Turkey protest over alleged coup plot draws 30,000

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Tens of thousands of people in Turkey protested the arrests of university professors and other secularists accused of involvement in an alleged plot to topple the Islamic-rooted government. Authorities said at least 30,000 protesters gathered in downtown Ankara on Sunday, waving Turkish flags and carrying posters of late leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, chanting: "We are soldiers of Ataturk!" Authorities have charged more than 200 people as part of the investigation into the alleged secularist conspiracy to topple Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. Protesters will later march to the mausoleum of Ataturk, who established the secular republic following the Ottoman Empire's collapse.