Erdogan cracks down on Gulen movement

Turkey vowed to root out allies of the US-based cleric it blames for an abortive coup last week, widening a purge of the army, police and judiciary on Tuesday to the education sector, intelligence agency and religious authorities.

President Tayyip Erdogan and the government accuse Fethullah Gulen of orchestrating a failed military takeover on Friday in which at least 232 people were killed, and have called in speeches for his extradition from the United States. Erdogan’s spokesman said a formal extradition request was being prepared.
Authorities have suspended or detained close to 35,000 soldiers, police, judges and civil servants since the coup bid, stirring tensions across the country of 80 million which borders Syria’s chaos and is a key Western ally against Daesh.
On Tuesday, they shut down media outlets deemed to be supportive of the cleric and said 15,000 people had been fired from the Education Ministry, 492 from the Religious Affairs Directorate, 257 from the prime minister’s office and 100 intelligence officials.
The lira weakened to beyond 3 to the US dollar after state broadcaster TRT said all university deans had been ordered to resign, recalling the sorts of broad purges seen in the wake of successful military coups of the past.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim accused Washington, which said it will only consider extradition if clear evidence is provided, of double standards in its fight against terrorism.
Yildirim said the Justice Ministry had sent a dossier to US authorities on Gulen, whose religious movement blends conservative, Islamic values with a pro-Western outlook and who has a network of supporters within Turkey.
“We have more than enough evidence, more than you could ask for, on Gulen,” Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag told reporters outside Parliament. “There is no need to prove the coup attempt, all evidence shows that the coup attempt was organized on his will and orders.”
Ankara says followers of Gulen, who lives on a compound in Pennsylvania’s Pocono mountains, have infiltrated Turkey’s institutions and are running a “parallel state.”
Seeking to quash any suggestion of lingering instability, the army said it had resumed full control. Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus denied reports 14 naval vessels were missing and their commanders were seeking to defect.
Kurtulmus also said 9,322 people were under legal proceedings in relation to the attempted coup.
In a defiant speech in parliament, Yildirim said the fact civilians had been targeted in the attempted power grab by a faction in the military made it unprecedented in the history of Turkey, which last saw a violent coup more than 30 years ago.
“I’m sorry but this parallel terrorist organization will no longer be an effective pawn for any country,” Yildirim said. “We will dig them up by their roots so that no clandestine terrorist organization will have the nerve to betray our blessed people again.”
The army general staff said it would punish “in the most severe way” any members of the armed forces responsible for what it called “this disgrace,” adding that most had nothing to do with the coup.

Source : Arab News