Turkey: US shouldn’t ‘sacrifice’ alliance over Muslim cleric

Turkey suspended over 2,500 more staff from the powerful religious affairs state agency today in the latest purge after last month’s failed coup blamed on US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen.

Ankara has repeatedly said the coup attempt was organized by followers of USA -based preacher Fetullah Gulen and FETO.

Meanwhile, in Serbia, hundreds of Turks attended a rally in support of the Turkish government.

“This sort of conspiracy theory, inflammatory rhetoric.is absolutely not helpful”, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau told a briefing when asked about charges in the Turkish press that the Woodrow Wilson Center think tank was behind the failed coup.

The Turkish ambassador to India, Burak Akcapar, said in July that FETO did have a presence in India and that his country expected action to be taken against it.

Erdogan has faulted the USA and European Union for not condemning the abortive coup enough and for showing a lack of solidarity with Turkey.

The minister added that anti-US sentiment had shot up in Turkey over the Gulen issue and urged Washington to act before it worsened.

Turkey has accused Gulen Fethullah, who resides in Pennsylvania, US as the person behind the coup attempt in the country last month.

The July 15 coup attempt left 240 people martyred and almost 2,200 injured.

“That terrorist head will come to Turkey and be brought to account”. There are several such institutions in Mumbai and elsewhere in India, he said.

“India and Turkey are democratic countries”.

On July 22, Russia also lifted restrictions on flights to Turkey, which had been implemented temporarily following the coup attempt, after Turkish officials assured their Russian counterparts that additional security measures were being taken.

Talking about Turkey’s demand from the U.S.in terms of extraditing Gulen, Ergen said that his government wants the cleric to be transferred to them as quickly as possible so that he can face the charges against him.