Gov’t takes measures on post-coup attempt dismissals

Measures taken since the July 15 coup attempt aimed “to ensure normalization as soon as possible and manage the process efficiently,” said the deputy prime minister, adding that the relevant institutions were carrying out the process studiously.  

Meanwhile, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentary administrator Ahmet Gündoğdu said they would reopen 51 organizations closed as part of the investigation into the Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ), including institutions and associations, and 13 public servants would be allowed to return to duty. 

“We cannot be free of sin if any single person is unfairly dismissed,” he said on Sept. 13 during a visit to main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputies for the occasion of Eid al-Adha.  

CHP Secretary-General Kamil Okyay Sındır said opposition parties and the government should work together against the emergence of establishments within the state similar to Gülenists. 

He stressed the need for fair trials in coup attempt prosecutions and warned against the “a few bad apples” excuse.

The AKP’s Öznur Çalık underscored that the struggle against members of terrorist organizations, whether they were academics, public servants or journalists who popularized terror, should be conducted within the lines of a democratic state of law.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputy chair Emin Haluk Ayhan expressed pleasure with the security operations and statements by Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım on the issue. 

His party was behind efforts to abolish the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and FETÖ, he said. The MHP also lent its support to the state of emergency, but the practices conducted during the state of emergency should not aggrieve people, he added.

While visiting the CHP, the HDP’s Serpil Kemalbay said, “The will of the people of the region is being ignored,” referring to the suspension of 28 mayors from across Turkey over alleged links to the PKK and FETÖ. The replacement of mayors with trustees “once more relives the Sept. 12, [1980] military coup period,” she said, adding that this practice was unacceptable. 

“Hundreds of thousands of people cannot be terrorists,” she said, referring to a number of recent dismissals over alleged PKK links. The government was using the July 15 failed coup attempt to “silence the opposition,” she added.