TURKEY is set to extend a state of emergency for the sixth time since it was imposed following a failed 2016 coup attempt.
Declared five days after the coup on July 15 2016, the state of emergency has allowed a massive government crackdown aimed at suspected supporters of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey said was behind the insurrection. Gulen refuted this and denied any involvement.
It has also paved the way for the arrest of other government opponents including activists, journalists and politicians as well as the closure of media organisations over alleged links to extremist groups.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of Turkey’s pro-secular main opposition party, accused Erdogan of taking advantage of the failed coup to trample on democracy and lead a “civilian coup” of his own through his emergency powers.
The government has defended its move to extend the emergency rule pointing to the severity of the coup attempt - during which rogue soldiers attacked parliament and other state buildings, leading to more than 250 deaths - and citing a continued security threat from Gulen’s network of supporters.
Few believe that the Turkish leader will allow the emergency rule to end before a presidential election in 2019, when a set of constitutional amendments come into effect giving the president sweeping powers.
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