The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Istanbul / AFP
Turkey launched fresh raids and sacked almost 9,000 officials on Monday in a relentless crackdown against suspects behind an attempted coup that left over 300 people dead, as Western allies warned against reinstating the death penalty.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to wipe out the “virus” of the putschists after facing down the coup bid by elements of the military disgruntled with what they see as his increasingly iron-fisted 13-year rule.
But the US and EU have sternly warned him against excessive retribution as the authorities round up the alleged perpetrators of Friday’s attempted power grab.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman denounced “revolting scenes of caprice and revenge against soldiers on the streets” after disturbing pictures emerged of the treatment of some detained suspects.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said over 7,500 people have been detained so far, including 103 generals and admirals, in the investigation into Friday’s coup which Erdogan has blamed on his arch-enemy, the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.
The interior ministry said almost 9,000 police, municipal governors and other officials had also been dismissed in a widening purge. Early Monday, special Istanbul anti-terror police units raided the prestigious air force military academy, detaining four suspects, Anadolu news agency reported.
The authorities have also detained General Mehmet Disli, who conducted the operation to capture chief-of-staff Hulusi Akar during the stand-off, an official said.
The 103 generals detained are accused of seeking to violate the constitution and attempting to overthrow the authorities by force, as well as belonging to what the authorities call the Fethullahci Terror Organisation (FETO) led by Gulen. Erdogan has urged citizens to remain on the streets even after the defeat of the coup, in what the authorities describe as a “vigil” for democracy.
Thousands of pro-Erdogan supporters waving Turkish flags filled the main Kizilay Square in Ankara while similar scenes were seen in Taksim Square in Istanbul.
According to Anadolu, 1,800 additional elite special police forces have been drafted in from surrounding provinces to ensure security in Istanbul.
With Turkey’s big cities still on edge, Turkish security forces killed an armed attacker who shot at them from a vehicle outside the Ankara courthouse where suspects from the failed coup were appearing before judges.
‘End of EU bid’
Western leaders have urged Turkey to follow the rule of law in the wake of the coup bid, with the massive retaliatory purge adding to concerns about human rights and democracy in the NATO member state.
“We also urge the government of Turkey to uphold the highest standards of respect for the nation’s democratic institutions and the rule of law,” US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters after talks with EU foreign ministers.
Responding to the criticism, Yildirim said the plotters would be brought to account but Turkey would “act within the law”.
But the divisive Erdogan added fuel to the fire Sunday when he told supporters that Turkey could consider reintroducing the death penalty which it had abolished in 2004 as part of its longstanding EU membership bid. “We cannot delay this anymore because in this country, those who launch a coup will have to pay the price for it,” he said.
EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini responded bluntly on Monday. “Let me be very clear… no country can become an EU state if it introduces the death penalty,” she said.
There has also been concern about the nature of the arrests which have appeared aimed at humiliating the suspects.
Turkish television has shown images of captured suspects forced to lie face down on the tarmac after their arrest while photographers have seen suspects roughly led away, pursued by angry mobs.
Anadolu published pictures of the arrest of former air force commander Akin Ozturk bent forwards, facing a wall with hands tied behind his back.
Meanwhile, a Greek court will Thursday decide the fate of eight Turkish military officers who fled across the border by helicopter after the failed coup in Turkey and who Ankara wants to see extradited.