A decree issued in Turkey as part of the state of emergency in the country has transferred control of the secret services (MIT) from the premier to the president. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim confirmed to the Anadolu news agency that as of now "the president (Recep Tayyp Erdogan, ed.) Will have the secret services", following the constitutional reform approved in the referendum on April 16. He denied that there is a concrete reason for this measure, stating that it is an automatic step linked to the reform. Ankara also issued two decrees in which it closed two pro-Kurdish periodicals and fired 928 civil servants. Among them are 205 soldiers, 120 officials from the Ministry of Justice, 120 academics and 166 employees of municipalities in much of the Southeast. The 928 join the other 14000 civil servants removed or suspended as part of the purges following the failed coup last summer. The decrees also announce the hiring of 32000 new members of the security forces and 4000 judges.