Erdogan’s purges continue: 4500 civil servants dismissed
These include 2,585 employees of the Ministry of Education, 893 of the Gendarmerie, 10 of the Supreme Court, 10 from the High Electoral Council and 88 from public television channel TRT. One of the most influential professors of Constitutional Law also fired. 41 thousand people arrested following the failed coup.
Istanbul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Turkish authorities have laid off about 4,500 replacement staff in the public sector, in the context of the purges promoted by the government after the failed July coup.
According to a decree published in the Official Gazette, among the 4,464 evicted people there are 2585 employees of the Ministry of Education, 893 of the Gendarmerie, 10 of the Supreme Court, 10 from the High Electoral Council and 88 from public television channel TRT.
The expelled officials also include 330 academic members of the Higher Education Council (YÖK); among them stands the name of Ibrahim Kaboglu, one of the most distinguished professors of constitutional law in all of Turkey.
The layoffs are part of the context of the investigation launched by the authorities against (alleged) members and sympathizers of the movement headed by the Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, in exile in the United States. In the aftermath of the failed coup d’État in Turkey last July, President Erdogan and the Turkish government have launched a campaign of repression against its alleged perpetrators. These include supporters of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, believed to have masterminded the coup that left 270 people dead, and thousands wounded.
In response to the failed coup, in recent months the Turkish authorities have arrested more than 41 thousand people, including teachers, soldiers, intellectuals, opposition politicians, businessmen, journalists, activists and ordinary citizens. About 100 thousand public sector officials have been suspended or laid off.
West and pro human rights activists groups renew the alert for the purges taking place in the country, in violation of human rights of citizens. The widespread opinion is that the authorities exploit the state of emergency - and the recent wave of attacks - to eliminate any voice of dissent and opposition to the president. In this context, the country is going through an institutional change that will transform the nation from the presidential parliamentary republic, with further expansion of Erdogan's powers.
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