Foreign Ministry removes 88 Gülenists, more to follow
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu spoke to the press about the ongoing Gülenist investigations within the Foreign Ministry after his visit to the Police Special Operations Department in Ankara, which jets bombed during the July 15 coup attempt, killing dozens of police officers. Çavuşoğlu said that 88 personnel at the Foreign Ministry, including two ambassadors, have been removed from duty so far.
"We are cooperating with our security forces and intelligence agencies in order to remove the personnel who are in league with Gülenists," Çavuşoğlu said. Explaining that they will continue to investigate until the ministry is cleansed of Gülenist elements, Çavuşoğlu added: "We should not let them have access to confidential information, communication and various crucial systems. For this very reason we have established a commission for investigations. The removal of Gülenist personnel from the ministry will continue in the following days while we investigate several other ambassadors."
Signifying the importance of eradicating the Gülenist network abroad, Çavuşoğlu said: "We are explaining to our counterparts which organizations are owned by Gülenists in their respective countries. Our European allies chose to ignore our warnings and their media outlets portrayed the coup attempt as the Turkish government's scheme. Still, there were some who have called us out of guilt." Çavuşoğlu said they are in contact with Turkey's allies and expect them to cooperate in eliminating Gülenist organizations in their countries.
Çavuşoğlu also touched on Erdoğan's upcoming visit to Russia, which is planned for Aug. 9. Affirming that political and economic cooperation along with the fight against DAESH and al-Nusra Front, will be discussed, he said that a Turkish delegation of ministers will also meet with their Russian counterparts.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has recently said that members of the FETÖ dismissed from public institutions will no longer be able to work in their previous places of employment and that the government is determined to take strict measures to prevent any future infiltration they may attempt of the public sector. Erdoğan said that initial decrees have been signed in the scope of the declared three-month state of emergency and that FETÖ members are being dismissed from public institutions. FETÖ-linked institutions, schools, dormitories and foundations were also shut down.
"Those who were dismissed from public institutions for having links with this terrorist organization [FETÖ] will never be officers again. A motion for staying of execution will not be granted as well. We are continuing to take necessary steps gradually in order to erase FETÖ from all institutions in our country," he said. Around 50,000 FETÖ-linked officers have been dismissed from public institutions, including the Prime Ministry, the Ministry of Economy, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) and the General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMİ) since the July 15 coup attempt. The president stressed that people united against the coup plotters in a way that resembled the unity of the country in the Independence War.
"We are cooperating with our security forces and intelligence agencies in order to remove the personnel who are in league with Gülenists," Çavuşoğlu said. Explaining that they will continue to investigate until the ministry is cleansed of Gülenist elements, Çavuşoğlu added: "We should not let them have access to confidential information, communication and various crucial systems. For this very reason we have established a commission for investigations. The removal of Gülenist personnel from the ministry will continue in the following days while we investigate several other ambassadors."
Signifying the importance of eradicating the Gülenist network abroad, Çavuşoğlu said: "We are explaining to our counterparts which organizations are owned by Gülenists in their respective countries. Our European allies chose to ignore our warnings and their media outlets portrayed the coup attempt as the Turkish government's scheme. Still, there were some who have called us out of guilt." Çavuşoğlu said they are in contact with Turkey's allies and expect them to cooperate in eliminating Gülenist organizations in their countries.
Çavuşoğlu also touched on Erdoğan's upcoming visit to Russia, which is planned for Aug. 9. Affirming that political and economic cooperation along with the fight against DAESH and al-Nusra Front, will be discussed, he said that a Turkish delegation of ministers will also meet with their Russian counterparts.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has recently said that members of the FETÖ dismissed from public institutions will no longer be able to work in their previous places of employment and that the government is determined to take strict measures to prevent any future infiltration they may attempt of the public sector. Erdoğan said that initial decrees have been signed in the scope of the declared three-month state of emergency and that FETÖ members are being dismissed from public institutions. FETÖ-linked institutions, schools, dormitories and foundations were also shut down.
"Those who were dismissed from public institutions for having links with this terrorist organization [FETÖ] will never be officers again. A motion for staying of execution will not be granted as well. We are continuing to take necessary steps gradually in order to erase FETÖ from all institutions in our country," he said. Around 50,000 FETÖ-linked officers have been dismissed from public institutions, including the Prime Ministry, the Ministry of Economy, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) and the General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMİ) since the July 15 coup attempt. The president stressed that people united against the coup plotters in a way that resembled the unity of the country in the Independence War.