Once More, Erdogan Blasts Foreign Countries over Coup Reaction

TEMPO.CO, Ankara - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once more blasted unnamed Western countries Tuesday for what he said was support for the attempted coup on July 15 that left more than 270 people dead.

"The West is supporting terrorism and taking sides with coups," Erdogan said, adding that forces unhappy with Turkey's rise as a regional power were behind the coup.

"They have actors inside (Turkey) but the scenario of this coup was written abroad," he said during a speech at an event for foreign investors in Ankara.

Turkey's government says the coup was instigated by U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally now living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania. Turkey has demanded his extradition, but Washington has asked for evidence of the cleric's involvement.

Erdogan complained about the U.S. request: "We did not request documents for terrorists that you wanted returned."

Speaking late Tuesday night in a live television interview on CNN Turk, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said there would be a high-level visit to Turkey from the United States this month, without saying who would be visiting.

The government has launched a sweeping crackdown on Gulen's movement, which it characterizes as a terrorist organization. Nearly 70,000 people have been suspended from their jobs on suspicion of being involved in the movement, which runs schools, charities and businesses internationally.

Erdogan has singled out Germany for criticism, after a court there ruled against allowing him to appear on a video link to address a crowd of about 30,000 supporters and anti-coup demonstrators in Cologne over the weekend.

The president said Turkey had sent Germany more than 4,000 files on what he said were wanted terrorists, but Germany did nothing. However, he said, courts quickly decided against him speaking at the rally.

Germany's Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment, but German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel on Monday defended the court's decision as "absolutely OK and also lawful."

In his television interview, Yildirim also expressed the government's displeasure at Germany's stance.

"They make grand statements on democracy, human rights but then three different courts there come up with a decision," Yildirim said. "Is our president's address something that would perturb Germany's domestic affairs? It was a great disappointment to us."

Erdogan also repeated a complaint that no foreign leader had visited Turkey after the failed coup, while France and Belgium received visits in solidarity after terror attacks there.

"Those we considered friends are siding with coup-plotters and terrorists," the president said.

When it was allied with Erdogan's government in the past, the Gulen movement was believed to have been behind a series of crackdowns on pro-secular figures as well as military officers accused at the time of plotting a coup. Hundreds were jailed after trials in which evidence was later found to have been fabricated. Many convictions have been overturned.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag sent a second document to the United States Tuesday seeking Gulen's arrest, the state-run Anadolu news agency said. "They requested certain information following our first letter; we provided answers to the question 'why is it urgent?'"

He added that Turkey had intelligence indicating Gulen might leave for a third country. If he does, Bozdag said, it would only be with the full knowledge of U.S. authorities.

Yildirim also explained the reasons for Turkey's request for Gulen's arrest.

"We have such a request so that he does not escape, nothing happens to him or that he does not tamper with the evidence," he said in his interview. "This is a legal and reasonable request. I hope U.S. officials consider this request with sensitivity."

Part of the crackdown against Gulen's network has focused on reforming the military, bringing it increasingly under civilian command. About 18,000 people have been detained or arrested, most of them from the military, and authorities have said the purge will continue.

The government has already decreed sweeping changes to the military, including giving the president and prime minister the power to issue direct orders to the force commanders.

"These arrangements won't weaken the Turkish Armed Forces, on the contrary they will strengthen them and prepare them to face all kinds of threats," Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said in an address to his ruling party legislators. "The armed forces will focus their energies on their fundamental duty."

Several countries and rights organizations have expressed concern over the scope of the crackdown, and have urged restraint.

But Erdogan insisted the purges of the civil service, military and other sectors were necessary to rout out those responsible for the coup.

"If we show pity to these murderers, to these coup plotters, we will end up in a pitiful state," he said.

On Tuesday, the Turkish Football federation said it had sacked 94 people, including a number of referees. It said the action was taken as a "necessity," without saying whether those dismissed were suspected of links to the Gulen movement.

Separately, authorities issued 98 new detention warrants, including for military doctors, a senior government official said, on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Meanwhile, a lawyer filed a criminal complaint against the, Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff; U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper and Gen. Joseph Votel, the top U.S. commander for the Middle East, accusing them of backing Gulen.

The complaint, which has to be accepted by prosecutors before any action is taken, came days after Erdogan told Votel to "know your place" after he expressed concern that the post-coup crackdown may affect the fight against Islamic State militants.

AP