President
Tayyip Erdogan tightened his grip on Turkey on Saturday, ordering the closure
of thousands of private schools, charities and other institutions in his first
decree since imposing a state of emergency after the failed military coup.
Turkish authorities also detained a nephew of
Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based Muslim cleric accused by Ankara of
orchestrating the July 15 coup attempt, the Anadolu state news agency reported.
A restructuring of Turkey’s once untouchable military also drew closer, with a
planned meeting between Erdogan and the already purged top brass brought
forward by several days.
The schools and other institutions are
suspected by Turkish authorities of having links to Gulen, who has many
followers in Turkey. Gulen denies any involvement in the coup attempt in which
at least 246 people were killed.
His nephew, Muhammed Sait Gulen, was detained
in the northeastern city of Erzurum and will be brought to the capital Ankara
for questioning, Anadolu reported. Among possible charges that could be brought
against him is membership of a terrorist organization, the agency said.
It is the
first time a relative of Gulen has been reported detained since the failed
coup. Turkey has also captured a key aide to Gulen, a presidency official said.
Halis Hanci, described as the cleric’s right-hand man, apparently entered
Turkey two days before the abortive coup, the official told reporters.
Hasan
Karakus, the pilot who bombed the special forces command in Ankara and killed
42 police officers, was also caught in Turkey, said the official. Critics of
Erdogan fear he is using the abortive coup to wage an indiscriminate crackdown
on dissent. The foundations targeted include, for example, the Association of
Judges and Prosecutors (YARSAV), a secular group that criticized a recent
judicial law drafted by Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted AK Party.
Turkey does not plan to extend emergency rule
beyond a period of three months following the failed coup, but will do so if
necessary, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said. “Our goal is that it shouldn’t
be extended, but if the need arises it may of course be extended,” he said in
an interview with the ATV television station.
Yildirim said only a few people who took part
in the coup attempt remain at large — a group of around 15 who attacked a hotel
Erdogan was staying at in the resort of Marmaris and some who went to Greece.
Turkey plans to dismantle the special presidential guard, he added. In his
decree, published by the Anadolu state news agency, Erdogan also extended to a
maximum of 30 days from four days the period in which some suspects can be
detained. It said this would facilitate a full investigation into the coup
attempt. Erdogan, who narrowly escaped capture and possible death during the
coup attempt, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that he would
restructure the armed forces and bring in “fresh blood”.
Turkey’s Supreme Military Council (YAS) will
meet under Erdogan’s supervision on July 28, a few days earlier than originally
planned, private broadcaster NTV reported, a sign that the president wants to
act fast to ensure the armed forces are fully under the government’s control.
Reinforcing
that message, the YAS meeting – which usually takes place every August – will
be held this time in the presidential palace, not as is customary at the
headquarters of the military General Staff. Erdogan, a popular but polarizing
figure who has dominated Turkish politics since 2003, declared the state of
emergency late on Wednesday, saying it would enable authorities to swiftly and
effectively root out supporters of the coup.
The
emergency allows Erdogan and the AK Party government, who are mildly Islamist,
to pass laws without first having to win parliamentary support and also to curb
or suspend rights and freedoms as they deem necessary. Turkish authorities have
already launched a series of mass purges of the armed forces, police, judiciary
and education system, targeting followers of Gulen, who operates an extensive
network of schools and charitable foundations.
The first
decree signed by Erdogan authorizes the closure of 1,043 private schools, 1,229
charities and foundations, 19 trade unions, 15 universities and 35 medical
institutions over suspected links to the Gulen movement, the Anadolu agency
said. Parliament must still approve the decree but requires only a simply
majority, which the government has. In an address to parliament late on Friday,
Erdogan vowed to bring to justice supporters of the Gulenist “terrorist”
movement and he urged Turks to continue attending rallies in major cities in
support of democracy and against the coup plotters.
More
rallies were planned over the weekend in many towns and cities. In Istanbul,
Turkey’s commercial capital, authorities have allowed people to travel for free
on the metro system so they can more easily attend the rallies. Video screens
on trains show pictures of citizens, or “martyrs”, killed in the violence. Cars
and mini-buses honking their horns drive around the streets until late in the
night carrying flag-waving supporters of Erdogan shouting patriotic or
religious slogans. On Friday evening Erdogan held his first meeting since the
coup with the head of the national intelligence agency, Hakan Fidan, after
complaining of significant intelligence shortcomings ahead of the coup attempt.
Despite
media speculation, however, he did not sack Fidan. Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu told private broadcaster NTV that Turkey expected to complete within
10 days a dossier requesting Gulen’s extradition from the United States.
Cavusoglu said the link between soldiers involved in the failed coup and
Gulen’s extensive network of followers was “very clear”, adding that Turkey
would do all it could “politically and legally” to secure his extradition.
The
U.S. has said Ankara needs to provide clear evidence of Gulen’s involvement
before it can agree to extradite him. Lawyers say that process could take many
years. After the coup, Western countries pledged support for democracy in
Turkey, a NATO ally and an important partner in the fight against Islamic
State, but have also expressed concern over the scale of the subsequent purges
of state institutions.
Turkish authorities have suspended, detained
or placed under investigation more than 60,000 soldiers, police, judges,
teachers, civil servants and others in the past week. Critics of Erdogan in
Turkey and abroad fear he is using the failed coup to wage an indiscriminate
crackdown on his opponents. They say the purges risk sweeping up innocent
people too and that some institutions being shut down may have little or no
connection to Gulen’s movement.
Speaking at a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bankers in China on Saturday, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said Turkey would strongly adhere to democratic principles and the rule of law. In Ankara, the minister for European Union affairs chided Western countries for not sending any representatives to demonstrate their solidarity with Turks since the coup attempt. “We are very surprised that our allies have not come to Turkey to visit even after one week has passed,” Omer Celik told reporters.
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