In the aftermath of surviving a failed military coup, Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan is raising worldwide concern about his disregard for human rights amid suspicions that he was someway involved in the coup itself, allegedly so that he could establish tough new laws for himself by diktat rather than through the slow – and often inconvenient – legislative process. The government has said these steps are needed to root out supporters of the coup and will not infringe on the rights of ordinary Turks.
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He said he would hold meetings with political and judiciary officials during a coming visit to the US.
“There will be a small change to remove obstacles from the constitution and the work is underway to do this”, Yildirim said.
The retired USA general had allegedly paid “at least two secret visits” to Turkey from May up until the attempted coup, which Turkish authorities blamed on what they call the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).
Gulen, who has been exiled in the USA since 1991, has denied any involvement.
Turkey wants the United States to extradite the cleric, while Washington has said it will do so only if there is clear evidence.
Erdogan has accused Gulen, his former ally, of attempting to build a “parallel network” of supporters within the military, police, judiciary, civil service, education and media with the aim of toppling the state.
“The FETO terror group, who are abusing people’s tax money to purchase guns, tanks, warplanes, heavy weapons and use against the nation, are rascals, traitors and dishonest”, Erdogan said last week, branding FETO “a virus that has metastasized”.
He also dismissed claims that Erdogan had orchestrated the coup in order to launch a crackdown. He added that 934 schools, 109 dormitories, 15 universities, 104 foundations, 35 health institutions, 1,125 associations and 19 unions were closed as they belonged to what he described as “the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization”.
Over 13,000 people have been detained and tens of thousands more have lost their jobs over the coup, which the Turkish authorities blame on the reclusive Pennsylvania-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen.
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Reports suggest that 11 others have left the country. “Absolutely none of those detained were subject to torture or bad treatment during or after their detention”, he said.
