Turkey sacks 15000 more people as part of coup probe

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested that “his people” believe the U.S.to be behind the failed military coup that took place in the country earlier this year.

In the United States, a lawyer hired by the Turkish government has lodged numerous accusations against a network of about 150 publicly funded charter schools started by followers of Gulen, whose philosophy blends a mystical form of Islam with advocacy of democracy, education, science and interfaith dialogue. Mr Erdogan is looking to expand his powers by changing Turkey’s constitution. He also says that he hired Flynn’s firm on behalf of a non-Turkish energy company rather than for the Turkish government. “They should lock up all of the (pro-Kurdish) legislators”. “Fethullahist Terrorist Organization [Gulen’s movement], which we fight against in Turkey, was one of those structures which provided them [the US Democratic party] with considerable support”, Erdogan said in an interview with the Israeli television channel Arutz 2 on Monday.

Erdogan says the US should hand over Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric who has lived in Pennsylvania since 1999.

The troubling clampdown comes as Turkey was already in turmoil, rocked by a wave of deadly suicide attacks, including one at Istanbul’s busiest airport that killed 54 people. The Turkish leader Erdoğan’s interview is part of Kroft’s story about Turkey’s role in US foreign policy as Donald Trump prepares to take over the White House.

Turkey and the European Union agreed to speed up membership talks in March as part of an accord on curbing migrant flows into Greece.

Turkey on Tuesday dismissed 15,000 more officials, from soldiers and police officers to tax inspectors and midwives, and shut 375 institutions and news outlets, deepening purges condemned by Western allies and rights groups after a failed coup.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan criticized President Obama for not taking the war in Syria seriously in a “60 Minutes” interview airing Sunday, saying USA policies have interfered with Turkey’s ability to defend itself.

The president of Turkey expressed disillusions Sunday with the administration of President Barack Obama on Syria and the extradition of terror leader Fetullah Gulen.

Erdogan, who was an ally of Morsi’s, denounced el-Sisi after the coup attempt in Turkey. “Erdogan will get a blank check for his executive presidency”. The delay has created widespread suspicions in Turkey that the USA government is protecting Gulen, leading members of Erdogan’s government to suggest publicly that American intelligence agencies may have been involved or had advance knowledge of the coup. Belarus, Afghanistan, Iran and Mongolia have observer status while Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Nepal are dialogue partners.