EU, US warn Turkey against harsh measures after coup-attempt

The European Union has urged Turkey to 'protect the rule of law' as the country cracks down following a coup-attempt.

5 min read

18 July, 2016

EU backs rule of law in Turkey

Turkey must protect the rule of law as it cracks down after the failed coup, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Monday.

"We are the ones saying today rule of law has to be protected in the country, there is no excuse for any steps that take the country away from that," Mogherini said as European Union foreign ministers met in Brussels.

"As we have been the first ones to say that in that tragic night (of Friday's coup attempt), the democratic and legitimate institutions needed to be protected," she told reporters.

"Today we will say together with ministers that obviously doesn't mean that rule of law and the system of checks and balances in the country does not count. On the contrary it needs to be protected for the sake of the country.

"So we will send a strong message on that."

Would-be EU member Turkey carried out fresh raids on Monday as the EU ministers were meeting, prompting growing international concern over the scale of the crackdown.

Judges and military commanders are among 6,000 people who were arrested over the weekend as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vows to stamp out the "virus" of the coup plotters.

The EU commissioner dealing with Turkey's long-stalled bid for membership of the bloc meanwhile said it appeared that the government had already prepared a list before the coup of people to be rounded up.

"I mean, (that) the lists are available already after the event indicates that this was prepared and at a certain moment should be used," EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn told reporters.

Turkey's attempts to join the 28-nation European Union have been hobbled in recent years by concern over the increasingly authoritarian Erdogan's record on human rights and press freedom.

But the EU agreed to speed up its membership bid and give visa-free travel to Turks as part of a migrant crisis deal in which Ankara agreed to take back people landing in the Greek islands.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said that "the rule of law must prevail".

"France has condemned the coup, you can't accept the military taking power," he said. "At the same time we have to be vigilant that the Turkish authorities don't put in place a system which turns back democracy."

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders also urged restraint, saying: "It's normal to punish those involved in the coup, but it's normal to ask for respect for the rule of law."

Germany warns against applying death penalty

Germany warned Turkey on Monday against reinstating the death penalty, as it blasted "revolting scenes of caprice and revenge" in the wake of a failed coup attempt.

In strongly worded remarks, Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters that Berlin had grave questions about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's response to the foiled military takeover.

After Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkey would consider a return of capital punishment, Seibert said such a move "would mean the end of EU membership talks".

Seibert said the EU was a "community of laws and values" with which capital punishment was not compatible.

"Germany and the EU have a clear stance: we categorically oppose the death penalty. A country with the death penalty cannot be a member of the EU," he said.

He urged a proportionate response from the government in Ankara.

"In the first hours after the failed coup, we witnessed revolting scenes of caprice and revenge against soldiers on the streets," Seibert said. "That cannot be accepted."

Seibert reiterated that Germany "condemns" the attempted takeover but stressed that the response by the Turkish government needs to be "proportionate" and "based on the rule of law".

"In that context, we need to say clearly: it raises profound and worrisome questions when on the day after the coup attempt, 2,500 judges are removed from their posts," he said.

In the aftermath of Friday's failed coup, thousands of Erdogan supporters called for capital punishment to make a return.

"In democracies, decisions are made based on what the people say. I think our government will speak with the opposition and come to a decision," Erdogan said on Sunday.

Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2004 under reforms aimed at obtaining European Union membership.

Reinstatement would create further issues between the EU and Ankara in the already stalled membership talks.

Germany has the largest ethnic Turkish community outside Turkey with some three million members.

US urges calm

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry urged the Turkish government to maintain calm and stability throughout the country.

"And we also urge the government of Turkey to uphold the highest standards of respect for the nation's democratic institutions and the rule of law," Kerry told a news conference with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini after talks with EU foreign ministers.

Kerry said that the United States and EU would be watching the situation to prevent "backsliding" by Turkey.

"I think the level of vigilance and scrutiny is going to be significant in the days ahead," he said.

Kerry meanwhile told Turkey it had to produce evidence to support the extradition of exiled Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen over alleged involvement in the failed coup.

"I urged the foreign minister to make certain that in whatever portfolio and request they send us, they send us evidence, not allegations," he said.

"We need to see genuine evidence that withstands the standard of scrutiny that exists in many countries with respect to the system of extradition."

The US attracted some criticism as the country's embassy in Ankara dubbed the attempted coup a Turkish "uprising" in a message to US citizens.