“On the contrary, it aims to protect and strengthen them”.
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The president and other officials have strongly suggested the government is considering reinstating the death penalty, a practice abolished in 2004 as part of Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.
Mr Erdogan said a new structure in the armed forces would be put in place in a short time, and that the military must have learned serious lessons from the coup attempt.
Simsek insisted that the state of emergency would be different to those imposed in the country previously and that the rule of law will be upheld.
Steinmeier said it’s important that “the rule of law, a sense of proportion and commensurability are preserved” and that it’s in Turkey’s interest to “keep the state of emergency only for the duration that is absolutely necessary and then immediately end it”.
The death toll does not include the number of coup plotters killed, said to be 24 by various government officials.
Speaking to reporters at Cankaya Palace in Ankara on Tuesday, Kurtulmus was asked whether the Turkish government is considering any strategic help from the US after the coup attempt.
This is what Turkey’s allies feared when it became clear last Saturday that the shambolic coup attempt was crumbling and Erdogan’s government would survive, with widespread popular support from hundreds of thousands of people who demonstrated in the streets against a military takeover.
Turkish state media Wednesday published what it said was the confession of a highly-placed Gulenist putschist, Lieutenant Colonel Levent Turkkan, who was the aide of Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera English, Erdogan compared his government’s reaction to the coup to other countries’ responses to security threats.
Simsek said all officials would be subjected to “proper judicial review” and would be “able to challenge conclusions at a court of law”.
The government says a US -based Muslim cleric is behind the coup attempt and has embarked on a massive crackdown on the movement’s followers.
The US-based cleric’s movement, which espouses moderation and multi-faith harmony, says it is a scapegoat.
While Erdogan is seeking to consolidate the power of his elected government in the wake of the attempt to oust him, his crackdown could further polarize a country that once enjoyed a reputation for relative stability in the turbulent Middle East region. It also raises questions about the effectiveness of the military, courts and other institutions being purged.
“No one said “Human rights are being lost in France or markets are collapsing”.
Authorities have revoked the licenses of 21,000 teachers working in private education institutions who are being investigated under the same auspices, state news agency Anadolu reported.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the issue in a phone call with U.S. President Barack Obama, and his spokesman said the government was preparing a formal extradition request for the cleric, Fethullah Gulen. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that Turkey must provide hard evidence that Gulen was behind the foiled coup if it wants him extradited, and that mere allegations of wrongdoing wouldn’t suffice.
This chaos could have negative effects on Turkish-U.S. relations.
Turkey’s domestic situation is increasingly a concern as the government seeks to rid broad sectors of society of alleged antagonists.
“In a country where our youths are killed with tanks and bombs, if we stay silent, as political people we will be held responsible in the afterlife”, Erdogan said, pointing out that capital punishment exists around the world, including in the United States and China.
The crackdown was escalated Tuesday, as the government announced the firing of almost 24,000 teachers and Interior Ministry employees and demanded the resignations of another 1,577 university deans as well as hundreds of other government employees.
He was more diplomatic on Turkey-U.S. ties, saying cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State should not be mixed up with Ankara’s demand for the extradition of Fetullah Gulen.
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In a defiant speech in parliament, Yildirim said the fact civilians had been targeted in the attempted power grab by a faction in the military made it unprecedented in the history of Turkey, which last saw a violent coup more than 30 years ago.
