Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced a three-month state of emergency for Turkey following a failed coup attempt over the weekend.
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“The goal of the state of emergency is to most effectively and swiftly take steps necessary to eliminate the threat to democracy in our country”, he said, as cited by Anadolu Agency.
About 6,000 allegedly pro-coup soldiers, out of Turkey’s 620,000 member military, have been arrested or suspended, as well as 9,000 police officers from the 250,000-strong force.
Erdogan claimed the coup attempt might not have ended and there could be “more plans” to forcefully seize power in the country, AFP reported.
Erdogan has accused his arch-foe Fethullah Gulen and his supporters of being behind the coup, but the US-based preacher denies any involvement. At least 24 coup plotters were also killed.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference following the National Security Council and cabinet meetings at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, July 20.
The Turkish military has been regularly hitting suspected PKK hideouts and position in Iraq since previous year, but Wednesday’s strikes were the first since the failed coup.
The move frees the government of nearly all constitutional restraints and enables Erdogan to continue his broad purge of thousands of suspected supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Muslim cleric he has accused of instigating last week’s coup attempt.
The High Board of Education placed a travel ban on academics, temporarily barring them from leaving the country, according to an official speaking on state-run broadcaster TRT. Erdogan and U.S. President Barack Obama discussed the status of Gulen during a call on Tuesday, the White House said.
The decision of whether to extradite Gulen “is a legal decision that is made pursuant to a legal process, part of which is codified in a long-standing treaty between United States and Turkey”.
However, Mr Kerry said he had told Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavosoglu in several phone calls: “Please don’t send us allegations, send us evidence”.
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So far about 1,577 university deans (faculty heads) have been asked to resign in addition to 21,000 teachers and 15,000 education ministry officials. Seeking to end speculation that Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan had been harmed during the military uprising, the Justice Ministry said that he was “in good condition”, NTV reported. “We urge the government of Turkey to unite the country behind respect for its democratic, constitutional institutions rather than respond to the attempted coup with indiscriminate settling of scores”. The picture of unity between all four political parties in parliament against the coup attempt is thought to be temporary, as a continued purge and sustained pressure on the opposition would heighten tension.
