SUPERPOWERS
Turkey to sack 3,000 more military over Gulen links
by Staff Writers
Ankara (AFP) April 18, 2018

Turkish authorities will soon dismiss nearly 3,000 military personnel over links to the movement Ankara blames for the 2016 failed coup, a government minister said on Wednesday.

Turkish Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli said officials "discovered a nearly three-thousand strong structure" in the armed forces, state news agency Anadolu reported.

"In the coming days they will be dismissed by emergency decree. We have sent (the paperwork) to the prime ministry," Canikli said in parliament.

Turkey introduced a state of emergency five days after the July 15, 2016 attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The state of emergency was renewed for the seventh time on Wednesday after parliament approved a three-month extension.

The emergency has come under heavy scrutiny as the government has used decrees to suspend or sack over 140,000 public sector employees including teachers and soldiers over alleged links to US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen or Kurdish militants.

So far, 8,568 Turkish armed forces personnel have been sacked in a major purge of the military. This includes 150 generals, over half its pre-coup contingent of top ranking officers.

Turkey claims Gulen ordered the coup but he denies the accusations.

The European Commission on Tuesday urged Turkey to "lift the state of emergency without delay" in its latest report on Ankara's bid to join the EU.

"The broad scale and collective nature, and the disproportionality of measures... such as widespread dismissals, arrests, and detentions, continue to raise serious concerns," the Commission wrote.

But Canikli defended the state of emergency saying it had "only affected terror organisations, terrorists and their supporters", Anadolu quoted him as saying.

"No one has been impacted. And it will continue to have no effect on anyone else."


Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

SUPERPOWERS
France's Macron won't 'break' Turkey-Russia alliance: Ankara
Ankara, Turkey (AFP) April 16, 2018
Turkey on Monday said French President Emmanuel Macron will be unable to "break" its partnership with Russia, after he argued the weekend's air strikes against the Syrian regime had driven a wedge between Ankara and Moscow. NATO allies, including France, have become wary of the flourishing friendship between Ankara and Moscow based on joint efforts to end the seven-year Syrian civil war. "We can think differently but they (our relations with Russia) are not so weak that the French president can ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

SUPERPOWERS
Estonia calls for deployment of Patriot missiles and US troops

Saudis intercept new missile fired by Yemen rebels: coalition

Yemen rebel missiles, drones shot down over Saudi

Japan's vaunted alert system runs up against limits

SUPERPOWERS
Lockheed tapped for long-range, anti-ship missiles

Syria retracts report on missile attack: state media

US Strategic Command observed Russia, China operating hypersonic missiles

Boeing to restart production of Standoff Land Attack Missiles

SUPERPOWERS
MSAB and URSA Partner on Drone Forensic Technology

Air Force contracts with SRC for drone supplies, services

OFFSET "Sprinters" to Pursue State-of-the-art Solutions for Second Swarm Sprint

Israeli drone crashes in southern Lebanon

SUPERPOWERS
India Struggling to Establish Lost Link With Crucial Communication Satellite

Indian scientists lose contact with satellite

Russian Soyuz launches military satellite

India set to launch S-Band satellite for military communications

SUPERPOWERS
Army researchers conduct first-ever combustion experiment with X-rays

Orbital ATK receives $115M to produce Army ammunition

State Dept. approves $1.3B sale of Howitzers to Saudi Arabia

DARPA Announces First Annual Electronics Resurgence Initiative Summit

SUPERPOWERS
US to update Saudi artillery for $1.31 billion

74% of French people against weapons sales to Saudi: poll

Mattis wins big with budget victory

US approves $1 billion in Saudi defense contracts

SUPERPOWERS
China, Japan vow 'new starting point' in ties

US-Russia rocket cooperation 'shining example' of joint success

Albania wants US military to establish presence: defense minister

France's Macron won't 'break' Turkey-Russia alliance: Ankara

SUPERPOWERS
A treasure trove for nanotechnology experts

UCLA researchers develop a new class of two-dimensional materials

Nanostructures made of previously impossible material

Mining hardware helps scientists gain insight into silicon nanoparticles