Turkey promises to expel FETO from civil service

ANKARA

Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus has said that Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) members identified in Turkish government agencies will lose their jobs.

Holding a news conference during a cabinet meeting in Ankara on Monday, Kurtulmus said those named in a government decree will no longer be able to use their working titles.

Lists are thought to have come from Turkey’s Foreign Ministry, Coast Guard, Security General Directorate as well as the Turkish General Staff.

So far, more than 81,000 people have been suspended from their duties over suspected links to FETO.

Kurtulmus spoke about people employed by the government after 2010’s civil service recruitment exam [KPSS]. The exam has been the subject of allegations that FETO members organized cheating to allow sympathizers to achieve high scores and obtain government jobs.

"The ones who stole the questions of the 2010 KPSS, and in this way were employed, will be dismissed from the government," Kurtulmus said.

However, Kurtulmus said the rights of those civil servants who passed the 2010 KPSS honestly will be protected.

In late March 2015, police detained scores of people as part of a probe into the 2010 KPSS. In May 2016, an Ankara court remanded in custody 82 out of 88 suspects linked to the case.

Telecoms body shut down

Kurtulmus said Turkey’s Presidency of Telecommunication and Communication (TIB) would be shut down as part of a nationwide probe into coup plotters linked to the FETO group.

"TIB's powers, responsibilities, staff and its whole technical possibilities will be transferred to Information and Communication Technologies Authority," Kurtulmus said.

Kurtulmus also confirmed that the head of Turkey’s armed forces Gen. Hulusi Akar and the chief of the country’s intelligence agency, Hakan Fidan, both attended today's meeting despite not being cabinet members.

Following the July 15 coup attempt, around 26,000 people were been arrested across Turkey. Senior business figures as well as military, police, judges, prosecutors and teachers have been among those targeted.

At least 240 people were martyred in the coup attempt, which the government has said was organized by the followers of U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen.

Gulen is also accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the Turkish government through the infiltration of state institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.