Turkey yesterday declared a state of emergency across the country for three months in the wake of last week’s failed coup attempt.
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White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest commented cautiously on the matter Tuesday, telling reporters that the Department of Justice and the State Department will review materials submitted by the Turkish government concerning Gulen’s status, “consistent with the requirements of the extradition treaty between the United States and Turkey”. Possibly anticipating investor jitters, Erdogan criticized Standard & Poor’s for downgrading its credit rating for Turkey deeper into “junk” status and said the country would remain financially disciplined.
He said that Erdogan may have staged it himself – a claim which the Turkish president has called “nonsensical”.
He said if the coup had succeeded, the global media would have painted the story as Erdogan being “toppled as a dictator”.
However, Mr Kerry said he had told Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavosoglu in several phone calls: “Please don’t send us allegations, send us evidence”. They will never be able to split us up.
Turkish special forces policemen carry the coffin an officer who was killed last Friday during the failed military coup, during his funeral procession in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 20, 2016.
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.
“The terrorist organization who attempted the coup, it should be disposed of rapidly”, Erdogan said in a televised address.
Following the coup attempt, eight Turkish military personnel fled to Greece on a helicopter and on Tuesday appeared before authorities to pursue applications for asylum. Erdogan’s spokesman said a formal extradition request was being prepared.
Ankara has long accused Gulen, once a close Erdogan ally sharing his Islamo-conservative views, of operating a parallel state in Turkey with the aim of toppling the government.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s High Education Board has ordered the resignation of 1,577 deans at all universities – both public and private – across the country, state broadcaster TRT reported.
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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.
