EU Officials Express Concern at Turkish Leader’s Response to Failed Coup

Even as they moved swiftly to condemn the coup as events unfolded on Friday night and Saturday morning, EU officials were already concerned about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s response. Officials feared he could further close the space for democratic opposition in Turkey, a growing source of conflict between Brussels and Ankara.

For Europe, the events throw up a familiar dilemma. While they have voiced concerns about Mr. Erdogan’s growing grip on power and the undermining of an independent judiciary and press, the desire to cooperate with the Turkish authorities on shared interests like fighting Daesh (ISIL) and stemming migration have often trumped those worries.

Nonetheless, on Monday morning Johannes Hahn, the European Union’s chief for the bloc’s enlargement and neighborhood policy, described Mr. Erdogan’s response to the failed military coup as “exactly what we have feared.”

Mr. Hahn said the speed with which Turkish authorities were able to identify and target judges among the thousands arrested over the last 48 hours raised questions about the motives behind the government’s response.

“That the lists (of judges) are available already (straight) after the event indicates that this was prepared and at a certain moment should be used,” Mr. Hahn said on his way into a meeting in Brussels of EU foreign ministers.

Mr. Erdogan’s elected government sought to reassert control Saturday morning after the attempted coup by factions of the military that left hundreds dead or injured. Turkey’s acting chief of military staff said Turkey had repelled the coup attempt.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Monday that while Europe can never accept military coups, “We have to be vigilant that the Turkish authorities don’t put in place a political system that turns away from democracy.”

“Turkey has made lots of advances, a great deal of progress and lots of reforms in these recent years. The danger would be a step back that would mean turning its back on the democratic path,” he said. “It’s also for Europe to constantly reiterate that.”

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini noted the bloc was the first major player during the coup to demand that the country’s democratic institutions be protected.

“We are the ones saying today rule of law has to be protected in the country,” she said on her way into the foreign ministers meeting. “There are no excuses for any steps that takes the country away from that,” she said.

“I think the most important is that we now get a process of healing in Turkey,” said Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders.

A senior Turkish official pushed back at the criticism. He said authorities had long been investigating the movement led by Fethullah Gulen, a reclusive but influential Turkish cleric who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania for nearly two decades. Mr. Erdogan has blamed the failed coup on that movement.

“We have been looking into the activities of the Gulen Movement for some time. We did so publicly and openly due to the seriousness of the allegations. The cell within the military was part of this investigation,” the official said, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“Some judges were directly linked to the military faction that staged the failed coup—in fact, they would have assumed control of government agencies and court martials had the coup succeeded.”