Coup bid sparks state of emergency in Turkey
Erdogan makes announcement as thousands of academics hit in extended purge
TURKEY’S president has declared a state of emergency for three months following Friday night’s failed coup.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said citizens should not have “the slightest concern with regards to democracy, rule of law, fundamental rights and freedoms”.
He said that the measure is being taken to counter threats to Turkish democracy and was not intended to curb basic freedoms.
He spoke after a meeting with Cabinet ministers and top security advisers.
The insurrection by some military units was launched late on Friday, but security forces and protesters loyal to the government quashed the rebellion.
Mr Erdogan said the pro-government death toll in the botched coup was 246.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Government is expanding its purge of suspected coup backers and has begun to revoke the licences of 21,000 teachers at private schools.
The state-run Anadolu news agency said teachers involved are believed to have ties to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom the Government has accused of being behind the failed military coup last week. Gulen denies the accusations.
Turkey has already announced the firing of 15,200 teachers at state institutions, demanded the resignations of 1,577 university deans and halted all foreign assignments for state-employed academics.
In addition, thousands of other state employees including police officers have been sacked, all accused of being Gulen followers.
Authorities have also rounded up close to 9,000 people – including 115 generals, 350 officers and 4,800 other military personnel – for alleged involvement in the coup attempt.
But two of those military officers have fled from a military hospital in Istanbul where they were being treated. Anadolu claims the infantry captain and lieutenant are followers of Gulen.
Turkish police are warning the two officers may be armed and have distributed their photos.
The National Security Council meeting last night came after Turkish jets carried out cross-border strikes against Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq, killing 20 fighters.
F-16 jets pounded targets belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in Iraq’s Hakurk region, Anadolu said.
The Turkish military has been regularly hitting suspected PKK positions in Iraq since last year, but Wednesday’s strikes were the first since the coup attempt in which several F-16 pilots were involved.
The military is reeling from the failed putsch and the air raids appeared to be an attempt to show that forces are on top of security matters.
The coup attempt has led to calls to reinstate capital punishment, while the religious affairs body said no religious rites would be performed for any dead coup plotters.