I will behead traitors, says Erdogan
As crowds gathered on anniversary of failed coup, Turkey’s president pledged support for death penalty
TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would “rip the heads” off traitors and spoke in support of reinstating the death penalty, as hundreds of thousands of citizens gathered to mark the anniversary of a failed coup.
Speaking to a crowd gathered on the bridge in Istanbul where civilians clashed with tanks and soldiers on the night of the putsch last year, Mr Erdogan also said those put on trial should be made to wear outfits similar to detainees at the United States’ most notorious military prison.
“I have spoken with our prime minister and said when they appear in court, they should wear one type of outfit, like in Guantánamo,” Mr Erdogan said to cheers.
Not including the plotters, 249 people were killed when a disgruntled faction of the army sent tanks into the streets and war planes into the sky on July 15 in a bid to overthrow Erdogan after one and a half decades in power.
But they were thwarted within hours as the authorities regrouped and people poured into the streets in support of Mr Erdogan, who blamed followers of his ally-turned-nemesis, the Us-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.
Turkish authorities declared Saturday an annual national holiday of “democracy and unity”, with a gruelling programme of events including a 3am speech yesterday by the president outside parliament in Ankara to commemorate the building being bombed.
Since the failed plot, a government crackdown has seen 50,000 people jailed, including academics, public servants and soldiers accused of supporting the Gulen movement.
On Friday, more than 7,000 state employees, including teachers and police officers, were dismissed from their jobs, adding to about 150,000 who have also been dismissed or suspended during the purge.
Restoration of the death penalty would likely be a final blow to Turkey’s long-running attempts to join the EU. Jean-claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, yesterday urged Mr Erdogan to uphold European values if he wants to join the bloc.
Mr Erdogan said he would back restoring the death penalty if parliament chose to vote on the matter: “I don’t care what foreigners say. I care about what our people say.”
He also stated that a security committee today would consider extending the state of emergency that has been in place since the failed coup and has allowed the government to rule by decree.
Earlier in the week, the president said the state of emergency would last as long as Turkey was battling against terrorism.
Yesterday there was a strong and solemn emphasis on the 249 people who died fighting the putsch, with people carrying placards showing the faces of those who were killed. Mr Erdogan said that people that night fought “tanks with their fists”.
Leading up to the president’s speech, a film was projected on to the parliament building depicting it being bombed, as it was last year, as well as pictures of those killed.
Photos were then projected of the president, who also made time to criticise the leader of the opposition party during his speech in front of the crowd, which included families of the dead.
“It was so divisive and trying to create a sort of hero for himself,” Ozturk Yilmaz, a deputy chairman of the main opposition party the Republic People’s Party, told The Daily Telegraph.
Mr Yilmaz accused Mr Erdogan of capitalising on the coup attempt, turning Turkey into an autocracy.
In April, Mr Erodgan gained vast new powers, with a slim referendum win of 51.4 of the country voting for constitutional changes.