ISTANBUL—Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday faced growing EU criticism over an “unacceptable” crackdown that has seen tens of thousands of people detained or sacked, as supporters celebrated the defeat one week ago of the coup aimed at ending his rule.
The authorities imposed a state of emergency on Thursday, strengthening state powers to round up suspects behind the failed military putsch and suspending a key European rights convention.
The European Union urged Turkey “to respect under any circumstances the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms”, foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini and enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn said in a joint statement.
They slammed as “unacceptable” the sacking or suspension of tens of thousands of people in the education system, judiciary and the media and said they were monitoring the state of emergency “with concern”.
Turkey’s Western allies have been watching with alarm the turmoil in the key NATO member state, which has also been reeling from a wave of bomb attacks by Islamic State group jihadists and Kurdish rebels.
But at home, Erdogan basked in the support of jubilant crowds who took to the streets of Istanbul overnight.
Huge numbers were again expected to fill city squares Friday to celebrate Erdogan’s victory over the rebels, whose botched coup last Friday with troops, tanks and fighter jets claimed 265 lives.
The president has said July 15 would in future be marked as the “Remembrance Day of the Martyrs”.
Thousands of Erdogan supporters many carrying torches and waving the national crescent flag streamed across the Bosphorus bridge that was one of the key battlegrounds.
Flocking to the landmark where Turkish citizens stood up to the mutineers, they brandished signs such as “Our flag, our nation” and denounced the man Erdogan blames for the coup plot — US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, 75.
Erdogan has repeatedly rallied citizens on TV and even with mass phone text messages to stay on the streets in the fight against the “terrorist” followers of the spiritual leader whom he accuses of forming a secretive “parallel state” in Turkey.
Late Wednesday, after a marathon meeting of his national security council, Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency — Turkey’s first since 2002, the year before he first came to power as prime minister.
Turkey also said it would suspend parts of the European Convention on Human Ri ghts.
The emergency powers allow Erdogan and his cabinet to rule by decree and rights groups and opposition parties fear they could lead to further curbs on freedoms of speech and assembly.
“The road to arbitrary rule, unlawful behavior, feeding on violence, has been chosen,” charged the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party.
“Society has been forced to choose between a coup or an undemocratic government.”
Erdogan has insisted democracy would “not be compromised”, while his government pointed out that France had also declared an emergency in the wake of the bloody jihadist attacks.
