Ankara: Turkey lifted its state of emergency, two years after the government imposed following the failed coup attempt on July 20, 2016.
The step comes in implementation of the directives of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who promised on June 13 that lifting the state of emergency will be the first task if he won the presidency elections.
Following the deadly coup attempt, the Turkish Cabinet decided to impose a state of emergency in the country. The Parliament passed the resolution and it came into force on July 21, 2016. Since then, the state of emergency has been extended seven times, the last of which was on April 19.
Earlier this week, Justice Minister Abulhamit Gul said that ending the state of emergency should not be deemed as ending the fight against terror, especially the FETO and the PKK. Ahead of the elections last month, President Erdogan said the government would introduce new counter-terrorism legislation and take tough action against any threat to Turkey’s security. The new anti-terrorism laws, which the government says will prevent “an interruption in the fight against terrorism”, will be discussed in the Parliament.
