Turkey: Witch-hunt or precautionary measures?
Turkey’s leaders are under pressure to show restraint as thousands are arrested or fired following the failed coup.
It started with the police and military.
Now the Turkish government is having a major purge of civil servants too, following last week’s failed coup which threatened to topple President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Tens of thousands of Turks have been arrested, fired or suspended from their jobs.
The Turkish leadership said they are carrying out a legitimate security operation to safeguard the country.
And many of the detained have links to Fethullah Gülen. The US-based cleric is accused of orchestrating the coup bid.
Human rights groups are alarmed by the sheer number of Turks involved.
Is the crackdown justified? Could it backfire? And is Ankara going too far?
Presenter: Kamahl Santamaria
Guests:
Zeynep Jane Kandur – Journalist for the Daily Sabah and member of the AKP Istanbul Administration
Aaron Stein – Resident Senior Fellow at the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council
Zeynep Kaya – Research Fellow at the Middle East Centre, London School of Economics