Fethullah Gulen Calls Crackdown ‘Dark Pages’ in History – Responses to World Affairs Council of Philadelphia
Date posted: September 16, 2016
Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen whom Turkey accuses of masterminding July’s abortive coup again condemned the Turkish government crackdown on his supporters, saying Thursday that his “heart is aching.”
In videotaped remarks to the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, Fethullah Gulen said the Turkish government is using the attempted coup to justify persecuting his followers, who he said are being “subjected to oppression and tyranny, molestation and unlawful acquisition of their private properties.”
In an effort to find a scapegoat for the colossal wrongdoings in government — including graft, money laundering, re-zoning land and influence peddling allegedly committed, according to the opposition, with the full knowledge and consent of Erdoğan — the Turkish prime minister has staged an unprecedented onslaught against Gülen with all kinds of name calling. He has accused Gülen of plotting a coup against his government without offering a single shred of evidence
Why the West ‘failed to understand’ Turkey
Erdoğan has exploited the presence of Gülen-inspired people in the state bureaucracy as a tool to silence all opposition and grasp yet more power. If the Gülen movement did not exist, the president would have needed to create another “enemy of the state” to fight against in order to reach his ultimate aim.
Second alleged disappearance in a week: Philosophy teacher goes missing
Only a day after an Ankara man was reportedly abducted, a philosophy teacher went missing on Apr 1, according to his wife. The 41-year-old lecturer, Onder Asan mysteriously disappeared on Apr 1, his wife Fatma Asan cried out on Twitter.
South African, Kenyan leaders show support for Turkish schools
South African President Jacob Zuma and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta have both expressed support for Turkish schools in their country, amid the Turkish government’s attempts to shut down Turkish schools located abroad that are affiliated with the Hizmet movement.
How does the Hizmet movement fare with democracy?
Ruling elites of this country, unfortunately, have targeted different groups at different times. Thus, religious people, Kurds, Alevis, nationalists (ülkücüs), leftists, non-Muslim minorities and democratic intellectuals have been in the bull’s eye for attacks from these elites. The Hizmet movement has always been a member of this list of plagued groups.
Turkey coup: Conspiracy theorists claim power grab attempt was faked by Erdogan
Social media users have compared the coup attempt in which more than 160 people are thought to have died to the Reichstag fire – the 1933 arson attack on the German parliament building which Hitler used as an excuse to suspend civil liberties and order mass arrests of his opponents.
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