EU officials issue statement of concern over Turkey's post-coup crackdown
Two European Union officials warned Thursday that Turkey鈥檚 decision to declare a state of emergency had led to 鈥渦nacceptable decisions on the education system, judiciary and the media鈥� following a massive round of firings in schools and ministries as well as revocations of press credentials.
鈥淲e call on Turkish authorities to respect under any circumstances the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right of all individuals concerned to a fair trial,鈥� 聽said in a statement.
The three-month state of emergency, declared by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdo臒an聽on Wednesday night amid the turmoil of a failed coup attempt last Friday, will deliver exceptional new powers to the president and his cabinet. Laws drafted by Mr.聽Erdo臒an鈥檚 cabinet and signed by him can now go into effect without parliamentary approval.
also gives the government the power to censor media broadcasts, CNN reports, and decreases the authorization normally needed to search citizens. The government can impose curfews and restrict gatherings both public and private.
Erdo臒an has put blame for the coup attempt on聽the followers of Fethullah G眉len, a moderate Sunni cleric living in exile in Pennsylvania, whom the president accuses of infiltrating Turkish institutions.
The coup attempt has prompted .聽Some 20,000 employees at the ministry of education were sacked earlier this week, and some 1,500 university deans asked to resign. More than 20,000 teachers in private schools saw their licenses revoked, 6,000 public schools have closed, and academics have been banned from leaving the country, The Telegraph聽reports.
Nearly 8,000 police officers have been suspended, and 6,000 members of the judiciary and military detained, that as many as 20 news websites critical of the government have been closed down at the behest of the prime minister鈥檚 office.
The state of emergency means that, like France after the November shootings in Paris,聽聽parts of its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Erdo臒an鈥檚 government has defended such measures as necessary in rooting out what it calls a terrorist organization.
"This is a state of emergency imposed not on the people, but on [the state] itself," said Prime Minister Binali Yildirim after the vote. "We will, one by one, cleanse the state of [G眉len's followers] and eliminate those who are trying to harm the country."
But critics of Erdo臒an鈥檚 government say the measures are part of a slide toward authoritarianism that dates back well before the coup, as 海角大神 reported Thursday:
Critics and rivals have warned for years of Erdo臒an鈥檚 growing authoritarian rule. For some, the state of emergency brings Turkey one step closer to a high-profile project to change the Constitution to create an all-powerful presidential system, with Erdo臒an unassailable at the top.
鈥淣o one should create an opportunity for dictatorship from a coup,鈥� said 脰zgur 脰zel, vice president of the opposition Republican People鈥檚 Party (CHP). 鈥淲ith this coup, there is a struggle now against the space for independence and democracy.鈥�
Turkish officials have sought to downplay anxieties about the emergency measures.
鈥淚 want to guarantee that and normal daily life will not be affected by this,鈥� said Numan Kurtulmus, a deputy prime minister, according to The New York Times. Another deputy prime minister, Mehmet Simsek, called it 鈥渂usiness as usual鈥� for most Turkish citizens. 鈥淟ife of ordinary people and businesses will go unimpacted, uninterrupted.鈥�
Erdo臒an鈥檚聽anti-G眉lenist campaign began in earnest in 2013, following a massive corruption scandal involving key members of the president's party. Thousands of policemen, judges, and prosecutors accused of being G眉len supporters have been purged in recent years. And in late May, as the government stepped up its seizures of G眉len-linked universities, .
