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Erdogan supporters. Sign reads: "the coup nation traitor, FETO" (FETO is Gulen's nickname).
continued on Saturday with the closure of hundreds of private schools, charities and other institutions suspects of links with the US-based cleric. Ankara declared a state of emergency after a failed military coup. The decree issued by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is his first since the state of emergency was declared on Wednesday.
He has ordered the closure of 1,043 private schools, 1,229 charities and foundations, 19 trade unions, 15 universities and 35 medical institutions, state news agency Anadolu reported on Saturday.
The organizations slated to be shut down are
suspected of links with US-based Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan, who turned into his fierce opponent. The Turkish government accused Gulen of having a hand behind the last week's coup attempt as well as earlier attacks on it.
In the wake of the weekend violence, which claimed at least 246 lives, Ankara launched a massive purge of suspected Gulen supporters among the military, police, judges, municipal officials and other branches of the government. Another such measure ordered by Erdogan on Saturday allows for
longer detention of people without charge.
The three-month state of emergency declared on Wednesday gives the Turkish executive authority to pass laws without parliament's support and limit rights and freedoms as they deem necessary.
Turkey's foreign allies, the US and the EU, reacted nervously to the crackdown. The EU threatened to
suspend accession talks with Ankara, if Erdogan delivered on his threat to lift a moratorium on capital punishment. The US said Turkey should
provide convincing proof of Gulen's guilt, if it wanted the cleric to be extradited. Gulen, a long-time resident of the US, has denied masterminding the coup.
Comment: Erdogan is turning his country inside-out: the actions of a rage-driven, autocratic personality, or a necessary step to eliminate foreign subversion? A bit of both? As Sibel Edmonds points out, as crazy as Erdogan is, he's nothing compared to the Turkish dictators that came before him, or who would replace him if a CIA-backed coup were successful. Just compare the relatively tame response to this coup, compared to the 1980 one.
Back then:
- 650,000 people were under arrest.
- 1,683,000 people were blacklisted.
- 230,000 people were tried in 210,000 lawsuits.
- 7,000 people were recommended for the death penalty.
- 517 persons were sentenced to death.
Comment: Russia is not buying the pretexts or excuses as to the buildup of navy vessels in the Black Sea. This is scaremongering that could turn ugly at any time. Would the US be OK with a Russian fleet hanging out in the Gulf of Mexico, no matter the excuse? We know that answer.