Turkey launches new mass purge of police and judiciary

Turkish authorities removed hundreds of police from their posts on Wednesday in the latest mass purge following the eruption of a damaging corruption scandal. The government action came as parliament debated controversial reforms to the judiciary that have heightened the political crisis engulfing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Around 470 police were sacked or reassigned in the capital Ankara, another 100 in Istanbul and a dozen police chiefs in the western port city of Izmir, local media reported. It followed a similar move on Tuesday by the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) which removed 96 judges and prosecutors from their jobs. The government has embarked on a series of mass shakeups in state institutions since the launch in mid-December of an anti-graft probe targeting several top politicians and business leaders including Erdogan allies. At least 2,000 police and prosecutors have been dismissed or reassigned in recent weeks in what critics have blasted as government efforts to stifle the investigation. The purge extended to the other sectors at the weekend, with the dismissal of high-ranking officials at the top banking watchdog, communications regulatory body and state television. Dozens of people including the sons of ministers, and business leaders were rounded up on allegations of bribery in construction projects, money laundering, gold smuggling and illicit dealings with Iran, setting off the worst crisis in Erdogan's 11-year rule. 'No-one has faith in the rule of law' But the prime minister insists it is a "coup plot" by supporters of exiled Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, a onetime AKP supporter, to destabilise the government ahead of March local elections. The turmoil has also had a major impact on the economy, sending the lira tumbling to record lows almost daily and jeopardising government growth targets. Erdogan, in Brussels Tuesday to try to advance Turkey's EU membership bid, defended the government's judicial reform bill despite concerns about a separation of powers, a key criteria for membership of the European club. "The judiciary should not go beyond its defined mission and mandate. This is what we're doing. Anything else is misinformation and disinformation," Erdogan said. EU President Herman Van Rompuy said he had urged Erdogan "not to backtrack on achievements and to assure that the judiciary is able to function without discrimination or preference, in a transparent and impartial manner". The Turkish parliament isthis week debating the bill, which notably calls for a greater government say in appointments at the HSYK, the country's top independent judicial body. But the opposition has been using a variety of tactics to try to stall the discussions on what it considers unconstitutional legislation. "Nobody has faith in the rule of law and the democracy anymore," said Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of main opposition Republican People's Party, as he unveiled its new slogan ahead of the elections: "Turkey's Unifying Power". But the head of the Turkish Bar Association Metin Feyzioglu defended the reforms saying: "For justice, we have to introduce an efficient, independent and impartial system." The corruption scandal has sparked new protests against Erdogan after he faced down a wave of nationwide anti-government demonstrations in June. Turks have come out on to the streets to demand his resignation over what many see as his increasingly authoritarian rule, including recent moves to clamp down on the Internet. Gulen meanwhile, in his first media interview since the crisis erupted, told the Wall Street Journal that Turks were "upset that in the last two years the democratic progress is now being reversed". He also criticised government's moves to try to repair ties with the army, which has led coups against three previous administrations since 1960 as self-declared guardians of the secular state.