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Turkey Coup: 99 Generals Charged, 900 Police Officers Suspended And Academics Are Banned From Travelling Abroad

By Jaimie Marshall
Published on: 15:55 PST, Jul 21, 2016

The fallout from the failed coup in Turkey continues as 99 out of 360 military generals have been charged in the plot, another 14 are still in detention, academics have been banned from travelling abroad, more than 900 police officers have been suspended, and access to WikiLeaks has been blocked according to Sky News. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a state of emergency for three months in the aftermath of the attempted plot to overthrow the government.

The decision to ban WikiLeaks came after the controversial website released thousands of emails from the ruling party, some of which were sent as recently as July 6, 2016. The almost 295,000 emails WikiLeaks released, which they are referring to as the “Erdogan Emails,” date back to 2010, and according to Wired, there is some speculation that the emails could possibly show that the President allowed or even helped plan the coup.

Turkey’s government will be suspending the European Convention on Human Rights now that it has instituted a state of emergency following the military coup that failed last week. The Independent reported that while explaining the actions they are taking, Turkey’s Deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmus compared it to the steps that were taken by France after the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris last year.

In an interview with Reuters, Turkey’s President spoke about how he found out about the coup while he was on vacation and stated that at first, he didn’t believe what his brother-in-law was telling him. Ergodan goes on to acknowledge that they were able to fend off the coup thanks to the will and might of the people and thanks those who were martyred, who died or who were injured in the attack.

Ergodan’s comments are a bit insensitive when he speaks about those who died, saying we are all going to die one day and it could be a car accident or a slip and fall that kills us, but those who died during the coup had a “glorious” death. Turkey’s President goes on to acknowledge that there were serious gaps in the country’s intelligence leading up to the failed military coup.

In another part of the Reuters interview, the reporter asks Ergodan about the rumor that the WikiLeaks emails show that he was involved in the planning of the coup, which he says is a rude accusation, and claims he had nothing to do with it.

Clothing and weapons of soldiers who surrendered in failed Turkey coup. [Photo by Stringer/Getty Images]
The failed Turkey coup began July 15 when tanks rolled into Istanbul and Ankara. Soldiers blocked Bosphorus Bridge which connects the European and Asian sides of Istanbul. While the soldiers were allowing cars to move from the Asian to the European side, the other side of the bridge – the one going to the European side – was blocked by tanks and military officers.

Around the time that the tanks were rolling in, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube all became blocked for Turkey residents. A little later on the state broadcaster announced that they had been taken over by the military and that the government had lost its legitimacy and had been forced to withdraw.

A couple of hours after the coup began, President Erdogan used Facetime to address the nation. In his address, he urged the citizens to take to the streets and challenge the military. Thousands of people flooded the streets, confronting the military officers and blocking tanks.

Almost before it fully started, the coup in Turkey was over and Turkish National Intelligence was announcing the government’s victory. According to the BBC, 232 people died in the failed coup and 1,541 people were injured.

While there is no concrete proof to back up his claims, according to Reuters, President Erdogan claims that Fethullah Gulen, a U.S. based cleric, and former ally of Erdogan’s, is behind the failed coup in Turkey. Gulen has denied the claims and insists that his movement was not involved. Like the rumors surrounding the WikiLeaks documents, Gulen states that he believes Erdogan is behind the coup and points to the mass arrests as supporting evidence

According to the BBC, the Gulen movement is a group of people – not a political party – that is named after Fethullah Gulen. Gulen lives in Pennsylvania and is regarded by many as a spiritual leader. The movement runs schools all across Turkey and around the world.

The fallout from the failed coup has been far-reaching. With more than 15,000 education staff, 8,800 ministry staff, and 257 employees from the prime minister’s office being fired, on top of the arrests of more than 6,000 military personnel and more than 3,000 judges being suspended, there are no areas of the country left untouched. With the new state of emergency it seems likely that this is only the beginning.

[Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images]

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