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Turkey suspends more than 15,000 education workers in widening purge
[WAPO] ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkey suspended more than 15,000 Education Ministry workers on Tuesday and demanded resignations from all university deans as authorities widened their far-reaching crackdowns in the wake of a failed coup attempt.The 15,200 personnel were being investigated for links to the power grab launched last week, the ministry said in a statement. In addition, 1,577 university deans from Turkey's public and private universities were asked to hand in their notice. A further 492 staff were removed from duty at the country's top Islamic authority. It marked an escalation in a purge of state institutions after a mutinous faction of Turkey’s military staged an attempted overthrow on Friday night, hijacking fighter jets and helicopters to strike key installations and security forces. Tens of thousands of military officials, police, judges, governors and civil servants have been fired, detained or put under scrutiny -- accused of having links to Fethullah Gulen, a cleric living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, who Turkey accuses of being behind the plot. Posted by: Besoeker 2016-07-19 |
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