State of emergency procedures exercised only on terrorist organizations: Erdoğan

ANKARA

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Authority granted by the state of emergency rule is only used against terrorist organizations, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, stating that the criticisms concerning human rights and democracy were “ideologically biased.”

“The state of emergency decrees that have been in effect since the July 15 [2016] coup attempt in our country have only been exercised against terrorist organizations,” Erdoğan said June 14 in a ceremony to mark the 178th anniversary of the foundation of the Gendarmerie Forces Command.

“Otherwise, we would be allowing terrorist organizations to operate. Surely, we have to use all instruments available in the fight against them. We are a team that believes the decrees need to be carried out within the scope of law and legal regulations,” Erdoğan said. 

The president added that the criticisms toward the Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule over the concerns of human rights, democracy and law were politically motivated.

“In our country today, most of those who criticize us, our government, our police, our gendarmerie and even our village security guards in the name of democracy, human rights and law are acting on ideological obsessions,” Erdoğan said.

“Everyone who listens to their conscience is aware of how far Turkey has come in democracy and freedoms,” he added. 

“We have turned Turkey into a country of freedom by freeing it from prohibitions,” he said.