DHAKA: A massive process to dismiss diplomats with suspected Gülenist sympathies from the Turkish foreign ministry began early on July 26 following the failed coup attempt.

Notifications have been sent to dozens of diplomats, including two ambassadors, upon the instruction of foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, reports Hurriyet Daily News.

The ambassador-level diplomats who were dismissed included Gürcan Balık, who has long served as the chief advisor to former foreign minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, and former ambassador to Canada Tuncay Babalı.

Two other ambassador-level diplomats, Şentürk Uzun and Ali Fındık, were dismissed prior to the July 15 failed coup attempt.

Apart from the ambassadors, dozens of lower-level diplomats were also dismissed from the ministry over their links to the Fethullah Gülen organization.

The names to be dismissed from the ministry were identified after meticulous work carried out under the leadership of Çavuşoğlu on July 25.

The crackdown within Turkey’s foreign ministry will include some ambassador-level diplomats with links to the Gülenist organization, the foreign minister has said, admitting there was a serious infiltration from this group into the ministry in recent years.

“There will be dismissals (from the ministry) including at the ambassador level,” foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told Habertürk TV on July 25.

Although he did not name those who would be dismissed, Çavuşoğlu said one of them was a former head of the personnel department of the ministry and the other one was one of close aides to former foreign minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.

The minister added that those ambassadors were not on active missions.

BDST: 2056 HRS, JUL 26, 2016
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