Time to return to normality for Turkey: UK

The United Kingdom stands by Turkey a year on from the coup attempt and understands the extraordinary challenges Turkey is facing, but urges it to signal a return to normality by lifting the state of emergency rule issued after the July 15, 2016, coup attempt, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Alan Duncan, has told daily Hürriyet, stating that British authorities have concerns about "human rights, arrests and the workings of democracy and judicial processes."  

He also restated the U.K.'s continued solidarity with the Turkish government and its people that it showed so clearly on the night of the coup attempt and during the challenging times that followed.

"I think the first thing to understand is just how extensive and a total threat this was to the country and its entire government and its working as a state. So, if you understand that, then you have to understand that extraordinary steps needed to be taken to stabilize the country and to make sure this could not happen again," he said in an interview with the daily on Aug. 17. 

"I think it would be good if the country could get to the position where it can end the state of emergency and prove that the steps that have been taken against threats are on an individual basis, just, proper and fair," Duncan said, voicing concerns about the prolonged state of emergency rule in Turkey. 

"There are tens of thousands of people who have been labelled as a threat. I think that is a challenge for the country and there are concerns," he added. 

"It would be very good to signal that there can be a return to normality. I think a permanent or a prolonged state of emergency does not signal that," he said.

Duncan said the U.K. acknowledged the gravity of...