Erdogan’s Private Youth Army


Date posted: December 13, 2016

Burak Bekdil


  • Critics, including opposition lawmakers, are inquiring about Sadat’s activities, suspecting its real mission may be to train official or unofficial paramilitary forces to fight Erdogan’s multitude of wars inside and outside Turkey.
  • Initially, the youth branches will be formed in 1,500 mosques. But under the plan, 20,000 mosques will have youth branches by 2021, and finally 45,000 mosques will have them. Observers fear the youth branches may turn into Erdogan’s “mosque militia,” like the Nazi Party’s Hitler Youth organization in Germany.
  • Erdogan probably fears Shia expansionism more than Kurdish adventurism, but most likely in his thinking, Kurdish adventurism is part of Shia expansionism.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has good reasons to be living in constant fear. Only a few months ago, on July 15, hundreds of military officers, including several in his own security detail, attempted to topple him in a coup d’état. But the way he thinks he can best fight and win a future attempt at his governance — and life — exposes Turkey to the risk of civil war.

Erdogan’s fight against coup-plotters is legitimate. His paranoia is understandable. But his efforts to build a private army of devotees is not. The level of paranoia surrounding his 1,100-plus-room palace is reaching new heights. One of his chief advisors, Yigit Bulut, recently accused foreign chefs on cooking programs shown on Turkish TV stations of being foreign spies. Bulut claimed that foreign chefs are touring Anatolia merely to gather intelligence and are collecting information about military bases and industrial facilities in Turkey. Bulut may sound amusing, but he is one of Erdogan’s chief advisors.

This paranoia is pushing Erdogan and his men into an abyss of paranoia — and civil war. There are signs, also, that Erdogan’s adventurism will not be confined only within the Turkish borders. In a shake-up of the national intelligence agency, for instance, Erdogan’s government created the position of a deputy undersecretary in charge of “special operations.” Pinar Tremblay, a Turkey expert, says:

“The establishment of this unit tells us that Turkish adventurism is not to be quelled any time soon. To the contrary, it will expand because now we see the government is willing to spare more funding and human resources to special operations. The institutionalization also tells us that Turkish presence in Syria and involvement in Iraq will be coordinated from this center and that this unit is set to grow in the coming months.”

There are also signs that Erdogan wants to fight an all-out war inside Turkey against any and every enemy he may be facing.

……

Burak Bekdil, based in Ankara, is a Turkish columnist for the Hürriyet Daily and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Click below link to read the full article.

Source: Gatestone Institute , December1 1, 2016


Related News

Which Turks hate Israel most?

Mustafa Akyol There was an interesting story in the Daily News last week, about the cancelling of a Yuval Ron concert in Istanbul. Mr. Ron, an award-wining Israeli musician, was supposed to play his tunes in a Sultanahmet hall, but the event was cancelled at the last minute due to protests, and, allegedly, some “threats.” […]

Gov’t discriminates against Hizmet-affiliated private schools

Some private schools affiliated with the Hizmet movement, a faith-based social movement inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, have been prevented from accessing government incentives. According to an official list published by the Education Ministry on Monday, many high-achieving private schools did not make the cut to be eligible for financial aid from the government.

President Erdoğan envies the Hizmet according to prominent columnist

Subsequent to the corruption probe the AK Party had denied the charges, blaming the Hizmet movement accusing it of orchestrating the probe. “This is when the antagonizing rhetoric started,” according to Alkan. President Erdoğan has in fact openly vowed to bring down the movement and anyone it perceives as being affiliated with it.

Watch your mouth

One Turkish folk song says: “Chests are piled up on each other / Woe to us, o gallant people / We have made a promise without thinking / We held you in high esteem although you did not deserve it.”

Friends of Hrant slam gov’t attempt to associate Dink murder with Gülen movement

A group called Friends of Hrant Dink, including lawmakers and activists, has harshly criticized the government’s recent attempt to associate the Dink’s murder with the Gülen movement, inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, calling on authorities to expose the real criminals behind the murder.

PM Erdoğan confesses to creating ‘super judges’ for anti-Hizmet plot

The PM Erdogan has been harshly criticized for his remarks by observers and legal experts, who agree the remarks have come as a clear indication that the prime minister is directly involved in a planned legal action against a civil society group — the Hizmet movement. According to the prime minister’s plans against Hizmet, it is already clear which court and judges will handle the legal case against the movement.

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

The state, AKP, Religious Affairs Directorate, Alevis and rights

Orange County’s Anatolian Festival: A Meeting of Worlds

Turkish PM admits did not know identity of putschists when he blamed Gülen movement

Conspiracy theory par excellence [against Gülen movement]

Erdoğan hampers girls’ education [by shutting down prep schools run by the Hizmet movement]

Hate Crime: Lists of “Gulen pupils” circulating in Amsterdam

Crackdown in Turkey passes the point of no return

Copyright 2024 Hizmet News