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Turkey coup: Sunday am quick update
[AlAhram] Cooperation between Turkey's political parties will get a "new start" in the wake of the defeated coup attempt, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday, promising that the usually fractious four main parties could find common ground. Turkey: More than 160 martyred in coup attempt [Zamanalwsl] The attempted coup in Turkey saw 161 people martyred and 1,440 injured, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Saturday. Speaking in the Turkish capital Ankara, Yildirim said 2,839 military personnel involved in the “vile attempt” had been arrested. Some were senior officers, he added. He also said 20 pro-coup soldiers had been killed in Friday night’s attempt to overthrow the government. According to the Interior Ministry, 1,563 military personnel were arrested across Turkey on Saturday and a number of officers were suspended from duty, including five generals and 29 colonels. Final pro-coup troops surrender in Ankara [Zamanalwsl] The final group of pro-coup Turkish military personnel surrendered Saturday afternoon, a security source said. Around 150 plotters, who are suspected of being members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, had been holding out at the headquarters of the General Staff and the nearby gendarmerie compound in central Ankara. Three prosecutors went to the headquarters to receive the surrender of the group, which included 13 high-ranking naval officers, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media. Two buses carried senior officers away while other ranks, many wearing just their underwear, were put on three buses to be taken to a sports hall in Baskent on the western edge of the capital. The source said counter-terrorism officers would make detailed search of the compound, where earlier Saturday around 700 coup troops surrendered to police. Two cheers for Erdogan: Europe hopes and fears after coup bid [Zamanalwsl] European leaders greeted the defeat of Turkey's coup on Saturday with relief as it averts chaos and keeps alive a deal that has helped to stem the migration crisis threatening the continent. But while some hope a reminder of resistance to his personal grip on power may prompt President Tayyip Erdogan to heed European pleas for him to respect civil rights, many fear he is far more likely to step up his crackdown on opponents and so complicate European Union efforts to maintain the bargain. The coming weeks, starting when EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels on Monday, will be crucial to the fate of a plan at the heart of the migrant deal: to have skeptical EU lawmakers approve after the summer an end to visa requirements for Turks. Erdogan Purges 2,745 Judges, Prosecutors; Arrests Hundreds [ZeroHedge] We don't have to remind readers that when military coups take place in the middle-east, they are i) ruthless, ii) extremely well-organized and planned, and iii) succeed on virtually every occasion. But not this one. The question why is what the media (or at least its fringes) will be pondering over the next few days and weeks. What there is no question about, however, is Erdogan's response, which as he warned last night, would begin with a quick crackdown against the army. As of this moment, hundreds of soldiers have already been arrested. However, the real punchline was revealed moments ago when Anadolu said a top body overseeing judges and prosecutors has dismissed 2,745 judges across the country. Anadolu Agency says the emergency meeting of the Judges and Prosecutors High Council was held Saturday, mere hours after Turkish forces quashed an attempted coup, and promptly purged the slate clean of anyone in the judicial branch who was seen as even remotely opposed to Erdogan. The Anadolu Agency added on Saturday that arrest warrants were issued for 48 administrative court members and 140 members of Turkey's appeals court: as if members of Turkey's judicial system - long on Erdodan's black list - were involved in the army's failed putsch. As of right now, Erdogan has removed the two last hurdles on his way to absolute, supreme power: holdouts in Turkey's judicial branch and in the army. U.S. to cooperate in Turkey probe, but no extradition requested: Kerry [AlAhram] U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday the United States had not received any request to extradite Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, but was willing to assist in legitimate efforts to deal with plotters of Turkey's attempted coup. Turkey: Harboring Gülen is hostile act after coup attempt [Hurriyet] Any country that would harbor Fethullah Gülen, the leader of the parallel state that is regarded as the mastermind of July 15’s coup attempt would not be Turkey’s friend, the Turkish prime minister has said, obviously urging the United States where the self-exile religious leader lives since late 1990s. Yıldırım indirectly criticized the U.S. for not understanding the concerns Turkey had expressed about Gülen, saying “This caused us to pay a big price.” Prime Minister said Turkey has already delivered its request of extradition for Gülen. Egypt blocks UNSC condemnation of coup attempt in Turkey [DailySabah] The United Nations Security Council failed on Saturday to condemn the coup attempt in Turkey after Egypt objected to a statement that called on all parties to "respect the democratically elected government of Turkey," diplomats said. The U.S.-drafted statement also expressed grave concern over the situation in Turkey, urged the parties to show restraint, avoid any violence or bloodshed, and called for an urgent end to the crisis and return to rule of law. Statements by the 15-member Security council have to be agreed by consensus. High-ranking generals detained in Turkey coup attempt [Hurriyet] A number of high ranking soldiers were detained on July 16 in operations which came after security forces' quashing of a coup attempt in the country. The commander of the 2nd Army Gen. Adem Huduti and its executive officer and Malatya Garrison Commander Avni Angun and the commander of the 3rd Army Gen. Erdal Öztürk were detained in the operations. Meanwhile, another 10 soldiers, including two high-ranking generals, were also detained. Akın Öztürk, the former Chief of Air Staff, was also detained as a part of the operations. Four top commanders and the Chief of General Gen. Staff Hulusi Akar were saved after they held hostage by the Gülenist coup attempters. Turkey’s top soldier Gen. Hulusi Akar, who was taken hostage by the coup attempters at the General Staff headquarters in Ankara with other leading commanders, was freed at the Akıncılar Air Base through an operation. The air force’s command, the gendarmerie command and some units from the armored forces took part in the coup attempt, he said, adding that it was quashed.
[Hurriyet] Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said Ankara has demanded return of eight coup attempter soldiers , who landed on Alexandroupolis in Greece and that Athens accepted the former's request. The Black Hawk helicopter landed after sending a distress signal to authorities at the airport in Alexandroupolis in the country's north. Seven of those on board were in military uniform and all are believed to have been involved in the coup bid, ERT TV said. 2,839 detained over coup attempt [Hurriyet] A total of 2,839 soldiers have been detained over the charges of coup attempt, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said July 16 in a press briefing. There are high-ranking officers among the detained. Broadcaster CNNTürk said four of them were generals and 29 of them were colonels. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ had informed that state prosecutors in all 81 provinces have already launched investigations on the coup attempt, saying “Detentions are mostly taken place in Ankara and Istanbul but there are other detentions in many other places of Turkey.” Religious authorities Turkey condemn coup [DailySabah] Leaders of Turkey's religious communities have released a joint statement condemning the failed coup attempt orchestrated by agents of the Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ). The statement from representatives of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities declared "our great sorrow over the terrorist attacks that disturb the peace of our great nation and of the world." US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen: 'Attempted coup may have been a False Flag' [Sunday Express]Today Fetullah Gulen claimed the attempted overthrow may have been staged, and he urged the Turkish people not to view military intervention in a positive light. Speaking from Pennsylvania he said: "There is a slight chance, there is a possibility that it could be a staged coup. "It could be meant for court accusations and associations." Gulen said democracy cannot be achieved through military action. He criticised the President Tayyip Erdogan's government. He said: "It appears that they have no tolerance for any movement, any group, any organisation that is not under their total control." Georgia closes land, air borders with Turkey [Ynet] Georgia has ordered its border with Turkey closed amid the instability from a military coup attempt. Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said the country's security council on Saturday discussed "threats that might arise to Georgia" from the situation and said both land and air borders had been closed. The former Soviet republic shares a 152 mile border with Turkey. LTC(Ret) Ralph Peters comments on the Turkish coup. [Breitbart] Fox News Strategic Analyst Lt. Col. Ralph Peters (Ret.) praised the coup in Turkey, arguing that those staging it were who the US should be supporting, not Turkey’s “Islamist fundamentalist authoritarian president.” Posted by: trailing wife 2016-07-17 |
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