Turkey's security council recommends extending emergency

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey's top security body on Wednesday advised extending the country's ongoing state of emergency, according to initial reports from a meeting in the Turkish capital.

The National Security Council, which convened on Wednesday in Ankara under the chairmanship of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, made a number of statements on the July 15 coup attempt, Turkey's Syria policy and counter-terrorism.

During the almost six-hour meeting, the council offered to extend the state of emergency beyond its initial three-month period.

After the deadly coup attempt, which martyred more than 240 people and injured nearly 2,200 others, Turkey declared a state of emergency on July 20.

According to the Turkish Constitution, a state of emergency can be declared for a maximum period of six months.

To enact the state of emergency, the government must see serious indications of widespread violence which could interfere with Turkey's democratic environment or its citizens' basic rights and freedoms as established by the Constitution.

Following the initial declaration of a state of emergency, opposition leaders expressed doubts about the decree laws being passed too rapidly.

Opposition Republican People’s Party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu argued that the government was trying to "reshape" the state while "excluding the society which opposed the failed coup".

The National Security Council also insisted on a "terror-free zone" and a "no-fly zone" in the north of Syria as well as declaring July 15 as a “Day of Democracy and Freedom” in Turkey.

More to follow.​