After a breakfast in Brussels with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the ministers condemned the weekend coup attempt in a common European Union statement, but expressed alarm at Erdogan’s public comments on Sunday that there could be no delay in using capital punishment.
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The purge continued at full throttle on Monday with the sacking of 8,000 police and 30 governors as well as 52 high ranking civil servants.
Some voiced concern President Tayyip Erdogan was using the opportunity to consolidate his power and further a process of stifling dissent which has already caused tensions with Europe.
A Turkish brigadier general at the base has already been detained for his alleged role in Friday’s uprising, and news reports say refueling aircraft that took off from the base helped keep F-16s used by the coup-plotters up in the air.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said a total of 7,543 people had been detained since Friday, including 6,030 military personnel. “The idea that there are so many Gulenist generals is absurd”, said Turkey expert Barkey, speaking by phone from Istanbul, where 103 generals and admirals have been arrested. Authorities say Akin Ozturk, the former Air Forces commander, was the ringleader of the attempted coup, though he has denied involvement.
Special Istanbul anti-terror police units raided the prestigious air force military academy yesterday morning, detaining four suspects, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Kerry also said the United States has not received a formal request from Turkey to extradite Fethullah Gülen, a Muslim cleric living in Pennsylvania that Erdoğan has blamed for the coup.
The response of the Turkish government to an attempted coup will be a critical test of its commitment to defend democratic principles and human rights, including media freedom and respect for the rule of law.
Ankara has demanded Washington hand him over.
Bottom line, it is up to Ankara to provide clear evidence of Gulen’s role, to show that Gulen is not just a convenient cover to justify a purge of thousands of possible enemies unconnected to the plot.
“At this stage there could even be a questioning of our friendship”, Mr Yildirim added.
Yildirim said 232 people were killed in Friday night’s violence, 208 of them civilians, police and loyalist soldiers, and 24 coup plotters.
Erdogan’s suggestion that the death penalty in Turkey could be reinstated has sent shudders through Europe and sparked warnings such a move would be the nail in the coffin of its already embattled European Union bid.
“I would call out and say if you are a nationalist by virtue of your values, please don’t attempt such a thing”, Gulen said.
A government official said a decision on whether to reintroduce the death penalty would be made by the Turkish parliament, where Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party has an absolute majority.
“The recent wave of arrests and dismissals in Turkey are a matter for grave concern”.
The EU and U.S. “urge the government of Turkey to uphold the highest standards of respect for the nation’s democratic institutions and the rule of law”, he added. “We will certainly support bringing the perpetrators of the coup to justice but we also caution against a reach that goes well beyond that”.
His speech was often interrupted by applause while party supporters waved Turkish flags in parliament. It is unlikely to face much resistance now from people who do not want to be labelled as coup sympathisers.
Punishment against the coup plotters must not include “measures that could lead to an authoritarian state”, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told journalists on Monday.
Turkey has sacked nearly 9,000 officials in its relentless crackdown against suspected plotters of the coup attempt.
Other high-ranking military officials flew to neighboring Greece by helicopter and requested political asylum. “And if it meets that standard, there’s nothing – there’s no interest we have in standing in the way of appropriately honoring the treaty that we have with Turkey with respect to extradition”. “And we’ll work very closely, and hopefully we can work in a constructive way that prevents a backsliding, and that is our hope”.
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Kani Torun told Al Jazeera that judiciary, military, and police forces were the main target of the crackdown on the Gulen movement, but operations were likely to spillover into other institutions.
