Purge

In history, religion and political science, a purge is a removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another organization, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertaking such an effort is labeled as purging itself. Purges can be either nonviolent or violent; with the former often resolved by the simple removal of those who have been purged from office, and the latter often resolved by the imprisonment, exile, or murder of those who have been purged.

This article is about the political removal of people. For bypassing your cache on Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Purge. For other uses, see Purge (disambiguation).
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Characteristics

The Shanghai massacre of 1927 and the Night of the Long Knives of 1934, in which the leader of a political party turned against and killed a particular section or group within the party, are commonly called "purges" while mass expulsions on grounds of racism and xenophobia, such as that of the Crimean Tatars and the Japanese-American internment are not.

Though sudden and violent purges are notable, most purges do not involve immediate execution or imprisonment, for example the periodic massive purges of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia on grounds of apathy or dereliction, or the purge of Jews and political dissenters from the German Civil Service in 1933–1934. Chairman Mao Zedong and his associates purged much of the Chinese Communist Party's leadership, including the head of state, President Liu Shaoqi and the then-Secretary-General, Deng Xiaoping, beginning in 1966 as part of the Cultural Revolution. In Maoist states, sentences usually involved hard labor in laogai camps and executions. Deng Xiaoping acquired a reputation for returning to power after having been purged several times.

Historical use of the term

English Civil War purge, 1648–1650

The earliest use of the term dates back to the English Civil War's Pride's Purge. In 1648–1650, the moderate members of the English Long Parliament were purged by the army. Parliament would suffer subsequent purges under the Commonwealth including the purge of the entire House of Lords. Counter-revolutionaries such as royalists were purged as well as more radical revolutionaries such as the Levellers. After the Restoration, obstinate republicans were purged while some fled to New England.

Stalinist Soviet Union

The term "purge" is often associated with Stalinism. While leading the USSR, Joseph Stalin imprisoned in Gulag-labor camps and executed, i.e. purged, kulaks, many military officers, ethnic minorities, and "wreckers", or citizens accused of plotting against Communism.[1] Stalin together with Nikolai Yezhov initiated the most notorious of the CPSU purges, the Great Purge, during the 1930s.

France after WWII

After France's liberation by the Allies in 1944, the Free French and particularly the French Resistance carried out purges of former collaborationists, the so-called "vichystes". The process became known in legal terms as épuration légale ("legal purging"). Similar processes in other countries and on other occasions included denazification and decommunization.

Communist Cuba

After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Fidel Castro of Cuba often purged those who had previously been involved with the Batista regime. Purges often involved the execution of the condemned. Castro periodically carried out party purges thereafter. One prominent purge was carried out in 1989, when a high-ranking general named Arnaldo Ochoa was sentenced to death and executed by firing squad on charges of drug trafficking. Purges became less common in Cuba during the 1990s and 2000s.

In the 21st century

China
Main article: Anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping

Some observers consider the anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping to be a purge.[2][3] A far-reaching campaign against corruption began in China following the conclusion of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012. The campaign, carried out under the aegis of Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, was the largest organized anti-graft effort in the history of Communist rule in China.

North Korea

North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Jong-un have each periodically purged their political rivals or perceived threats, beginning in the 1950s. The most senior Kim purged those who opposed his son's succession to the supreme leadership of North Korea. Kim Il-sung's most prominent purge occurred during the "August Incident" in 1956, when the pro-Soviet and pro-Chinese Yanan factions of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) attempted to depose Kim. Most of those involved in the plot were executed while some others fled to the USSR and China. While some purges were carried out under Kim Jong-il, they were not as common as they were under his father/son. Kim Jong-un purged a number of high-ranking officials and generals installed by his father Kim Jong-il in the former's first years in power, including, most prominently, his uncle Jang Sung-taek.

Turkey
Main article: 2016–present purges in Turkey

After the failed 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, the government of Turkey began a purge against members of its own civil service and the Turkish Armed Forces. The purge ostensibly focused mainly on public servants and soldiers alleged to be part of the Gülen movement, the group the government blamed for the coup. As part of the purge, about 50,000 officials, including thousands of judges, were dismissed and detained.

United States of America

The administration of US President Donald Trump, has been marked by what can be characterized as both normal turnover of cabinet and staff and as a purging of those he has stated are disloyal.[4] In a span of six weeks early in 2020, Mr. Trump removed or reassigned officials from posts leading their respective agencies' inspector general offices, three of whom were working in an acting capacity and one who served as an activity duty army officer. Inspector generals and their staff serve as the United States government's key independent watch dogs, from various federal agencies.[5][6][7]

As inspector general for the intelligence community, Michael Atkinson handled the complaint filed by an anonymous whistleblower that raised concerns about Mr. Trump's dealings with Ukraine ultimately led to House Democrats' impeachment inquiry into the president and to Atkinsons removal on April 3, 2020 Days later, on April 7, Mr. Trump removed Glenn Fine from his position as acting inspector general of the Pentagon where he would have overseen $2.2 trillion in spending for coronavirus relief. President Trump fired the inspector general of the State Department, Steve Linick after his office had opened an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.[8] Mr. Linick's firing amid such a probe strongly suggests that this is an unlawful act of retaliation.[9] Alexander Semyon Vindman a United States Army lieutenant colonel who was the Director for European Affairs for the United States National Security Council until he was reassigned on February 7, 2020 announced his retirement from active duty due to alleged “bullying” and “retaliation” by the president, according to his attorney in a July 8, 2020 statement,[10][11] Vindman was the National Security Council's Ukraine expert, who testified under subpoena in the fall of 2019 about concerns surrounding a call between President Trump and the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.[12]

Prior US presidents have fired inspector generals as in 1981, when President Ronald Reagan fired all of the inspectors general appointed by his Democratic predecessor, Jimmy Carter.[13] There is no indication he was under any form of investigation and he did rehire most of them.

Overall, throughout the 42-year history of the IG position, the Trump administration's actions against IGs can be considered unprecedented. Bill Clinton nor George H. W. Bush fired any IGs at all; George W. Bush forced two to resign, but ultimately gave up what many thought were his plans to continue; Reagan fired many, but gave in to Congressional pressure, rehiring several; and Obama fired one, providing Congress with direct examples of reasons why he was fired along with outside opinions agreeing with the move. To date Mr. Trump has done none of these things. He has fired five IGs, has not answered Congressional requests for justification.[14]

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See also

References
  1. Hunt, Lynn; et al. (2008). The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures, Vol. C: Since 1740 (3rd ed.). Bedford/St. Martin's. p. 846. ISBN 9780312465100.
  2. "Charting China's 'great purge' under Xi". 2017-10-23. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  3. Shih, Gerry (2018-10-22). "In China, investigations and purges become the new normal". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  4. Wiesmann, U. N.; DiDonato, S.; Herschkowitz, N. N. (1975-10-27). "Effect of chloroquine on cultured fibroblasts: release of lysosomal hydrolases and inhibition of their uptake". Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 66 (4): 1338–1343. doi:10.1016/0006-291x(75)90506-9. ISSN 1090-2104. PMID 4.
  5. "The internal watchdogs Trump has fired or replaced". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  6. "Trump fires State Department watchdog Steve Linick". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  7. "Trump fires intelligence community watchdog who handled complaint that led to impeachment". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  8. Cheney, Kyle. "Atkinson: Trump fired me because I handled whistleblower complaint properly". POLITICO. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  9. "Engel Statement on the Firing of Inspector General Linick". House Foreign Affairs Committee. 2020-05-15. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  10. "Trump takes revenge in post-acquittal purge of witnesses". Los Angeles Times. 2020-02-07. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  11. Ryan, Missy. "Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman retires, citing campaign of 'bullying' and 'retaliation' by Trump after impeachment testimony". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  12. Press, Jill Colvin, Associated (2020-07-08). "Vindman retiring from Army, lawyer blames Trump". WDIV. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  13. Light, Paul C. "Off With Their Heads". Brookings. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  14. "Trump's Attacks on the Inspectors General: An In-Depth Assessment – Public Procurement International". publicprocurementinternational.com. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
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