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

Mongolian teacher Galimbek’s message

Because we have been unable to become a regular and normal democracy, every generation and every social segment has once been defined as a domestic enemy in different periods. One of the things that the clandestine structures governing the old Turkey did best was to declare part of the people as an internal enemy and to launch effective propaganda to undermine their image in the eyes of the people.

Kurdish initiative should not be suspended by provocative acts

TUĞBA MEZARARKALI/MEHMET TAYANÇ, BINGÖL The final declaration of a recent symposium on Turkey’s Kurdish issue, attended by Turkish and international academics, authors, politicians and leading thinkers, says that Kurdish initiatives aiming to resolve Turkey’s long-standing Kurdish problem by meeting some of the Kurdish people’s demands should not be suspended due to provocative acts. Organized by […]

Bank Asya lawyers call upon B Group shareholders to join against seizure

Publicly traded Islamic bank Bank Asya’s owners have launched 100 cases against the seizure by regulators, with lawyer Süleyman Taşbaş emphasizing that lawsuits can also be filed on behalf of the 18,000 shareholders corresponding to the B Group shares.

‘A movement like the Hizmet Movement is very important for correcting misconceptions of Islam’

Dr. Lawrence Geraty is a Professor of Archaeology and Old Testament Studies at La Sierra University in Riverside, California. He served as the second President of La Sierra University. He completed his PhD in Syro-Palestinian Archaeology at Harvard University.

Police raid business association in Malatya in new government-backed operation

Police teams entered and searched the premises of the Malatya Active Businessmen’s Association (MAKİAD) on Thursday in a new wave of government-led operations targeting institutions deemed to have an affiliation with the Gülen movement — a faith-based initiative inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

The latest step by AKP-Gov’t witch-hunt against Hizmet Movement

In Turkey, the increasing pressure over the freedom of press, property rights and authoritarianism have reached an alarming level. A recent report on the rule of law and respect for human rights inTurkey declared that Turkish government had been perpetrating systematic human rights violations since December 2013.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

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

In Case You Missed It

Cancer patient arrested over Gülen links deteriorates to stage 4 in one month

Turkey’s Erdogan Battles Country’s Most Powerful Religious Movement

Once, it was democracy that brought Erdogan and Gülen together

Businessman jailed over Gülen links dies of cancer after his belated release from prison

29-Year-Old Judge, A Victim Of Post-Coup Witch Hunt, Dies In Prison

Students from 70 countries share joy of graduating in İstanbul ceremony

Panel on Middle East perspectives held at Ishik University

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News