Ayrault and Çavuşoğlu clash over state of emergencies in Turkey and France

Sevil Erkuş - ANKARA

REUTERS photo

During his official visit to the Turkish capital, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has criticized Ankara’s comparison of the state of emergency in Turkey with the state of emergency in France. 

“Turkey has the right to defend itself against terror. It also has the right to extend the state of emergency. But the state of emergencies in Turkey and France are not based on the same legal grounds,” Ayrault said on Oct. 24, speaking at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart. 

In the state of emergency practices in France, “the judiciary and the executive are separate, and the judiciary is still independent,” he added, noting that Paris had simply extended police authorization. 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu criticized Ayrault’s remarks, saying the aim of both countries was the same. 

“There is no difference regarding the state of emergencies in Turkey and France. Their context and objectives are the same. They both target terrorist organizations,” Çavuşoğlu said.

He acknowledged that suspected members of what the government calls the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), believed to have been behind the coup attempt, have not yet been taken to court, but claimed that state of emergency practices in neither France nor Turkey restricted freedoms.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had pointed to the French situation in order to justify an extension of Turkey’s state of emergency.

“France declared an initial state of emergency for three months, then prolonged it for a second three months. Now they have prolonged it for yet another three months. So there is no obstacle in terms of prolonging it. After three months we could ask for a second three-month period and extend it,” Erdoğan said before the first extension was announced.