ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkish government ordered the dismissal of 18,632 civil servants, including armed forces and academics, and shut down four media outlets through state of emergency powers late on Saturday night.
The dismissed were accused of having links to the outlawed Hizmet Movement led by the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen who Turkey blames for failed military coup in July 2016.
The decree, No. 701, was described by the state-run Anadolu Agency as “the final KHK,” the Turkish acronym for executive orders issued under the ongoing state of emergency in Turkey.
The decree was issued in the Official Gazette on Sunday, dismissing 8,998 police officers, 3,077 infantry, 1,126 naval soldiers, and 1,949 air force personnel.
The Turkish parliament convened on Saturday afternoon when the 600 new MPs were sworn in.
Incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be sworn in on Monday and announce his new cabinet. With the declaration of new cabinet, the state of emergency that expires on July 19 should automatically be lifted, according to outgoing Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.
However, Erdogan said during his election campaign that if deemed necessary, the state of emergency will return, especially if the country faces “terror threats.”
It is not clear whether lifting of state of emergency means going back to pre-July 2016 conditions in Turkey or if the same or similar situation will continue — devised as a new system wherein the president and can issue decrees equivalent to KHK via executive powers.
The state of emergency has been extended for seven times since July 2016 — most lasting for three months.
Since the coup until June 25, 151,967 state officials, teachers, bureaucrats, and academics have been dismissed, according to the watchdog Turkey Purge. Nearly 80,000 people have been arrested, 3,003 schools, dorms, and universities have been shut down, and 4,463 in the judiciary have lost their jobs. In media, 189 outlets have been closed and 319 journalists arrested.
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