State of emergency won’t be removed until peace is restored: President Erdoğan

ANKARA

AFP photo

The state of emergency declared in the wake of the July 2016 failed coup attempt will not be removed until peace is restored, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on May 21.

“A state of emergency was declared in France when 15 terrorists arose. In my country, the state was attempted to be brought down. We have 249 martyrs and 2,193 veterans. How can you ask about the removal of the state of emergency? It will not be removed. Until when? Until we reach peace and prosperity,” Erdoğan said at the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) third extraordinary convention assembled to elect himself as the party chairman after a three-year break.

“What do you lack? Can you not go to your work? Or are schools closed? When we took office, there was also a state of emergency. Factories and workplaces had problems. No one could restore their economic situation. They told us to remove the state of emergency and we removed it in a month. We have extended the state of emergency for the peace of our country,” he said. 

Turkey declared a state of emergency on July 20, 2016, in a bid to fight against the Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ) under U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, who is accused of masterminding the attempted takeover. 

The Turkish parliament approved on April 18 a three-month extension of the state of emergency.

In addition, Erdoğan also vowed for an advanced democracy and economy for the country.

"The responsibility to shape the architecture of the new era is on our shoulders. We will run a two-fold program. One the one hand, we’ll move our democratic achievements forward, and on the other, we’ll take bigger steps for the development of our country,” Erdoğan said.

He stood as the only candidate for the leadership of the AKP to replace Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, after the April 16 referendum allowed the president to retain links to a political party. Erdoğan joined the AKP on May 3. 

Meanwhile, Yıldırım will serve as the acting chairman of the AKP. 

All cabinet members, AKP lawmakers, party management and provincial bodies attended the convention at the Ankara Arena Sports Center along with tens of thousands of voters who flocked to the capital Ankara in a bid to greet Erdoğan’s leadership after a three-year break.