Erdogan Announces Army Overhaul in Latest Shakeup

In a sign of Turkey’s dismissal of outside criticism over how it has responded to the coup, the justice minister said Turkey would not bow to pressure from the European Union to rule out restoring the death penalty to execute the plotters.

Western countries backed Turkey’s government during last week’s failed putsch, but are increasingly worried about its subsequent crackdown against thousands of members of the security forces, judiciary, civil service and academia.

Erdogan announced Wednesday a state of emergency, a move he said would allow the government to take action against those who plotted the coup that killed more than 246 people and wounded more than 2,100 before it collapsed within hours.

The possibility of Turkey bringing back capital punishment has put further strain on Ankara’s relationship with the EU, which Turkey seeks to join but which demands candidates forego the death penalty.

Turkey outlawed capital punishment in 2004 as part of its bid to join the bloc and European officials have said backtracking on that would effectively put an end to the EU accession process. But crowds at rallies have demanded the coup plotters be executed, and the government says it must at least consider it.

“People demand the death penalty and that demand will surely be assessed. We have to assess that demand from the standpoint of law, and not according to what the EU says,” Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said, Reuters reported.

Erdogan accuses Fethullah Gulen, a charismatic US-based dissident, of masterminding the plot against him. In a crackdown on Gulen’s suspected followers, more than 60,000 soldiers, police, judges, civil servants and teachers have been suspended, detained or placed under investigation.

Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States for years, has denied any role in the attempted putsch, and accused Erdogan of orchestrating it himself.

Turkey wants the United States to extradite him, but US President Barack Obama repeated Washington’s stance Friday when he said that Ankara must first provide clear evidence of his involvement.

“America’s governed by rules of law, and those are not ones that the president of the United States or anybody else can just set aside for the sake of expediency,” Obama said.

He also said the United States supported Erdogan’s democratically elected government and that any reports that Washington had prior knowledge of the attempted coup, or that there was any US involvement, were completely false. Meanwhile, Swedish radio reported that Turkey is asking its nationals living abroad to report people and organizations that support Gulen.

Erdogan told Reuters the government’s Supreme Military Council, which is chaired by the prime minister and includes the defense minister and the chief of staff, would oversee the restructuring of the armed forces.

Speaking at his palace in Ankara, which was targeted during the coup attempt, he said a new putsch was possible but would not be easy because authorities were now more vigilant.

Erdogan also said there was no obstacle to extending the state of emergency beyond the initial three months – a comment likely to spark concern among critics already fearful about the pace of his crackdown. Emergency rule permits the president and Cabinet to bypass parliament in enacting new laws and to limit or suspend rights and freedoms as they deem necessary.

Erdogan told parliament late Friday that authorities would maintain fiscal discipline. “I call on investors to continue investing as the public will move forward with major projects.”