海角大神

Turkey鈥檚 rare national unity in the face of last week鈥檚 failed military coup is eroding amid concerns President Recep Tayyip Erdo臒an has seized the opportunity to mount a de facto coup of his own.

Late Wednesday night, Mr. Erdo臒an declared a three-month state of emergency, calling it a necessary measure for officials to swiftly cleanse the armed forces of 鈥渧iruses.鈥澛�

He vowed the measure would not endanger democracy, but instead remove a threat to it and 鈥渢o the rule of law and to the rights and freedoms of the citizens in our country.鈥�

But the mass purge and investigations of tens of thousands of soldiers, policemen, judges, and educators聽is weakening the unity among political factions, all of whom condemned the attempted coup as an attack on Turkey鈥檚 democracy.

Erdo臒an鈥檚 critics accuse him and his Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) of using the failed coup to enhance their powers, which already have few limits, as they suspend normal checks and balances.

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).聽鈥淲ith this coup, there is a struggle now against the space for independence and democracy.鈥澛�

Turks largely came together against the coup, in which 246 were killed and more than 1,500 injured, because 鈥渨hat is important now is the motherland 鈥撀�vatan in Turkish 鈥撀爏o solidarity and unity is very important,鈥� says Nilufer Narli, the chair of sociology at Bah莽e艧ehir University in Istanbul, speaking before the state of emergency was declared.

鈥淪o people say that even though we have different ideas and divisions in this society, at the moment the vatan is important and we need to be unified,鈥� says Ms. Narli. 鈥淲e look at the slogans and we see that nationalists, secular, and liberal people and Islamic people are all together. I can say that in Turkey, the anti-coup attitude is the common denominator.鈥�

Emergency tests rare unity

Indeed, Erdo臒an overnight thanked Turks for that reaction: 鈥淓very member of our nation came together as one,鈥� he said.

But that may no longer be the case in the midst of Turkey鈥檚 divisive political atmosphere 鈥� an us-versus-them attitude fanned especially by Erdo臒an since 2013 Gezi Park protests against his leadership.

Officials say the new status is no different 鈥撀燼nd no more dangerous 鈥� than the state of emergency in France, which lawmakers extended by six months this week. Other emergencies have been declared in Germany and Belgium after attacks by the self-declared Islamic State.

But in Turkey, the AKP already controls parliament and the judiciary. It has cut the influence of the powerful military on civilian politics, and has won increasing majorities at the polls in virtually every vote since 2002.

The state of emergency allows the president and cabinet to bypass parliament in quickly making new laws, as well as to suspend rights and freedoms of citizens 鈥撀爉oves officials say they will not make.

The decision to invoke Article 120 of the Turkish Constitution was made Wednesday during 10 hours of meetings of the National Security Council and cabinet, both chaired by Erdo臒an.

'Full force of justice'

鈥淭he state of emergency won鈥檛 include restrictions on movement, gatherings, and free press, etc. It isn鈥檛 martial law of [the] 1990s,鈥� said Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet 艦im艧ek in a series of tweets. The lives of ordinary people and business will not be interrupted, he said.

鈥淚鈥檓 confident #Turkey will come out of this with much stronger democracy,鈥� Mr. 艦im艧ek tweeted. 鈥淭here is no backsliding on human rights. Perpetrators of the failed coup attempt must face the full force of justice.鈥�

And yet on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmu艧 reportedly said Turkey would temporarily derogate from the European Convention on Human Rights, as France has done, and hopes to end the state of emergency within 45 days.

The state of emergency went into effect at 1 a.m. Thursday, and within hours, criticism began to mount.

鈥淎fter the coup, they [AKP] aim to increase an already repressive, anti-democratic system,鈥� said 陌dris Baluken, parliamentary group leader of the People鈥檚 Democratic Party (HDP), a Kurdish party that has seen members accused of terrorism and AKP lawmakers vote to strip them of their parliamentary immunity.

鈥淭his would be the biggest mistake that can be made,鈥� said Mr. Baluken. 鈥淭urkey suffered a blow to the process before the coup attempt was made. Since June 7 [2015 parliamentary elections] there has been a coup against the popular will of the people.鈥�