ISTANBUL: Turkish authorities removed hundreds of police from their posts yesterday in the latest mass purge following the eruption of a damaging corruption scandal.
The government action came as parliament debated controversial reforms to the judiciary that have heightened the political crisis engulfing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Around 470 police were sacked or reassigned in the capital Ankara, another 100 in Istanbul and a dozen police chiefs in the western port city of Izmir, local media reported.
It followed a similar move on Tuesday by the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) which removed 96 judges and prosecutors from their jobs.
The goverment has embarked on a series of mass shake-ups in state institutions since the launch in mid-December of an anti-graft probe targeting several top politicians and business leaders including Erdogan allies.
At least 2,000 police and prosecutors have been dismissed or reassigned in recent weeks in what critics have blasted as government efforts to stifle the investigation.
The purge extended to the other sectors at the weekend, with the dismissal of high-ranking officials at the top banking watchdog, communications regulatory body and state television.
Dozens of people including the sons of ministers, and business leaders were rounded up on allegations of bribery in construction projects, money laundering, gold smuggling and illicit dealings with Iran, setting off the worst crisis in Erdogan’s 11-year rule.
But the prime minister insists it is a “coup plot” by supporters of exiled Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, a onetime AKP supporter, to destabilise the government ahead of March local elections.
The Turkish parliament is this week debating the bill, which notably calls for a greater government say in appointments at the HSYK, the country’s top independent judicial body.
But the opposition has been using a variety of tactics to try to stall the discussions on what it considers unconstitutional legislation.
“Nobody has faith in the rule of law and the democracy anymore,” said Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of main opposition Republican People’s Party, as he unveiled its new slogan ahead of the elections: “Turkey’s Unifying Power”.
But the head of the Turkish Bar Association, Metin Feyzioglu, defended the reforms, saying: “For justice, we have to introduce an efficient, independent and impartial system.”
The corruption scandal has sparked new protests against Erdogan after he faced anti-government demonstrations in June.
AFP
