In a major development that will have
huge implications in the region; Turkey said it dismissed another 10,000
civil servants and closed 15 more media outlets over suspected links
with terrorist organizations and U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who
is blamed by Ankara for orchestrating a failed coup in July.
More
than 100,000 people had already been sacked or suspended and 37,000
arrested since the abortive coup, in an unprecedented crackdown
officials say is crucial for wiping out the network of Gulen.
The
extent of the crackdown has worried rights groups and many of Turkey's
Western allies, who fear Erdogan is using the emergency rule to
eradicate dissent. The government says the actions are justified given
the threat to the state posed by the coup attempt, in which more than
240 people died.
The
government extended the state of emergency imposed after the coup
attempt for three months until mid-January. Erdogan said the authorities
needed more time to wipe out the threat posed by Gulen's network as
well as Kurdish militants who have waged a 32-year insurgency.
Ankara
wants the United States to detain and extradite Gulen so that he can be
prosecuted in Turkey on a charge that he masterminded the attempt to
overthrow the government. Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in
Pennsylvania since 1999, denies any involvement.
- Staffwriter
