Purges at Turkish Airlines continue after PM’s ‘witch hunt’ remarks


Date posted: June 7, 2014

ISTANBUL

Mehmet Yılmaz, head of Turkish Airlines’ (THY) line maintenance department, was demoted to a lower position, according to Turkish news outlets on Friday.

Yılmaz, who has worked for the company for 20 years, is among a group of high-level THY employees who have been reassigned in recent months, most of whom were graduates from Fatih University, an institution linked to the Hizmet movement, inspired by US-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

The reassignments, in conjunction with a recent statement made by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have generated the perception that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is targeting members of the Hizmet movement. “If reassigning individuals who betray this country is called a witch-hunt, then yes, we will carry out a witch-hunt,” said Prime Minister Erdoğan last month.

Following the corruption allegations that went public on Dec. 17 and resulted in the resignation of four AK Party Cabinet members, thousands of police and hundreds of members of the judiciary were purged or reassigned to different posts, in an attempt to cleanse the state apparatus of members of the Hizmet movement, which according to Prime Minister Erdoğan have formed a “parallel state” determined to unseat the government.

Kemal Babuşcu was removed from his post as strategy and business development manager of THY last month. Babuşcu was offered the position as general manager of the company’s catering service. Babuşcu, a Fatih University graduate and nephew of AK Party İstanbul branch head Aziz Babuşcu, posted a statement on Facebook saying he was transferred based on the claim that he was a member of the “parallel state.”

Turkish Airlines, the country’s flagship airline which is 49 percent state-owned, has repeatedly targeted individuals and media outlets critical of the government. In April, former AK Party deputy Muhammed Çetin claimed that he was “blacklisted” by the airline and on separate occasions was prevented from purchasing a ticket and asked to leave a flight that he had already boarded. Çetin resigned from the ruling party following the corruption probe.

Earlier this year, the airline completely ceased its dealings with Bank Asya, a Turkish bank affiliated with the Hizmet movement. Followers of the movement interpreted the decision as part of a move by the government to sink the bank. Around the same time, copies of newspapers such as Zaman, Taraf and Bugün, which are critical of the government, were removed from THY flights. Such decisions indicate that THY policy is under the firm grip of the government.

THY is the world’s fourth-largest airline based on number of destinations, serving over 200 airports worldwide. While the company’s overall sales rose in the first quarter of 2014, the airline posted a TL 226 million loss in profits during that period on a year-to-year basis.

Source: Cihan , June 7, 2014


Related News

Police chiefs removed in four provinces across Turkey

The purges are thought to be an attempt to remove those the government believes are members of the Hizmet movement from public sector jobs.

Gülen asked government to be more careful on the language they use: Deputy PM Arınç

Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen asked the Turkish government to be more careful in regional and international issues during his visit, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç said May 22 in an interview with public broadcaster TRT. Arınç had meeting with Gülen, who lives in a self-imposed exiled in Pennsylvania, on the sidelines of Prime Minister Recep […]

US prosecutor denies any links to Gülen, says never set foot in Turkey

Responding to allegations from Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who accused US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara of being a sympathizer of the faith-based Gülen movement, Bharara said he has just learned Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s name from Google and has never been to Turkey.

TUSKON warns against probing policemen under ‘shadow of politics’

The Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) said in a statement on Tuesday that the group is closely following the developments after the July 22 raid with “concern” and said it is disturbed of a possibility that the legal proceeding will continue with a number of illegal actions under the “shadow of politics.”

Turkish Olympiads and achieving peace

ORHAN OĞUZ GÜRBÜZ A utopia ushers in a new era. We explore and take courageous actions thanks to our dreams of what is possible. Turkish colleges around the world are sponsored by entrepreneurs who are members of a movement in Turkey that has made serious progress in creating this utopia. If you describe languages, religions, […]

Pro-Erdoğan journalist: Gülen followers should be kept in detention camps, given food tickets

Cemil Barlas, a staunch supporter of Tayyip Erdoğan and commentator for the pro-government A Haber TV, said during a program that followers of the Gülen movement, which the government accuses of being behind a failed coup on July 15, must be kept in detention camps and should be given food tickets.

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

Erdoğan gov’t abusing regulatory agencies to punish opponents

Prosecutor says he was blocked from investigating new graft probe

Erdoğan’s imaginary power struggles

Turkey’s war on the press

Another new mother detained in Turkey over Gülen links

GYV awards peace projects in İstanbul ceremony

The Turkish connection in India

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News