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Ahmet Olgun, a former police officer who was fired from his job by an emergency decree as part of Turkey’s massive post-coup purge of state institutions, died after setting himself on fire in Turkey’s northern province of Ordu, Turkish media reported on Friday.

“I’m not a traitor,” the 45-year-old former officer said in a suicide note, according to local media reports, which also said that a friend of Olgun described him in a social media post as “a father of three” who was “working day and night” to provide for his family.

“This is a horrible suicide! May God rest his soul. … We can’t complain enough about this persecution [of dismissed civil servants]. This sin is just too great!”Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, a human rights advocate and deputy from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), said in a tweet on Friday regarding Olgun’s death, putting the blame on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.

Following the failed coup, the Turkish government declared a state of emergency and carried out a massive purge of state institutions under the pretext of an anti-coup fight. More than 130,000 public servants, including 4,156 judges and prosecutors, as well as 29,444 members of the armed forces were summarily removed from their jobs for alleged membership in or relationships with “terrorist organizations” by emergency decree-laws subject to neither judicial nor parliamentary scrutiny.

The government also shut down 164 media organizations, 1,058 educational institutions and 1,769 NGOs.

Former public servants were not only fired from their jobs; they were also prohibited from working again in the public sector and getting a passport. The government also made it difficult for them to work formally in the private sector. Notes were put on the social security database about dismissed public servants to deter potential employers.

According to a joint report by the Justice for Victims Platform and Gergerlioğlu, the two-year-long state of emergency declared after the failed putsch caused immense suffering among public servants who were dismissed from their jobs by the government as well as their families.

According to the victims’ family members taking part in the survey, the biggest problem they have been facing is economic hardship (97.9 percent) followed by psychological problems (88.6 percent), loss of social prestige and social exclusion (83.7 percent), the disintegration of social circles (83.1 percent), unemployment/lack of employment (80.4 percent) and lack of social security (73.2 percent).

Although it is not certain how many former public servants have died by suicide, the most recent report published by Veli Ağbaba from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) said in 2021 that there were at least 46 known cases. Other sources say there are many as 100 cases of suicide among dismissed civil servants.

Scott Morrison has pledged $70 million to buy military equipment and weapons for Ukraine as part of a coordinated Western effort to help its armed forces resist Russia’s invasion.

The government is also putting around $35 million toward humanitarian support to help international organisations responding to Ukrainians fleeing the country and seeking asylum in neighbouring regions.

Mr Morrison announced on Sunday that Australia would help provide “lethal aid” to Ukraine by contributing funds to NATO to bolster weapons shipments into the country.

Today’s announcement put a dollar figure on exactly how much Australia would pitch in.

“The overwhelming majority of that [$70 million] will be in the lethal category,” Mr Morrison said.

“We are talking missiles, ammunition, we are talking supporting them in their defence of their own homeland in Ukraine.”

But the Prime Minister said he would not go into any more specifics on the new support.

“I don’t plan on giving the Russian government a heads up about what is coming their way, but I can assure them, it is coming your way,” he said.

He also ratcheted up his verbal attacks on Russia, saying it should be utterly isolated by the international community.

“They have self-selected themselves as a pariah state. That’s how they should be known all around the world. No-one should have anything to do with them.”

But when asked if Russia should be kicked out of the G20 he was more reserved, stressing Australia and other member countries were still discussing the “sensitive” issue with Indonesia, which currently holds the G20 presidency.

Mr Morrison said the government was receiving around 100 visa applications from those in Ukraine a day, which were still being processed as a “top priority”.

People wanting to come to Australia from Ukraine have been urged to apply for various visas on offer, instead of just the ones available to refugees.

“They’re visa applications across the entire migration program so they offer temporary visas on skills, education visas, family reunion visas,” he said.

“For some of those on temporary visas, their attention will be different, they want to come to Australia for a period of time and I have no doubt they will want to return to their home country.”

The government has ruled out sending troops over to fight in the war but has already committed to sending non-military equipment and medical supplies.

Mr Morrison once again urged people not to travel to Ukraine and join the fighting, saying it was still unclear what the legal position would be for people who chose to go.

It is currently illegal for Australians to join in foreign conflicts unless they are members of an official foreign army.

The head of the Ukrainian Council of NSW has said while the council appreciates Australia’s support, people with no military training going to join the fight would be a “suicide mission”.

Mr Morrison said that description was not “an unreasonable assessment”.

“Our travel advice is do not travel to Ukraine,” he said.

“What I’d also argue is anyone seeking to [fight with informal militias] would find themselves on the wrong end of some very, very violent attacks.”abcnews

Ukrainian protestors gathered in the Turkish capital of Ankara over the weekend for an anti-war protest and calls for the Turkish government to ban Russian propaganda in the country, the Bianet English news portal reported on Monday.

On Saturday, Ukrainian protestors marched in the capital, waving banners with anti-war slogans and others calling Russia’s President Vladimir Putin a killer.

They were joined by members of Turkish football clubs, who brought their own banners that read “çArşı against Russia”, referring to a local Turkish football club. Together, the Ukrainian and Turkish protestors chanted Murderer Putin, get out of Ukraine” and “Ankara and Kyiv, shoulder to shoulder.”

The protestors also slammed the coverage of the war by Russian state-run Sputnik news agency, which has a Turkish language service. They called for the Turkish government to boycott it and other Russian state-funded media outlets.

Protests across Turkey have taken place against Russia’s decision to launch a war against Ukraine last week. On Sunday, hundreds of Crimean Tatars, a Turkic-minority with historical ties to Turkey, and Ukrainians gathered in Istanbul’s Beyazıt Square and protested Russia’s attack on Ukraine and its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. The next day, the Ukrainian embassy in Ankara shared a flier about the launch of a Turkey-wide aid campaign in major Turkish cities.

The Ukrainian ambassador to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, attended the protest on Saturday where he condemned Russia for its attack on Ukraine and described it as starting a “third world war” through its aggression.

“The Russian Federation has been continuing to commit crimes for three days,” said Bodnar. “This is not a war against Ukraine, this is the third world war. Belarus is also involved in the war and Russia is trying to include Kazakhstan as well.ahvalnews

 

A mother of three on Sunday was arrested to serve a sentence for conviction of links to the Gülen movement, leaving her children to the care of relatives, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported, citing the Bold Medya news website.

Nagehan Yüksel reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 at the time of her arrest. She was sent to Istanbul’s Bakırköy Prison, where she will serve a nine-year sentence.

Before she was arrested Yüksel shared a video on social media in which she said she would stand strong against injustice.

Yüksel’s husband Ufuk Yüksel was arrested on similar charges and has been in Eskişehir Prison for the last six years. Their youngest child, 5-year-old Yiğit Yusuf, is in the care of by his aunt, while other the other children, aged 9 and 13, are with their grandmother.

Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government launched a war against the Gülen movement, a worldwide civic initiative inspired by the ideas of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, after the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013 that implicated then-prime minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s family members and inner circle.

Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy, the AKP government designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. They intensified the crackdown on the movement following a coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that they accused Gülen of masterminding. Gülen and the movement strongly deny involvement in the abortive putsch or any terrorist activity.

The Turkish government accepted such daily activities as having an account at or depositing money in a Gülen movement-affiliated bank, working at any institution linked to the movement or subscribing to certain newspapers and magazines as benchmarks for identifying and arresting tens of thousands alleged members of the movement on charges of membership in a terrorist organization.

The purge has damaged the unity of many families and left children to the care of relatives. Such separations have had a negative impact on the mental and physical well-being of children. In cases where grandparents are responsible of the child’s care, they cannot meet every need, especially in education.

According to a statement by Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, as of November 15, 2021 a total of 319,587 people had been detained and 99,962 arrested in operations against supporters of the Gülen movement since the coup attempt.

Flood recovery efforts are underway on the Gold Coast as the damage total nears that seen during ex-Cyclone Debbie in 2017, while an increasingly dire situation unfolds just south of the border.

Warning: This article contains an image some readers may find distressing

Local disaster coordinator for Gold Coast City Council Alton Twine said concerns are focused on the Alberton and Carbrook areas in the north.

“It’s been encouraging overnight to see the data for the gauges in the Albert River, they’re falling [but] still rising slightly in the lower reaches of the Logan,” he said.

“So we’ve issued an emergency warning for residents in that area.”

Meanwhile, about 700 residents who evacuated areas around Chinderah in northern New South Wales have gathered at Kingscliff TAFE.

Michelle, a nurse who was evacuated from her home yesterday, said people are being displaced.

“They arrived soaking wet from head to toe, cuts and minor abrasions, carrying garbage bags with hardly anything in then.

“I’ve never come this close to being taken by mother nature.”

Major flood warnings for the Logan and Albert Rivers remain in place, with flood levels potentially exceeding those seen during Cyclone Debbie in 2017.

Evacuation centres remain open at the Reedy Creek waste and recycling centre, and the Ormeau community centre.

He said council crews were assessing damage in the Tallebudgera Valley and Currumbin Valley while beaches are likely to remain closed for “the next few days”.

“We know we’ve had some asphalt damage in the valleys, we’ve had bridge damage as well,” he said.

“Through those valleys we’ve had a lot more damage than we had say ex-TC [ex-tropical Cyclone] Debbie.”

Police Acting Chief Superintendent Rhys Wildman said yesterday he directed police officers to “have a very hard line” with motorists attempting to cross flooded roads, but said no fines had been issued so far.

“Our focus has [been] very much involved in the rescue process and once we’ve recovered people from the floodwaters and those that have driven into the floodwaters, we’ll make enquiries and take enforcement action down the track,” he said.

More than 80 roads remain closed, with Queensland police redeploying resources to northern suburbs around the Logan River in Alberton.

“Pay attention to the warnings that have been issued.”

An estimated 20,000 households have been affected by flooding across Queensland but it’s not yet clear how many properties on the Gold Coast are included.

Michelle said she has been sleeping on cardboard boxes while attempting to care for others, but doesn’t know the extent of damage to her home.

“At least I’m dry and warm. I feel really grateful to be here,” she said.

“I was terrified when I got here but I knew if I started doing my nursing work I would start feeling better.”

Sunshine Coast man Dene Smedley has been stranded with other motorists just south of the border near Tweed Heads since 2pm yesterday, with parts of the M1 still blocked.

“We’ve got water behind us and water in front of us.”

Tweed Shire Council Mayor Chris Cherry said local and state authorities are cooperating in recovery efforts but that people need to conserve water in the short-term.

“We can’t treat water at the moment and so although the most tempting thing for everybody to do is hose everything down, we’ve only got two days’ supply of water,” she said.

“It’s going to take two days to repair our water treatment.”

Mr Cherry said “there’s massive road damage all over the shire”.

“We’re concentrating obviously on trying to restore water services, that’s the biggest priority; and getting people to safety,” she said.

Karen’s Goodridge grandson attends the Pandas childcare centre in Avocado Street in Elanora which flooded.

“They’ve got no electricity, no computers. Everything went up to waist-deep in the centre,” she said.

Ms Goodridge said her daughter, who manages the centre, along with the local community have been trying to find an alternative venue.

“It’s really so sad because there’s [someone] there now without a job if they can’t get something up and running, apart from parents that have just had short notice.”

Coast Gold beaches are likely to remain closed for the next few days according to the City of Gold Coast.

Surfer Terry ‘Tappa’ Teece said boulders from rock slides at Burleigh Headland were blocking walking tracks.

“There’s people out there surfing, about half-a-dozen guys out there,” he said.

“I’d advise against because there’s lots of stuff [in the water]. I’ve heard of lots of stuff, shipping containers coming down Tallebudgera Creek.

“The waves are very large, a lot of water moving.”

The bodies of a 51-year-old man and his dog were found in a submerged car yesterday morning at Currumbin Creek Road.

Acting Chief Superintendent Wildman said police were “still looking at how exactly that situation unfolded”.

Mr Teece said he had known the 51-year-old man “since he was a young grommit at Nobbys”.

“His dog was a lifelong companion, 19 years old,” he said.

“It’s pretty tragic, rest in peace.”

Wet weather conditions are forecast on the Gold Coast from Thursday. abc news

NSW Police said the body of the woman in her 80s — yet to be formally identified — was found inside the home.
It was discovered by a member of the public who attended the home on Ewing Street and was concerned for the welfare of their neighbour.
There have been 1,000 rescues carried out to date amid “unprecedented” flooding in northern New South Wales, as authorities warn the extreme weather is moving south.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet spoke of the “devastating images” of people in flood zones in the Northern Rivers region as he provided a media update on Tuesday.
“We’ve seen people stranded on roofs for hours, we’ve seen children being rescued, we’re seeing people stranded on bridges. But importantly as well, we’re also seeing a community come together … to get everyone through,” he told reporters.
“And that’s the spirit of the people in the Northern Rivers and right across our state. We’ll be doing everything, continue to do everything that we can, to get everyone to safety.”

Mr Perrottet repeated that the flooding event is an “unprecedented” and “one-in-1,000 year event”, saying it is “distressing for many and will affect more”.
“The ultimate focus now is saving lives and getting people to safety,” he said.
NSW State Emergency Service Commissioner Carlene York said “there are some people reported missing”.
“I know there’s a lot of activity on social media of people not being able to contact loved ones or friends. That may be that they are actually in danger. It may also be the intermittent communications we’re having up there at the moment.”
She invited anyone who was concerned about their family members or loved ones to register their concerns via the Red Cross’s ‘Register. Find. Reunite”  service online.

Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke said the scenes in northern NSW had never been seen before and were “truly distressing”.
“We must all prepare ourselves for the possibility that lives have been lost,” Ms Cooke said.
“Whilst I would love to think, and I truly hope, that we will not see any deaths from this event, I think that it is unrealistic that a disaster of this magnitude will mean that there are no lives lost.“
Towns across northern NSW, including Lismore and Ballina, are underwater and rivers are peaking even as the rain stopped.
So far, the premier said there has has been 1,000 flood rescues, along with 6,000 calls for assistance.
There are currently 26 evacuation orders in place affecting 40,000 people, he said. In addition, there are five evacuation warnings in place affecting over 300,000 people.

“If an evacuation warning has been issued, please follow the instructions. If you can leave safely, please do so,” he said.

“Please follow the instructions from the SES.”
Earlier on Tuesday, people in South Ballina were told it was too late to leave as floodwaters hit the northern NSW town.

“If you are under an evacuation order please evacuate immediately unless it is not safe to do so,” an SES spokesman said.
“Do not go through dangerous floodwater to get out. Move to higher ground where possible.”
The crisis has engulfed the northeastern part of the state, with multiple major flood warnings including the Tweed, Richmond, Wilsons, Brunswick, Bellinger and Clarence rivers.
Thousands of people spent the night in evacuation centres.
Lismore remains submerged after the Wilsons River peaked at 14.4 metres at 3pm on Monday before starting to fall.
Rescuers in a flotilla of dinghies and inflatables plucked stranded Lismore residents from rooftops and balconies of submerged homes.
Disaster assistance is now available in 17 local government areas.
The LGAs are Armidale, Ballina, Bellingen, Byron, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Glen Innes Severn, Hornsby, Kempsey, Kyogle, Lismore, Nambucca, Port Macquarie/Hastings, Richmond, Tenterfield, The Hills and Tweed.

Although the state government’s focus is currently northern NSW, Mr Perrottet said the extreme weather event is moving south and people who live further down the coast should be prepared.
“We know that at the moment this is focused on the north, but very quickly, as we’re seeing in metropolitan Sydney now … it will move to the south,” he said.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the weather system which had fuelled the floods was now heading south.
A severe weather warning was issued for coastal areas from the Central Coast to the South Coast, including Sydney.
Wind gusts of up to 125 km/h wind gusts are predicted and the possibility of up to 200mm of rain over six hours from Tuesday night.
The State Emergency Service put out a flood watch for the whole Sydney region, with the worst predicted for areas around the Upper Nepean River.
“People in Sydney and across the South Coast have time. The time to prepare is now,” Ms Cooke said.
Things in northern NSW were not going to get better “for a little while”, she said.sbs

Ukrainians living in Turkey and representatives of several nongovernmental organizations gathered in front of the Russian Consulate General in İstanbul on Friday to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the DHA news agency reported on Friday.

During the rally, which started around 10 a.m., protestors carrying Ukrainian, Crimean and Turkish flags chanted slogans against Russian President Vladimir Putin and the military operation he launched in Ukraine on Thursday, DHA said.

Putin, who had amassed over 100,000 Russian troops around Ukraine in recent months but denied he had any intention of invading, on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine.

The move comes just days after Russia recognized two separatist-held enclaves in the eastern part of the country, which drew international condemnation and announcements of tougher sanctions on Moscow.

The protestors were seen holding placards reading “Putin, hands off Ukraine!” “No war, stop Putin” and “Russians are against this war,” and some wept during the rally, according to DHA, which also said the protest, held under a heavy police presence, was expected to last all day.

Meanwhile, opposition politicians on Thursday criticized Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for failing to evacuate Turkish citizens in Ukraine before the start of the war.

Engin Altay, a deputy group chairman from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), said during a speech in parliament that there were 20,000 Turks – most of them students – in Ukraine, adding that he wished Turkey’s Foreign Ministry had been able to warn them to leave the country days earlier, as many other governments did.

Also speaking in parliament on Thursday, Meral Danış Beştaş, parliamentary group deputy chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), said Turkish students stranded in Ukraine told her they were unable to talk to government authorities about their situation.

“There are many students, Turkish citizens, there. They want to return to Turkey, [but] they can’t find any flights. [Therefore], they can’t leave,” Beştaş said.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday released an announcement on its website, advising Turks in Ukraine to stay in their houses or somewhere safe, to avoid traveling and to share their contact details with the ministry by e-mail, WhatsApp or SMS text message to the e-mail address and phone number of the ministry, which is included in the notice.

AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik on Thursday said an evacuation of Turkish citizens who want to leave the country was impossible at present because the relevant roads were closed.