'Democracy is Bleeding': Turkish Party Slams Ankara for Extended Emergency State

Ozgur Ozel, Turkey's Republican People's Party (CHP) parliamentary group chair, criticized on Monday the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the country's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for continuation of the state of emergency far beyond the limits of the initially announced term.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On Sunday, Erdogan said at a special congress of the AKP that the state of emergency introduced after July 2016 coup attempt would remain in force until full security and stability is established in the country.

"At first you said you were introducing the state of emergency for just one month. It’s been 10 months now. You say ‘It will continue until comfort prevails [in Turkey].’ But the state of emergency has cut off the country’s veins of democracy. Democracy is bleeding," Ozel said, as quoted by the Hurriyet Daily News media outlet.

The politician added that Erdogan was the only person, "who feels himself safe, happy and calm" amid the state of emergency, while there was injustice and lack of democracy in the country.

Turkish authorities introduced the state of emergency in the country following the thwarted coup on July 15, 2016 for a period of three months. The state of emergency that provides the government with considerable restrictive powers has been prolonged several times since then.