Erdoğan vows to ‘eliminate remnants of FETÖ’ in Turkey’s institutions
ANKARA
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has vowed to continue leading a struggle against members of FETÖ, saying that he believes his government could not fully clear the remnants of the group from the institutions of Turkey.
“I think we still cannot completely clean FETÖ from our institutions,” he said at an event in the capital Ankara marking the 174th anniversary of the Turkish Police Force.
The group infiltrated Turkey’s police department, military, judiciary and education bodies the most, the president stated.
Some 20,000 FETÖ members have been convicted of various crimes and 10,000 others have been remanded in custody, he said.
“Now, there are 30,559 FETÖ members in jail, including 20,226 convicted, and 10,333 remanded,” Erdoğan stated, adding that over 31,000 personnel have been dismissed from law enforcement.
“The number dismissed from the army is over 15,000, while over 4,000 were also dismissed from the judiciary,” he added.
he Turkish government accuses the U.S.-based Fetullah Gülen of masterminding the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people killed and nearly 2,200 injured. Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.
Erdoğan said they have taken steps to show those who try to “bring Turkey to its knees by establishing a terror corridor” will not be able to achieve their goals. ”We will deliver new messages to those who insist on this,” Erdoğan stated, without clarifying who those “targeting” Turkey were.
