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Erdogan Arrests Political Enemies Two Days After Elections

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began rounding up political enemies in a sweep of arrests just two days after his AK Islamist party victory

Journalists, police officers, state governors and many other officials were arrested at dawn in an operation covering 18 provinces across Turkey.

With a solid election win behind him, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began rounding up political enemies in a sweep of arrests just two days after his AK Islamist party victory.

Journalists, police officers, state governors and many other officials connected to Erdogan’s rival and enemy Fethullah Gulen were arrested at dawn in an operation that covered 18 provinces across the country.

“We’re the first victims of the elections, but it’s clear we won’t be the last. There is a difficult period ahead for us journalists, but we will not lay down our pens because of that,” said Cevheri Guven, editor-in-chief of the left-wing magazine Nokta.

Guven was arrested with his managing editor Murat Capan and charged with attempting to overthrow the government by force, according a Tweet sent out by the magazine. A court in Istanbul later pulled the latest edition of the magazine from the shelves, saying it was inciting people to “take up arms and fight.” Guven noted ironically the magazine was well prepared before the election.

In sum, 44 people were arrested with warrants issued for another 13. Gulen, a Muslim cleric who has lived in exile in the United States since 1999, is a former ally of Erdogan. In 2013, a serious investigation into corruption by Erdogan’s inner circle was opened. Erdogan accused the prosecutors and police involved in the investigation of being followers of Gulen and has launched numerous purges and arrests of Gulen supporters since that time.

In the months before the election, Erdogan ordered the takeover of numerous newspapers and TV stations linked to Gulen.

Numerous irregularities and acts of fraud led to numerous accusations that the election was a fraud. The election saw Erdogan’s AK party surprisingly regain its majority in the parliament, taking the country back to single-party rule. The vote followed a June election that resulted in a hung parliament. In that election, the AK party, which had garnered only 41 percent of the vote, was not able to form a coalition in order to govern.

(Clarion Project)

Clarion Staff

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