gulenists Archives

Report: Gülenists chose Latin America as ‘new base,’ Turkish aid agency’s coordinator says

July 28, 2017 By administrator

Gülenists chose Latin America The Gule Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) is using Latin America as a base to restructure itself, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency’s (TİKA) Colombia coordinator told state-run Anadolu Agency on July 28.

FETÖ, widely believed to have been behind last year’s failed coup, is already very strong in Brazil and Argentina and is trying to gain strength in Colombia, said Mehmet Özkan, who is also a professor of international relations and a lecturer at the Turkish Police Academy in the capital Ankara.

According to Özkan, a large number of FETÖ members fled to Latin America in the aftermath of the coup attempt, where he said “they are restructuring themselves for their next move” in a remote corner of the world “where they remain out of sight.”

“This [restructuring] is done in a secret manner. We can call it more of a regrouping or repositioning,” he claimed.

Özkan added they had received intelligence that some FETÖ members had applied for asylum at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) office in Colombia.

“Turkish citizens do not need a visa to visit Latin America countries. They do not need a visa to travel to the United States from there, either,” he said, adding while some FETÖ members chose to remain in whatever Latin America country they arrived at, some others travelled to the U.S.

“In a sense, they are using the region as a stopover point. They are very comfortable there as there are not many Turks to monitor their moves. Therefore, they can operate there more easily,” he said.

FETÖ and the U.S. based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen are accused of orchestrating the July 15, 2016 coup attempt which left 250 people killed and more than 2,000 injured.

Turkey accuses FETÖ of a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, the police and the judiciary.

Turkey: Gülenists betrayed me, Erdoğan says, vowing to press ahead with the fight

November 19, 2015 By administrator

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said he was “betrayed” by the movement of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, vowing to press ahead with the fight against what he refers to as the “parallel structure.”

“I should say this very clearly: They know me very well personally, but I know them too. They have betrayed Tayyip Erdoğan. My struggle is to take whatever belongs to my people from them,” Erdoğan said in an interview broadcast on A Haber TV station late on Nov. 18.

His statement came on the same day as a court appointed a panel of trustees to Kaynak Holding, thought to be sympathetic to Gülen. The move came almost three weeks after Koza Holding and its media groups were also seized by judicial order. Both Koza Holding and Kaynak Holding, which have diverse interests across sectors, are accused of financing the Gülen movement, which was this year outlawed as a “terrorist organization” by the government.

“I have already said that I will continue this struggle even though I will be on my own. You also see that we conduct this struggle within the limits of the law,” Erdoğan added.

Erdoğan’s previous governments and the Gülen movement once enjoyed a close alliance, starting from the early years of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). However, this relationship was broken after the police and the judiciary launched a huge corruption investigation against senior AKP officials, including some of Erdoğan’s family members.

The AKP said this operation was a plot conspired by Gülenist police officers and prosecutors who established a “parallel structure” within the state in order to overthrow the government.

Gülen, a self-exiled religious leader residing in Pennsylvania, is now accused of being the leader of a terrorist organization and of controlling all of its activities.

Asked whether he had requested the deportation of Gülen from the U.S. in his recent meeting with President Barack Obama, Erdoğan said there were “discussions.”

“Beyond all of these meetings, we as the state and the government have signed very serious contract with a law firm. I believe that this will give results very soon. It’s not right for me to disclose details, but we are taking some very special steps that will make them live a very different future,” he added.

“This is not an ordinary thing. They should be cleared out from the state. Legal regulations are necessary for this. I am of the opinion that we’ll get more results rapidly if the government can make these legal regulations hand in hand with the opposition,” Erdoğan also stated.

‘Mafia organization’

The president also referred to an investigation carried out in the U.S. into malpractice at charter schools run by Gülen sympathizers in a number of states.

“They have these famous charter schools, around 300 of them. They are receiving a serious amount of money from them, but they are very quiet about them. This money amounts to around $150 million a year. That’s not a small amount of money, but when you question them about their financial sources, they use a subtle wit [to answer],” Erdoğan said, describing the Gülen movement as “little different from a mafia organization.”

“Although this group is trying to promote itself with its activities in education and emphasizing tolerance, it is little different from a mafia organization … The people will never forgive those who cooperate with such a terrorist organization,” he added.

November/19/2015

Turkey’s top security body lists Gülenists as threat against national security

October 31, 2014 By administrator

The meeting was also the first chaired by President Erdoğan in his current capacity. AA Photo

Turkey’s top national security body has publicly documented the movement of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, referred to by government officials as the “parallel state,” as one of the leading threats against the country’s national security. Report hurriyet

“Matters related to our country’s security, our people’s serenity and public order have been discussed in detail. Within this content, it has been emphasized that the struggle against parallel structures and illegal formations, which threaten our national security and disrupt public order and conduct illegal activity with internally and externally legal images, will be continued with determination,” the National Security Council (MGK) said in a written statement released late on Oct. 30 following its lengthy bimonthly meeting.

The almost 10.5-hour meeting marked the longest ever meeting of the council, which brings together the country’s top civilian and military leaders. It was also the first MGK meeting chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in his current capacity, although he participated in numerous meetings during his prime ministry from March 2003 until being elected as president in August.

The fight between erstwhile allies Erdoğan and Gülen began late last year after a massive corruption and graft investigation against four ministers led by Istanbul prosecutors went public. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) government says the operation was a plot carried out by prosecutors and police officers loyal to Gülen, a 73-year-old preacher who has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1997, aiming to topple Erdoğan and his government.

The Gülenists, who have been accused of forming a “parallel structure” within the state, have also been charged with illegally eavesdropping on hundreds of thousands of people through operations by members employed in the judiciary and the police.

Since the probe broke, thousands of prosecutors and police officers have been removed from their previous positions, with pro-government prosecutors now probing the activities of the “parallel state.”