Turkey 85 generals, admirals charged in coup attempt

The state of emergency was needed “in order to remove swiftly all the elements of the terrorist organisation involved in the coup attempt”, Erdogan said at the presidential palace in Ankara.

Turkish police are warning the two officers may be armed and have distributed their photos in hopes they can be captured. There’ll be no backsliding from democracy and no pause in economic reforms, even as the “virus” of the coup-plotters is wiped out, he said.

The man Turkey wants extradited continues to deny any involvement in the uprising.

About 9,300 people have also been detained, including top generals accused of treason for allegedly masterminding the plot as well as soldiers, police and judges.

Thousands of Turks cheered President Erdogan when he said he would let Parliament debate the issue, in the wake of the failed pusch.

Erdogan, describing how events unfolded on the night of the coup attempt, while he was on holiday with his family near the coastal resort of Marmaris, he said he had initially not believed a phone call from his brother-in-law informing him that soldiers had started blocking streets in Istanbul.

The state-run Anadolu news agency reports that Turkey has halted all foreign assignments for academics until further notice.

In a speech, Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned there “may be more plans” from dissidents to try and overthrow the government again. Erdogan blames a network of followers of an exiled US -based cleric, Fethullah Gulen, for the attempted coup in which 246 people were killed and hundreds more wounded as soldiers commandeered fighter jets, military helicopters and tanks in a failed effort to overthrow the government.

“Our concern is that government is going well beyond what might be considered a legitimate response to the coup attempt”, said Andrew Gardener of the group’s Istanbul office.

Thousands of army officers, judges and prosecutors have been detained since the attempted putsch by a faction of the armed forces collapsed on Saturday, leaving nearly 250 people dead after a night of aerial bombardment and street battles. More than 20,000 teachers and administrators have been suspended from the Education Ministry.

The threat of prolonged instability in Turkey, which had not seen a violent military coup for more than three decades, has shaken investors’ confidence.

Kalin added that France had also declared a state of emergency after attacks last November that killed 130 people across Paris.

The pro-government death toll in the botched coup was 246.

Erdogan’s spokesman said on Tuesday the government was preparing a formal request to the United States for the extradition of Gulen.

Erdogan has accused the US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen of orchestrating the coup, and urged the Obama administration to extradite him.

“If and when we receive a request, we will evaluate that request based on the extradition treaty that was signed by the U.S. and Turkey more than 30 years ago”, said Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr.