Western narrative on failed coup unfair: Turkey's EU min.

By Burcu Arik & Humeyra Atilgan Buyukovali

ANKARA

Turkey's EU Minister criticized Thursday the Western allies for following an unfair narrative on the deadly July 15 coup attempt.

Addressing a joint news conference with Secretary-General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland in Ankara, Omer Celik said the failed coup targeted the fundamental principles of human rights, democracy and state of law which Turkey and the Council of Europe shared together.

"Most European states have expressed that they are against the coup and that they support democracy, but then they criticized Turkey in a way it does not deserve," Celik said.

Celik slammed Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern's recent remarks that the country wanted to stop Turkey's EU membership process "due to the country's democratic and economic deficits".

In an interview Wednesday with Austrian broadcaster ORF, Kern called accession talks with Turkey a "diplomatic fiction" and said he wanted the EU leaders to reconsider their approach to Turkey.

"I find these kind of statements very disturbing," Celik said, adding that the brave resistance and sacrifice of the Turkish people showed how much Turkey cared about its democratic values.

"Criticism is a democratic right, but the Western [world's] criticism of Turkey sometimes turns into anti-Turkey sentiment," he said.

Jagland, for his part, said the purpose of his visit Turkey was to monitor closely the post-coup bid developments in the country.

The secretary-general said it was not hard for him to condemn the putsch immediately.

"I condemned it because coups have no place in Europe," he said.

Earlier on Thursday, Jagland met Turkey's main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Following the closed meeting which lasted about an hour, Jagland told reporters that the purpose of his visit to Turkey was to show support for the country's democratic institutions.

"Turkey is going through a very critical period," he said, adding that the Council of Europe was very pleased that the coup attempt failed.

As for the three-month state of emergency declared in the country, Jagland said it did not mean that the parliament and political parties would stop working.

"The Council of Europe is always ready to work with Turkey," he said, and expressed his belief that Ankara would observe the European Convention on Human Rights, and political parties had an important role in ensuring this.

Kilicdaroglu said Jagland's visit was significant, and the two had a constructive meeting.

"If the coup attempt had been successful, Turkey could be in a civil war today, where a large number of people could lose their lives," he said.

Following the deadly coup attempt, the Turkish government confirmed that the state of emergency could involve measures that derogate from the Convention.

In a July 22 statement, Jagland said: “The possibility of temporary derogation is guaranteed to all Council of Europe member States under Article 15 of the Convention, and applies in times of public emergency threatening the life of a nation."

“As the European Court of Human Rights has made clear, any derogations must be proportionate to the situation and in no circumstances can a state derogate from Article 2: the right to life, Article 3: prohibition of torture and inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment and Article 7: no punishment without law," he added.

Jagland arrived in Ankara Wednesday for two days of meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, Turkish Parliament Speaker Ismail Kahraman, and leaders of the opposition parties.

Turkey's government has repeatedly said the deadly coup attempt, which martyred at least 238 people and injured nearly 2,200 others, was organized by the followers of U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen.

Gulen is also accused of implementing a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.