“The government will take the necessary steps to completely clean up the army of the Gulen terrorist group that attempted to carry out the coup. We want to build an army that protects its people not kills them, and we will take necessary procedures to clean the army properly,” said Erdogan in an interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday.
He announced that the process of cleaning up the army will be completed by August 31.
And in addition to removing all Gulen elements from the army, they will be eradicated from the education system as well.
“We need to build a state starting from scratch. We have to do vertical and horizontal cleaning in the meantime. And we will change the curriculum and teachers at the military schools in the interest of Turkey, and the schools and colleges will be open for all Turks,” the president said.
“We won’t allow any putschists in state institutions and we will not tolerate them,” Erdogan added. “There is no difference between terrorism and a coup.”
He hailed the unity and strength of the nation in the wake of the attempted coup, declaring that at a rally on Sunday afternoon, “[W]e will be one country, one nation, one flag and one state.”
The rally on Sunday brings together leaders of three of the four main political parties. The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party has been excluded from the rally and meetings of the party leaders in which they have discussed constitutional reform.
Erdogan described the failed coup attempt as an earthquake and affirmed that his current job is to prevent any aftershocks. He commended the Turkish people who confronted the putschists on the streets, saying “The Turkish people are more powerful than a weapon and no one can conquer them.”
He pointed out that Gulen’s ambitions go beyond Turkey’s borders, saying they want to expand their influence to countries in Africa but warned they should be treated as a terrorist group.
“Gulen will pay the price for his crime sooner or later. Mercy to the oppressor is a betrayal to the oppressed one,” Erdogan said.
Erdogan hopes that the US will listen to Turkey’s demand and extradite Gulen. “The coup attempt made me more determined to fight Gulen’s group and I hope that the US understands our demand to surrender Gulen to be brought to trial in Turkey,” he said.
Responding to accusations that he is trying to establish an authoritarian system in Turkey, Erdogan declared, “I am not an authoritarian or a dictator. I do not accept the use of a right that was not given by the Turkish people. If the people decide to change the system to a presidential one, I will accept it and will use my authorities as set out in the constitution.”
He criticized western countries, saying they have not firmly denounced the coup, and called on them to stop criticizing Turkey’s actions against the putschists.
“Turkey should not be criticized for what we have been to doing to protect its democracy. Those criticizing us over that are not honest people,” Erdogan said.
He addressed Amnesty International directly after the human rights advocacy group published reports of alleged abuse and torture of detainees in the wake of the coup. Erdogan told the organization, “know your place and be honest. Your silence against the coup is unforgivable.”
