Yesterday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared a state of emergency for three months following Friday night's failed army coup. Speaking at the presidential palace in Ankara, Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that "all the viruses within the armed forces will be cleansed".
The three-month state of emergency, approved by parliament on Thursday by 346 votes to 115, The Guardian reported.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey explained that the state of emergency is a package of measures, adopted in accordance with the constitution in order to strengthen security measures during the fight against threats to the rights and freedoms of citizens. "These measures won't limit the rights and freedoms, they won't affect daily lives of Turkish citizens and guests, coming to the country as tourists, and won't hinder international tourism and flights. There are no obstacles and restrictions for safe rest of our guests on the territory of Turkey," Ministry's statement says.
Recall that on the night of July 16, rebel group made an attempt of military coup in Turkey.
In an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza, political scientist Togrul Ismail primarily drew attention to the fact that although an attempted military coup was prevented, not all putschists were neutralized so far. "We overcame coup, but the danger still exists. Turkish National Security Council made such decision because of this. Above all, it is done in order to create safer environment for normal work of the government," he noted.
In addition, the expert shared his opinion on the political consequences of this decision. "State of emergency usually leads to certain restrictions of the rights and freedoms, but Turkish government said that it is impossible to abandon these principles. In other words, everything will be in the framework of law, and the restrictions will affect only those who participated in the coup. Television, shops, universities, banks are working normally today," he said.
In addition, speaking about the economic aspect of this decision, he emphasized that failed coup and its consequences may make Turkey look like a turbulent country. "It certainly can affect the tourism sector, since tourists will be too frightened to go to Turkey. It is also possible that there will be an outflow of business and investments will decrease. But we will see how it really goes in the coming three-six months," the expert thinks.
He also doubted that the state of emergency will affect Turkish-EU relations. "Of course the EU will critique Turkey, but declaring the state of emergency is a legitimate, constitutional right of the Turkish state. Relations will deteriorate only in case of serious human rights violation. But I think it won't come to this," he concluded.
Political scientist Talat Cetin drew attention to the fact that the state of emergency is necessary for legitimate dismissal of officials, which is required under current conditions of total personnel cleaning.
The expert also noted that immediately after the declaration of the state of emergency, Turkey's credit rating dropped from BB + to BB. "Turkey did everything to ensure that investments won't leave the country. But it won't be easy, since investors withdraw from the market during slightest threat to the security," he explained.
Furthermore, he commented on the drop of Turkish currency. "Lira rate dropped on Monday, even before declaration of the state of emergency. So major changes should not be expected," he concluded.
