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Ankara. – Turkey’s top military commanders met yesterday to replace almost half of their generals in a radical shake-up after the failed coup, as authorities shut down dozens of media outlets in a widening crackdown.
The hastily-convened meeting came after the government ordered the discharge of 149 generals – nearly half of the armed forces’ entire contingent of 358 – for alleged complicity in the putsch bid.
Separately, a total of 131 newspapers, TV channels and other media outlets were being shut down under the three-month state of emergency declared in the wake of the coup.
The July 15 rebellion saw plotters bomb Ankara from warplanes and wreak havoc with tanks on the streets of Istanbul in a bid to unseat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
But it sparked a backlash affecting all aspects of Turkish life.
So far almost 16 000 people have been detained in a crackdown – the magnitude of which had caused international alarm.
The meeting of the Supreme Military Council (YAS), lasting more than five hours, brought together Prime Minister Binali Yildirim with top military figures untarnished by the coup.
Yildirim then left for the presidential palace to discuss the outcome with Erdogan. A statement was expected later.
In a possible move to pre-empt its decisions, two of Turkey’s top ranking generals – Land Forces Chief of Staff General Ihsan Uyar and Training and Doctrine Command head General Kamil Basoglu – resigned just before the meeting, the Dogan news agency said. – AFP
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