Within a week, Erdogan will be dictator of Turkey (assuming he doesn't deserve that title already).
The purge of anyone and everyone suspected of being against Erdogan reached a new phase today as Licenses of 21,000 Turkish Teachers Have Been Revoked.
Reuters reports Licenses of 21,000 Turkish Teachers Have Been Revoked.
Turkey's education ministry has revoked the licenses of 21,000 teachers working in private institutions, an official at the ministry told Reuters on Tuesday, part of an expanding government crackdown following a failed coup attempt.
The announcement came shortly after a report that the High Education Board had ordered the resignation of 1,577 deans at all universities across Turkey.
"The licenses of 21,000 teachers working in privately-run institutions have been canceled. Tip-offs that these (people) are mostly linked with terrorist activities have been taken into consideration," the ministry official said, without elaborating.
Turkey Requests Extradition of Cleric From U.S.
CNN reports Turkey Requests Extradition of Cleric From U.S. as Post-Coup Purge Widens.
Turkey has formally requested the extradition of cleric Fethullah Gulen from the United States, the prime minister said Tuesday, as the government widens its purge following a failed military coup over the weekend.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim made the announcement of the extradition request in Parliament on Tuesday and on Twitter referred to Gulen as a "terrorist leader". The Muslim cleric, living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, has denied any involvement.
Under the U.S.-Turkey extradition agreement, Washington can only extradite a person if he or she has committed an "extraditable act." Treason -- such as that implied by Erdogan's demand for Gulen's extradition -- is not listed as such an act in the countries' treaty.
More than 9,000 people are currently in detention in the fallout of the failed coup, Kurtulmus said, adding that a leader had yet to be identified.
The government has gutted some of the country's security forces, dismissing almost 9,000 people from the Interior Ministry, mostly police officers, and hundreds of others from various ministries. Among those detained are at least 118 generals and admirals, accounting for a third of the general-rank command of the Turkish military, according to Turkish state broadcaster TRT.
Two pilots who downed a Russian jet last year are also among "the detained soldiers who attempted the coup," said Turkish Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag.
Gulen is a reclusive cleric who leads a popular movement called Hizmet, which includes hundreds of secular co-ed schools, free tutoring centers, hospitals and relief agencies credited with addressing many of Turkey's social problems. Gulen supporters -- known as Gulenists -- describe the 75-year-old as a moderate Muslim cleric who champions interfaith dialogue.
Another Question for Merkel
Dear Chancellor Merkel, I have another question. Where are you going to put all the Turks who want to escape this madman?
Prior Questions Still Unanswered
My prior questions still have not been answered: Dear chancellor Merkel: When does Turkey join the EU? When do 80 million Turks have visa-free travel?
Dear chancellor Angela Merkel,
In light of events in Nice and Turkey, and given your migration policy is the #1 Reason the UK voted to Leave, inquiring minds have a few questions for you:
- When do 80 Million Turks have visa-free travel to the rest of Europe?
- When do you admit your open arms welcome of refugees was pure idiocy?
- When will you admit that thanks to German auto exports to the UK, that the UK actually has the upper hand in Brexit negotiations?
- When will you speak out on Erdogan's takeover of the press, his military and judicial purge, and his silencing of all critics?
- What are you going to do about your misguided Pact With the Devil that left European leaders recoiling?
- Do you agree with Martin Schulz's Tweet (below) on a return to a rule of law, separation of powers, and respect of fundamental rights in Turkey?
Bonus Questions
Dear chancellor, when do you admit you totally and completely screwed up in multiple ways?
Finally, What are you going to do about any of this except make ridiculous speeches in praise of the "European way" hoping against hope that fundamental problems correct themselves?
