News / Turkey

Turkish MPs pass emergency measures after botched coup

Thursday, 21 July 2016 1:56 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 21 July 2016 4:45 PM ]

People gather outside the Turkish parliament during an extraordinary session in Ankara on July 16, 2016, following a coup attempt. ©AFP

Turkish lawmakers have endorsed a motion declaring a state of emergency in the aftermath of last weekend’s abortive military coup against the Ankara government.

The bill was approved on Thursday by 346 votes to 115 against in the 550-seat Turkish parliament, where the majority of MPs belong to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the three-month state of emergency late on Wednesday in a move that will further consolidate his power.

He stressed that the emergency measures would enable the Turkish government to rid the military of the “virus” of subversion.

Under terms of the Turkish constitution, the state of emergency allows Ankara to rule by decree, passing bills that have the force of the rule of law unless they are overturned by parliament.

It further permits Ankara to “partially or entirely” suspend “the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms,” so long as it does not violate international law obligations.

The state of emergency has never been initiated across Turkey as a whole, but it was declared in the country’s volatile southeast between 1987 and 2002.

The measures come amid the Turkish government’s sweeping crackdown on those believed to have played a role in the failed July 15 putsch.

The coup began when a faction of the Turkish military declared it was in control of the country and the government was no more in charge.

Tanks, helicopters, and soldiers then clashed with police and people on the streets of the capital, Ankara, and Istanbul.

Workers inspect and clear debris after the Grand National Assembly of Turkey was bombed by rebel jets, on July 16, 2016 in Ankara. ©AFP

More than 300 people were killed on all sides in the attempted coup d’état that was gradually suppressed.

Already, approximately 10,000 people have been detained while 58,881 civil service employees have been dismissed, forced to quit or had their licenses revoked.

In another development on Thursday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on the Turkish government to maintain the rule of law and a sense of proportion in its response to the recent coup plot.

It is in Turkey’s interest to “keep the state of emergency only for the duration that is absolutely necessary and then immediately end it,” Steinmeier said.

Any action against suspected coup plotter should be taken based on “a provable involvement in punishable actions” rather than "an alleged political attitude," he added.

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