Gulen says he is certain Erdogan behind failed Turkey coup


Date posted: September 29, 2016

Michelle Martin and Humeyra Pamuk

BERLIN (Reuters) U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkish authorities accuse of orchestrating a failed coup in July, told a German newspaper that he was sure President Tayyip Erdogan was behind the putsch.

Gulen said in an interview with the weekly Die Zeit that the military coup attempt betrayed the principles of the Turkish government and his global movement called “Hizmet.” He pointed to Erdogan’s comments that the July 15 putsch was a “gift from God” because it would allow the army to be cleansed.

Asked if he was suggesting that Erdogan was behind the coup, Gulen said: “Until now I only thought that was a possibility. Now I think it’s certain.”

Gulen said a Turkish officer had recently said that the chief of general staff and the intelligence chief met in the army headquarters during the night of the coup, adding: “They already knew everything that would happen later.”

Exactly how events unfolded on the night of the coup has yet to be fully uncovered but Erdogan has repeatedly complained of what he described as an intelligence failure, saying he found out about the putsch only from his brother-in-law.

Turkish officials have said an informant who came to Turkey’s national intelligence agency provided the tip-off on the coup. The head of the armed forces, along with several other senior commanders, were abducted by the putschists.

Gulen said the coup gave Erdogan the opportunity to dismiss thousands of perceived opponents in ministries, the military, police and judiciary authorities as well as to arrest lawyers, business people, journalists and wives of Gulen supporters, and added that this must have been planned in advance.

In the post-coup crackdown, some 100,000 people in the police, civil service, military and judiciary have been sacked or suspended. Another 40,000 people have been detained.

Turkish officials have said Ankara’s intelligence agency had already been trackingGulenfollowers well before the coup attempt and had identified many figures previously.

Gulen distanced himself from Erdogan, saying they had only met a few times before Erdogan became prime minister in 2003.

“Neither my friends nor I were close to Erdogan ourselves, even if that is being claimed,” he told Die Zeit.

The Hizmet movement once backed Erdogan because when he founded the AK Party he promised democracy and stronger human rights as well as to limit the military’s political power, Gulen said. But, he said, Erdogan broke his promises after the 2011 election.

Turkey wants the United States to extradite Gulen and prosecute him on charges he masterminded the attempt to overthrow the government. Gulen denies any involvement. Washington has said it is cooperating with Ankara on the matter and asked for patience as it processes the extradition request for Gulen to meet U.S. legal requirements.

Gulen also told Die Zeit he did not think the United States would extradite him to Turkey but said that if it did decide to hand him over, he would buy himself a ticket and fly there.

(Reporting by Michelle Martin in Berlin and Humeyra Pamuk in Istanbul)

Source: Religion News Service , September 29, 2016


Related News

Parents jailed over Gülen links not allowed see their children for 9 months

Parents of four Bedia Baş and Abdülkadir Baş, who were arrested on terrorism charges in the aftermath of a failed coup attempt in Turkey in 2016 due to their alleged links to the Gülen movement, were not allowed to see their children during the first nine months of their incarceration.

Students give International Turkish Olympiad a moving sendoff

İPEK ÜZÜM, İSTANBUL The 11th International Turkish Olympiad, a competition in which Turkish speakers from around the globe recite poetry, write essays and sing songs, wrapped up on Sunday with a ceremony at İstanbul’s Atatürk Olympic Stadium. Nearly 250,000 people attended the event. Students from 140 countries participated in this year’s 16-day Olympiad, fascinating local […]

The dominant assessment in NATO: Turkey’s President Erdoğan staged the coup himself

Senior NATO sources tell aldrimer.no that they believe Erdoğan staged the coup himself. However, they stress that there is no written NATO documentation for that claim, because it is simply too sensitive. That’s because all member nation’s have the right to access to all intelligence information gathered by the alliance.

AFSV Statement on Media and Business Crackdown

The Alliance for Shared Values denounces the politically-motivated raids on Koza Ipek holding group, publisher of opposition Bugun daily, as well as the arrest of two British journalists and their translator. These disgraceful actions by President Erdogan and his oligarchy are aimed at silencing independent media in preparation for upcoming November elections, and at deflecting criticism resulting from massive government corruption, nepotism and failure to accept election defeat.

Islamic scholar Gülen offers condolences to ferry victims

Prominent Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who also inspired the faith-based Hizmet movement, issued a message of condolence to the families of victims who were killed when a ferry sank off in South Korea, leaving more than 300 missing or dead.

Leaked emails reveal Erdoğan’s son-in-law’s team fabricated news against Gülen in US

An email included in Wikileaks’ Monday publication of the leaked emails of Berat Albayrak, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law and Turkey’s minister of energy, shows that Albayrak fabricated news with pro-government people in the United States in order to defame the Gülen movement in the US media.

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

Hizmet and the interfaith movement

Gülen’s lawyer files libel suit against Interior Minister Ala

American pastor jailed over Gülen links asks Trump to fight for his release

Turkish PM: State of emergency will continue until Gülen movement completely wiped out

Filipino ambassador hails Turkish schools

Nigerian President opens Turkish Hospital

Hizmet, Erdoğan and the US

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News