Erdogan Declares Three-Month State of Emergency in Turkey

“Europe does not have the right to criticize this decision”, Erdogan added, apparently anticipating expressions of concern from the European Union, which has become increasingly critical of Turkey’s rights record and has urged restraint as Ankara purges its state institutions since the abortive coup.

“If the USA will not extradite [Fethullah] Gülen, this will be a great mistake”, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on his late Wednesday interview at Al Jazeera.

A senior Turkish official described the travel ban on academics as just a “temporary measure”.

And German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, in more direct comments, said that in Turkey “nearly every day we are seeing new measures that flout the rule of law and that disregard the principle of proportionality”.

Many academics have been critical of Erdogan in the past.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Turkish government said it will close more than 600 private schools and dormitories in response to the failed coup. The cleric has established cram schools across Turkey to mold the country’s future elites and place them in core posts at government agencies.

Erdogan said the ongoing “cleansing” operation in the country, implemented to punish attempted coup plotters and supporters, would continue, adding that he is working with the armed forces to rid Turkey’s military of the “virus”.

He made his announcement in front of government ministers after a meeting of the National Security Council that lasted almost five hours.

The military has long seen itself as the guardian of secularism in this mostly Muslim country and has staged a series of coups in past decades, but its power has been gradually diminished.

Erdogan claimed the coup attempt might not have ended and there could be “more plans” to forcefully seize power in the country, AFP reported. Erdogan said restoring capital punishment is being considered because of popular pressure, and the final decision rests with parliament. It needs 330 votes to hold a referendum.

The Turkish president said he believed foreign countries might have been involved in the failed coup attempt, though he declined to name any. The large-scale purge of state institutions has affected judiciary officials, civil servants, law enforcement and education workers.

The government has also revoked the press credentials of 34 journalists because of alleged ties to Gulen’s movement, Turkish media reported.

Alluniversity deans – a total of 1,577 – were asked to hand in their resignationsTuesday. Turkey’s defence ministry has also sacked at least 262 military court judges and prosecutors, according to Turkish media reports. “We had F-16 jets flying in low altitude, faster than the speed of sound; that was of course an effort to instill fear in the hearts of tens of thousands of people who were assembled there, and then we sat down with a number of colleagues in positions of authority and we planned the aftermath, what was going to follow”.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Tuesday that Turkey aims to remove the movement “by its roots”.

The government says 312 people were killed in the coup, including 145 civilians, 60 police, three soldiers and 104 plotters.

But, Erdogan also emphasised that he did not want to strain Turkey’s relations with the United States as a result of the extradition request. “The first is that the United States doesn’t support terrorists, the United States doesn’t support individuals who conspired to overthrow democratically elected governments”.

The agency said the schools are linked to Mr. Gulen, a former ally of Mr. Erdogan who lives in Pennsylvania and has denied accusations that he engineered the coup attempt.