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| The Grand Turk |
| US not involved in Turkey coup attempt, ‘full stop,’ envoy says |
| 2016-08-07 |
| [ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The United States’ ambassador to ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... has again denied allegations his country was involved in last month’s failed coup attempt, Turkish media reported Saturday. "I just want to say again, as I’ve said before and as we’ve said from Washington, the United States government did not plan, direct, support or have any advance knowledge of any of the illegal activities that occurred the night of July 15 and into July 16. Full stop," US ambassador John Bass said in remarks published in English daily Hurriyet Daily News. He added that he was "deeply disturbed and offended by the accusations" targeting his country. The July 15 military action blamed by Ankara on US-based Moslem holy man Fethullah Gulen has rattled Turkey’s relations with the United States and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... has accused the West of supporting the plotters and warned Washington that relations will suffer if it fails to extradite Pennsylvania-based Gulen. Erdogan has also accused the US of hiding and sheltering the preacher and described the failed military action as a "scenario written from outside" in an allusion to foreign involvement. Shortly after the coup attempt, Labor Minister Suleyman Soylu went even further to say "the United States is behind the coup." And this week, Turkey’s former army chief, Ilker Basbug, claimed that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was also behind it. "Frankly, if we would have had knowledge we would have told the Turkish government about it immediately," Bass said. Turkey arrests dozens of special forces as purge continues [IsraelTimes] Massive sweep against alleged supporters of US-based holy man continues ahead of Sunday pro-Erdogan rally in Istanbul Dozens of special forces personnel were tossed in the clink Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! in ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... Saturday in the latest development in a sweeping crackdown following the failed coup in the country that killed over 270 people, the state-run Anadolu news agency said. Nearly 90 staff members were arrested after being identified by a commission established by the Special Forces Command following the July 15 coup, the agency reported. The crackdown targets suspected followers of US-based holy man Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara accuses of criminal masterminding the coup attempt. Tens of thousands of employees in the military, police force, judiciary and throughout the public sector have been dismissed, detained or arrested. Turkey has also been reforming its security apparatus in the aftermath of the failed coup, with the military being brought firmly under civilian authority in a series of governmental decrees following the declaration of a state of emergency. Earlier on Saturday Prime Minister Binali Yildirim hosted a security summit of high-level government and military officials in Ankara. Those attending included the country’s foreign, justice, interior and defense ministers, the chief of general staff and the heads of Turkey’s national intelligence agency and the national police. No decisions were announced following the meeting. As part of its anti-coup campaign, Ankara has been encouraging nightly anti-coup rallies throughout the country, with officials preparing for the grand finale to be held in Istanbul on Sunday. The "Democracy and Martyrs’ Rally" is meant to represent the unity of the country, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... urging attendees to bring only the Turkish flag instead of party banners. "There we will stand together as a single nation, a single flag, a single motherland, a single state, a single spirit," he said. The event will be attended by the highest levels of Turkish leadership and two of Turkey’s three opposition parties. The pro-Kurdish People’s Democracy Party, or HDP, was not invited. Anadolu news agency estimates that millions could attend the event. |
| Posted by:Fred |