THE END OF SECULAR TURKEY: The state of emergency is over when the purge of the military is over.

Speaking to Reuters on Thursday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the state of emergency could be extended beyond three months, primary to facilitate the purge of the armed forces. He said that “this state of emergency is not a curfew” and that people “will still be on the street minding their own business and getting on with daily life.”

The purge in question will be overseen by the new Supreme Military Council (YAS) structure due to come to life on August 1st. Erdogan told Reuters that a new coup attempt was possible and made clear that the main objective of the state of emergency was purging the army.

Latest estimates speak of 10,000 arrests and 60,000 suspensions or dismissals from the military and the public administration. Erdogan suggests the Gulen movement is “another separatist terrorist organization” drawing an analogy with PKK.

Erdogan admits that the fact that many members of the opposition did not vote for the state of emergency was “food for thought,” saying that he had not given up on the notion of constitutional reforms to allow for stronger executive power for the President.

“Opposition” is a dangerous place to be in Erdogan’s Turkey.