200 public servants sue PM over ‘parallel state’ statements

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (Photo: Today's Zaman, Mustafa Kirazlı)
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (Photo: Today's Zaman, Mustafa Kirazlı)


Date posted: May 16, 2014

 

ANKARA

Interior Minister Efkan Ala has stated that around 200 public servants so far have sued Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for his remarks on the alleged “parallel state” working to overthrow the government. Ala also claimed that these cases actually prove the existence of such a shadow state.

Ala’s reported remarks on the issue came during the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) camp-like meeting between its leadership and deputies in the province of Afyon earlier this month. At the meeting, he was questioned about the government’s actions against “the parallel state” and the “Cemaat,” referring to the followers of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who has been in voluntary exile in the United States for over a decade.

Ala told the camp that a “parallel structure within the state” had illegally eavesdropped on almost 600,000 individuals through operations by their members employed in the judiciary and the police.
The followers of the Gülen Movement are often referred to as the “Hizmet” (Service) Movement or the “Cemaat” (Community).

Since the opening of the huge graft probe in December, the term “parallel state” has been commonly used by critics to refer to the movement. The alleged “parallel state” is accused by Erdoğan of orchestrating the corruption scandal in order to unseat him, as the graft probe ensnared the sons of three former ministers and businesspeople known to be close to the government. The AKP responded with a huge counter-reaction, particularly in the judiciary and the police – where Gülen’s followers are believed to have been prominent – as it aimed to contain the damage.

According to Ala, since Dec. 17 some 200 cases have been opened against Erdoğan over his “parallel state” remarks.

“Most of those people who opened cases are employed in the judiciary and the police. When opening cases, they said they had been ‘offended and hurt’ due to the prime minister’s remarks. This means that they acknowledge being members of that structure. Why do they take it personally, when the prime minister does not even cite any names in his speeches? They have been confirming their membership of the organization in this way,” Ala was quoted as saying by sources at the meeting.

The AKP deputies who listened to Ala’s remarks arrived at the conclusion that the 200 people who sued Erdoğan would be investigated as part of a government’s steps against the “parallel structure,” the source added.

“The parallel structure has been eavesdropping since 2010 and has been collecting documents. We have confirmed that they conducted wiretapping in all 81 provinces of Turkey,” Ala also reportedly stated.

At the time, before the local elections took place on March 30, AKP Deputy Chair Mustafa Şentop had stated that an investigation against an illegal organization within the state was underway. However, during a press conference following a recent Cabinet meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç rejected that an official investigation into the “parallel state” was underway.

Source: Todays Zaman , May 16, 2014


Related News

US lawmaker says Gülen should not be extradited, calls his movement strongest element against radical Islamists

United States (US) Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, released a statement on Monday, saying that the US should turn down the Turkish president’s demand of the extradition of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen as he could not be part of a coup attempt, calling his movement “strongest element in his society opposing radical Islamist terrorism.”

Gülen files criminal complaint over illegal wiretapping

Illegal wiretapping has been an issue in Parliament as well, as opposition parties have asked for a parliamentary session to address wiretappings carried out by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT). Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) İstanbul deputy Ferit Mevlüt Aslanoğlu called for a parliamentary session to inform deputies about the technical details of wiretapping.

How come a 25 days old BABY could be a THREAT to the national security?

I was told that [Turkish Consulate] may issue a 3 months temporary passport which we can only use it to get back to Turkey. To ensure that they also labeled an extra note on the passport which says can only be used to return to Turkey.

When the masks have fallen

It seems that the judiciary will be forced to investigate the claims of a so-called illegal organization, and sham trials will be performed to intimidate the Hizmet movement and cover up the corruption claims that become public on Dec. 17, 2013, by taking tactics from the former Ergenekon supporters nested within the army, the bureaucracy, business circles, the media and the judiciary.

Gulen, Moderate Cleric, Vilified In Turkey

The Turkish government’s war on the Gulen movement has shown no signs of ebbing. Ankara is so determined to crack down on this loose network that its top security council framed it as a terrorist group last week.

Gulen turns coup accusations on Erdogan

Fethullah Gulen, the man blamed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of orchestrating the attempted military coup that rocked Turkey, has tried to turn the accusation against his political rival by suggesting that Mr Erdogan’s ruling AKP party had staged the uprising.

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

AK Party takes action to expel deputy who opposed closure of prep schools

Can Washington Ever Welcome a Nonviolent Muslim?

Nine decades later, Hizmet gives back to Karachi

Gülen’s lawyer asks MİT whether it wiretapped client’s phone

Arınç says Gülen’s offer to hand over prep schools ‘sacrifice’

Ayan: Halkbank operated like Iran’s Central Bank

Gülen urges patience over prep schools row

Copyright 2024 Hizmet News