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AKP pursues scorched-earth tactics against Gulenists

Turkish prosecutors have dropped a corruption probe against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son and businessmen close to the government, marking the latest move in the government’s all-out war against the Gulen community.
A poster depicting U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen as a pope, is seen as supporters of the ruling AK Party attend an election rally in Konya, central Turkey, March 28, 2014. Erdogan pulled out of election rallies in central Turkey on Friday in order to rest his voice after weeks of campaigning around the country, his office said. Erdogan had difficulty speaking at rallies in southeast Turkey on Thursday ahead of Sunday's local elections. Turkey will hold municipal elections on March 30. REUTERS/Umi
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The Turkish government responded to the Dec. 17 and Dec. 25 bribery and corruption investigations, which targeted ministers’ relatives and crony businessmen, by declaring them “coup attempts” and launching an all-out war on the Gulen movement, which it singled out as the mastermind of the alleged plot.

Since then, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s leadership, has left behind the critical phases of this “civil war” against its former ally and de facto coalition partner, turning the balance decisively in its favor. The government passed its key resilience test in the March 30 local elections, losing less support than expected and retaining the two “strategic municipalities” of Istanbul and Ankara.

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