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July 20, 2016, 09:35:13 PM |
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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday announced a three-month state of emergency to enable the authorities to take swift and effective action against those responsible for last weekend's failed military coup.
Erdogan, who has launched mass purges of state institutions since the July 15 coup attempt, said the move was fully in line with Turkey's constitution and did not violate the rule of law or basic freedoms of Turkish citizens.
The state of emergency, which comes into force after it is published in Turkey's official gazette, will allow the president and cabinet to bypass parliament in passing new laws and to limit or suspend rights and freedoms as they deem necessary.
Erdogan made his announcement in a live television broadcast in front of government ministers after a meeting of the National Security Council that lasted nearly five hours.
(Reporting by Asli Kandemir; Writing by Gareth Jones)
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