Biodun is a political news analyst with major news organizations and the author of 57 books of fiction and nonfiction.

Aug 7, 2016

Turkey coup attempt: Istanbul rally against plot

SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 2016

21 H.26 GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME
From the sectionEurope

Image copyrightAFP

TURKEY COUP ATTEMPT

by Alara Berrak and Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered in Turkey’s biggest city, Istanbul, for a rally to protest against last month’s attempted coup.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was joined by opposition leaders in addressing the crowd.

In his opening remarks, Mr Erdogan said he would not block the return of the death penalty to Turkey.

More than 270 people died in events surrounding the 15 July coup attempt, which triggered a government crackdown.

Thousands of alleged supporters of a US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen — who denies any role in fomenting the coup — were detained or dismissed from government jobs.

Western nations have been critical of the government’s response to the coup. The European Union — which Turkey has applied to join — refuses to accept capital punishment in member states.

What you need to know about failed coup

‘What’s happening to our country?’

Who was behind coup attempt?

Why did coup plot fail?

Mr Erdogan told the rally: “It is the Turkish parliament that will decide on the death penalty… I declare it in advance, I will approve the decision made by the parliament.

“They say there is no death penalty in the EU… Well, the US has it; Japan has it; China has it; most of the world has it. So they are allowed to have it. We used to have it until 1984. Sovereignty belongs to the people, so if the people make this decision I am sure the political parties will comply.”

Image copyrightAFPImage captionPresident Erdogan received an ecstatic reception

The president railed against Mr Gulen’s movement, again accusing it of being behind the coup attempt and hinting of further hardline measures to come.

“July 15 showed our friends that this country isn’t just strong against political, economic and diplomatic attacks, but against military sabotage as well. It showed that it will not fall, it will not be derailed,” Mr Erdogan said.

“Of course we have to uncover all members of this organisation and eradicate them within the framework of the law, but if we content ourselves with just that, then we as a state and a nation will leave weak our defence against similar viruses.”

Jump media player

Media player help

Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.

Media captionHuge crowds rallied in Istanbul, as BBC Persian’s Khashayar Joneidi reports.

The “Democracy and Martyrs’ Rally” was the climax of three weeks of nightly demonstrations by Mr Erdogan’s supporters around the country.

Kurdish groups were not invited, because of alleged links to militants.

Speaking ahead of Mr Erdogan, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told the rally that Mr Gulen would be brought to Turkey and made to pay the price for the coup attempt.

“Let all of you know, the leader of this terrorist group will come to Turkey and pay for what he did,” Mr Yildirim said.

In a rare address to a public rally, the head of Turkey’s armed forces, Hulusi Akar, said “traitors” would be punished in the harshest way, and thanked civilians for their role in defeating the uprising.

FORMER ALLY

The crackdown in Turkey has seen tens of thousands of public sector workers suspended or dismissed, with many having their passports cancelled. There has also been a massive reshuffle of the military.

About 18,000 people have been detained or arrested.

Local branches of the AK Party have been told to begin a purge of suspected Gulenists in their ranks.

Mr Gulen had been a close ally of President Erdogan until a bitter split between his movement and the party of the president three years ago.

Turkey has listed Mr Gulen’s movement as a terrorist organisation.