across the country of 80 million that borders Syria’s chaos and is a Western ally against Islamic State.
Anadolu reported that 257 people working at the office of the prime minister have been dismissed and their identification seized because of suspicions of possible involvement in the coup attempt. Gulen vehemently denies the charge.
The government is trying to root out and punish supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish scholar living in exile in Pennsylvania and leading the Hizmet movement, which is based on moderate Sunni Islam, according to CNN.
Speaking after a meeting with Cabinet ministers and top security advisers here yesterday, Erdogan said the measure was being taken to counter threats to Turkish democracy.
Any extradition request would face legal and political hurdles in the United States.
A thousand pro-government protesters rallied in Istanbul on Tuesday, waving flags, and demanding the death penalty for those involved with the coup, the Associated Press reported. Erdogan demanded the resignation of all public university deans as tens of thousands of teachers face suspension.
Turkey’s Council of Higher Education also demanded all universities suspend academic assignments overseas and that an investigation be launched into all staff linked to what it calls the “Fetullah Gulen Terrorist Organization”, Anadolu reported.
Turkey will be able to extend detention times for suspects and issue decrees without parliamentary approval under a three-month state of emergency approved Thursday by lawmakers following last week’s attempted military coup.
The president and other officials have strongly suggested the government is considering reinstating the death penalty, a practice abolished in 2004 as part of Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.
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Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, meanwhile, reflected the triumphant mood of authorities.
