Turkey declares three-month state of Emergency post failed coup

President Tayyip Erdogan said the state of emergency, which he announced on Wednesday, would enable the authorities to act more efficiently to bring those responsible to justice. Erdogan said emergency measures will help the government crack down on supporters of the coup.

The failed putsch and the purge that followed have unsettled the country of 80 million, which borders Syria’s chaos and is a Western ally against Islamic State.

The lira fell to a record low after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s cut Turkey’s foreign currency credit rating, citing the fragmentation of the political landscape and saying it expected a period of heightened unpredictability.

In other moves, Turkey demanded the resignations of 1,577 university deans and halted foreign assignments for state-employed academics.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the emergency measures Wednesday night, promising to “cleanse” both the military and the government. It also raises questions about the effectiveness of the military, courts and other institutions being purged.

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.

“We all knew that such a structure had the ability to create instability in the economy and in politics”, he said.

“The cabinet meeting is classified at the highest level for national security reasons”.

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency says courts have ordered 85 generals and admirals jailed pending trial over their roles in the coup attempt. On Wednesday, 99 top military officers were charged in connection with the events of the weekend. Even the sports ministry has dismissed 245 personnel. Martial law was imposed across the country for three years following a successful military coup in 1980.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek defended the move, saying he hoped the state of emergency would be short-lived. In total, more than 9,400 people are being detained, the vast majority of them from the military.

“We will remain within a democratic parliamentary system”.

At the height of the abortive coup, the rebel pilots of two F-16 fighter jets had Erdogan’s plane in their sights as he returned to Istanbul from a holiday on the coast.

Speaking ahead of the vote, CHP lawmaker Ozgur Ozel said the decision would amount to a “civilian coup” against Parliament and was a display of “ingratitude” to all the legislators who had gathered in the assembly Saturday to oppose the coup attempt.

“When he didn’t accept the offer, other force commanders could not be convinced”. Some 246 people were killed resisting the attempted coup, according to the government.

Erdogan’s indifference to the unprecedented political unity against the coup is, regretfully, a missed opportunity to dilute the deepening polarization and divisiveness bedeviling Turkish politics.

He identified “structural and individual” intelligence failures during the coup attempt and also said that work was underway to restructure the army, NTV reported.

On Tuesday, authorities shut media outlets deemed to be supportive of Gulen. More than 20,000 teachers and administrators have been suspended from the education ministry.

It is unclear how many soldiers participated in the attack, during which two of Erdogan’s bodyguards were killed, and it is unclear how loyal the troops were, given that they were briefed on the coup so late in proceedings. The suit contended Gulen ordered sympathetic police, prosecutors and judges in Turkey to target members of a rival spiritual movement critical of his teachings.

The sheer numbers of arrests – nearly a third of the military top brass as well as thousands of officials and bureaucrats – suggests that Mr Erdogan did already have lists of targets.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday he is preoccupied with the state of Turkey’s democracy, and that has been communicated to the government. Kerry’s message to Turkey Sunday on CNN was: “Show us the evidence – not allegations, but evidence”. A White House spokesman did not give details about the USA position on Gulen’s possible extradition, except to say the decision would be made according to a long-standing treaty between Ankara and Washington.

The 75-year-old reclusive cleric lives in Pennsylvania but retains vast interests in Turkey ranging from media to finance to schools and wields influence in various arms of the state, including the judiciary and police.