Alwaght- President Erdogan’s purge of US-based Cleric’s supporters went on on Saturday with the closure of hundreds of private schools, charities and other institutions over charge of links to failed military coup in Turkey.
Turkish President declared a state of emergency after a failed military coup, for which it blames Fethullah Gulen, a moderate Turkish Muslim cleric, has been in self-imposed exile in US from his country since 1999.
In his first decree since imposing a three-month state of emergency after the coup attempt, Erdogan on Saturday authorized the closure of 1,043 private schools, 1,229 charities and foundations, 19 trade unions, 15 universities and 35 medical institutions for their suspected link to the Gulen movement.
Parliament must still approve the decree but it requires only a simple majority. The ruling AK Party, founded by Erdogan and in power since 2002, commands the majority of seats in parliament.
Erdogan has accused Gulen, who has many followers in Turkey and abroad, of masterminding last Friday’s failed coup, in which at least 246 people were killed and more than 2,100 others sustained injuries. Gulen denies the charge and has condemned the coup.
The decree comes three days after a state of emergency was declared in Turkey, allowing the president and cabinet to bypass parliament in enacting new laws and to limit or suspend rights and freedoms as they deem necessary.
Turkey has suspended 37,500 civil servants and police officers in the wake of the coup, including many from the education ministry, and also revoked the license of 21,000 teachers. The education ministry said it was looking to close more than 600 schools.
The number of people detained has surpassed 10,000 while more than 4,000 of those have been arrested. More than 7,000 of those detained are soldiers, including at least 120 generals.
Erdogan has pledged to “cleanse” the country’s institutions of the “virus” of Gulen supporters, drawing concerns from Turkey’s Western allies over his increasingly authoritarian stance.
Meanwhile, Ankara has escalated pressure on Washington to extradite Gulen, sending several “dossiers” that it says are packed with evidence about his alleged role in the failed coup.
The US had earlier said it would extradite Gulen if Turkey provided evidence, not allegations, that he was behind the coup attempt.
Concerns have been on the rise about the crackdown that the Turkish government has begun following the failure of the coup. The EU is particularly concerned as Ankara seeks accession to the bloc. One special area of concern is Ankara’s attempts to reintroduce the death penalty to allow the execution of those believed to have been involved in the coup bid.
Erdogan has lashed out at the critics of the sweeping purge in the country, stressing that Turkey will never make compromises on democracy.
