Turkish opposition party denounces coup attempt

A Turkish flag flies near the Bosporus strait prior to the Bosporus Cross-Continental Swimming Race in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, July 24, 2016. More than 2,000 athletes are competing in the 6.5-kilometer challenging race.

He said the attempted military coup, which threw Turkey into chaos on July 15 before being swiftly stamped out by President Erdogan’s government, was an opportunity missed to build confidence between the two countries.

Under new emergency powers, those detained can be held without charge for 30 days.

Despite the high tensions since the coup attempt, the mood at the Istanbul rally was strongly patriotic, while security was tight following a series of recent attacks by Islamic State jihadists and Kurdish militants.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Turkish president sent a letter to the head of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party Binali Yildirim, Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) head Devlet Bahceli.

The rapid pace of arrests since the coup attempt has anxious many of Turkey’s Western allies, who say they see the country going down an increasingly authoritarian road.

Posters at the rally proclaimed “No to coups” and “We’re standing up for the republic and democracy”. In addition, some 50,000 workers have lost their jobs, suspected of possible ties to the coup plotters.

Pic: ReutersLONDON: Human rights group Amnesty International said Sunday it had “credible evidence” of the abuse and torture of people detained in sweeping arrests since Turkey’s July 15 coup attempt. Education Minister Ismet Yilmaz said the new teachers will replace state educators who have been dismissed as well as teachers in private schools with alleged links to Fethullah Gulen, a US -based cleric who has denied Turkish accusations that he directed the coup attempt that killed about 290 people. Gulen denies any prior knowledge of the plot. Education Minister Ismet Yilmaz said at least 20,000 teachers would be hired quickly to replace those dismissed, with school classes set to resume in mid-September after summer holidays.

In other crackdown measures, Turkey has disbanded the presidential guard after already detaining almost 300 unit members suspected of plotting against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and authorities detained Muhammet Sait Gulen, a nephew of the cleric who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania.

Several banners also protested the post-coup state of emergency, with one proclaiming “No to the coup, no to dictatorship” and another saying “Turkey is secular and will remain so”.