UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing on Gülen and the Hizmet Movement


Date posted: December 6, 2016

Foreign Affairs Committee Inquiry into UK’s relations with Turkey: hearing session on on Gülen and the Hizmet

The UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee is examining the bilateral relationship between the UK and Turkey, focusing on rights and freedoms as well as how Turkish foreign and security policies relate to those of the UK. The inquiry is ongoing. The Committee inquiry will cover topics such as the current state of UK-Turkey relations, and the FCO’s recent record in managing this relationship; the status in Turkey of the rights and values supported by the FCO, including freedom of speech and assembly, minority rights, and the status of democracy; Turkey’s aspirations to join the EU and how that is impacted by Brexit; Turkey’s foreign and security policies in the Middle East, and how these correspond with FCO policies in the region; Turkey’s policies towards different Kurdish groups, both with Turkey itself and the wider region; and Turkey’s role as a NATO partner to the UK, including its capabilities in the fight against ISIL. The Committee will also consider recent developments in Turkey such as the failed coup of July 2016 and the declaration of a state of emergency, which gives President Erdogan enhanced powers for an additional three months, which has implications for Turkey’s democracy and human rights. Since the Turkish government have sought to justify their crackdown on human rights and democracy on the pretext of eradicating the Fethullah Gülen-inspired Hizmet movement, the Committee invited participants of the Hizmet movement in the US and UK to address the allegations. The following hearing is the outcome of this invitation. Written evidence was also submitted to the Committee before this oral hearing and can be accessed here.

The hearing was held on Tuesday, 15 November 2016 and without the intermissions, lasted 1:07 hr. The witnesses were: Dr Yüksel Alp Aslandoğan, Executive Director, Alliance for Shared Values, and Mr Özcan Keleş, Chairman, Dialogue Society.

For the original source please click visit: Parliament Live Tv

Source: Youtube , December 1, 2016

Tags: | | | | | | |


Related News

Germany investigates possible anti-Gulen spies

German police have raided apartments of four men suspected of carrying out espionage on behalf of the Turkish government. The men, said to be clerics, are accused of spying on supporters of cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Gülen fine after being briefly hospitalized for arrhythmia

According to the statement made by herkul.org — a website that usually publishes Gülen’s speeches –, Fethullah Gülen was taken to hospital after suffering from heart rhythm abnormality, caused by sudden high blood pressure. After being taken home following medical observation, Gülen received a telephone call from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who expressed to him his best wishes.

Mysterious visitors to holdings

Reports of certain visitors paying “unexpected” visits to various Turkish holdings and company headquarters are currently being spread in economy circles. As these guests are connected or close in some way or other to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), their visits can hardly be perceived as routine. These influential people are not making their visits for a cup of coffee. They send a short and clear message to the chairman of the executive board or to the general director, asking them to make a statement criticizing the Hizmet movement.

Is the Hizmet movement resisting normalization?

Accusing the Hizmet movement, which insistently demands the fulfillment of the steps towards democratization which I referred to above and contributes to the process of change as evidenced by its stance in the referendum, of serving as a parallel structure indirectly means: “I will not change myself and introduce universal reforms. You have to live with this painful fact for the normalization of the country and take your steps accordingly.”

Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy On Assault on Press Freedom in Turkey Senate Floor

Mr. President, I have spoken many times on the Senate floor in defense of press freedom because it is a fundamental cornerstone of a democratic society. Today I want to briefly draw the Senate’s attention to the situation in Turkey, one of the many countries in the world where this basic right is under threat by officials in the government who seek to silence their critics.

AK Party Deputy Hakan Şükür resigns due to hostile moves against Hizmet movement

Hakan Şükür, a Turkish member of parliament and former international football player, quit Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling party on Monday in protest at a government plan to shut down prep schools, revealing underlying intra-party squabbles. İstanbul MP Şükür said he was personally offended by what he called “hostile moves” against the Hizmet movement led by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Fethullah Gulen and February 28th Military Coup

Arabs, Turks attempt to redefine Arab uprisings, political trajectories

Brussels, Paris and Berlin

Erdogan Changes Tactics On Attempt To Shut Turkish Schools

On front lines of fight for press freedom in Turkey

Hizmet Movement: Partners We Want

Amity School on The Wall Street Journal

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News