Turkish PM: Next steps in the aftermath of failed coup
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim laid out at a press conference in Ankara on Saturday what’s next for his country in the wake of an attempted coup Friday night.
“Our citizens will continue to live their lives as usual while we give the necessary response to those who have attempted to discredit our country and nation,” Yildirim said.
The coup attempt involved street battles between soldiers in tanks and civilians and police, and an air skirmish between F-16 jets and a helicopter. It resulted in 265 deaths and 1,440 wounded so far, according to the Associated Press.
Here is what he said Turkey’s government will now do:
BRING ACCUSED PLOTTERS TO JUSTICE
Military authorities loyal to the government led by Yildirim and President Recep Erdogan detained 2,839 officers of various ranks, he said.
"Situation is fully under control. Our commanders are in charge,” he said.
OUST JUDGES AND PROSECUTORS
Turkey's Supreme Board of Judges dismissed 2,745 judges and arrested 11 prosecutors, 10 officials of the court of appeals and issued arrest warrants for 140 others, according to the Daily Sabah. It said the judicial personnel were accused of connections to the Gulen movement, a moderate school of Islam founded by self-exiled cleric Fethulah Gulen, who is accused of masterminding the coup.
Yildirim said more change is coming.
The country, which has a history of hanging political opponents after military coups and attempts, abolished capital punishment in 2004. Yildirim said the legal consequences for attempting a coup, which Erdogan called an act of treason, should be revisited.
"Today, our parliament will convene and we will discuss with other parties the additional measures or legal arrangements that should be put in place to prevent crazy attempts of this kind in the future," Yildirim said.
SEEK GULEN'S EXTRADITION
Yildirim said that Gulen, Erdogan’s chief political rival who now lives in Pennsylvania, should be turned over by the United States, and that anyone who protects him would risk good relations with Turkey.
"I do not think any country would support this person (Fethullah Gülen), the leader of a terrorist organization,” Yildirim said. “Countries standing by this person will not be a friend of Turkey."
Gulen, who has lived as a recluse in the Pocono Mountains since 1999, issued a statement Friday denouncing the coup attempt and denying any involvement.
Erdogan has complained about Gulen's American haven in the past, but Kemal Kirisci, a Turkey analyst at the Brookings Institution, said the country is now laying the groundwork for putting "heavy heavy pressure on the United States to give them this guy."
Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday that the United States will consider an extradition request with evidence of complicity in the coup. He said the U.S. will support "any legitimate investigative efforts, and under due process and within the law, we will be completely supportive of efforts to assist the government of Turkey, if they so request."
"As of this moment," Turkey’s cooperation in U.S. military efforts against the Islamic State, NATO and other regional efforts "have not been affected negatively" by the coup or its aftermath, Kerry said.
SUSPEND U.S. FLIGHTS AT INCIRLIK AIR BASE
The Pentagon issued a statement Saturday saying that Turkey closed its airspace to military aircraft and that external power has been cut to the vital Incirlik air base, where U.S. air operations against the Islamic State have been based. U.S. air operations at the base have been halted.
“U.S. officials are working with the Turks to resume air operations there as soon as possible,” the statement said.
U.S. Central Command is adjusting flight operations in the counter-Islamic State campaign, and U.S. facilities at Incirlik are operating as usual using internal power sources, it said.
ROUND UP MORE SUSPECTS
Although authorities have rounded up the coup ringleaders, referred to as the Peace at Home Council, there are more still at large who will be found and detained, Yildirim said.
"There are too many of them,” he said. “Some of them have been removed from duty, some have been detained while search continues to find others.”
All groups that threaten the unity of Turkey “will pay a heavy price,” he said. “We will do what is necessary without any delay."