29th June, 2018
President Tayyip Erdogan vowed to destroy terrorism in Turkey in his first public appearance since his election victory, during the inauguration of a mosque on Friday.
“The more we increase our commandos and our special forces, the more we increase our fight against terrorism,” Erdogan said.
“Our biggest fight in the upcoming period will be with terrorism,” he said at the mosque in a Coast Guard academy.
“We will destroy terrorism by crushing it under our feet so that there is peace in our country.”
Erdogan won the June 24 presidential elections and his ruling alliance achieved a majority in parliamentary elections.
The final official results will be announced on July 5 and the new parliament is expected to be sworn in on July 8.
A state of emergency was imposed in Turkey in July 2016 after an attempted coup.
The current three-month extension expires at 1 a.m. on July 19 (2200 GMT on July 18).
On the campaign trail, Erdogan said he will not extend the state of emergency after the elections.
He warned, however, that it could be reintroduced at any time if the threat of terrorism re-emerges.
Erdogan will take office next month with sweeping powers after the elections completed Turkey’s transition to an executive presidency.
The new system, which narrowly passed in a constitutional referendum in April 2017, will abolish the prime minister’s post and the president will become both the head of state and government.