American reporters got an intriguing glimpse into the political mind-set in Turkey


Date posted: March 16, 2017

Gardiner Harris

ANKARA, Turkey — American reporters got an intriguing glimpse into the political mind-set in Turkey last week, when the mayor of Ankara lured a group of us with promises of an interview with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

When it became clear that that was never part of the plan, interviews were arranged at the last minute with several senior officials, who tried hard to present Turkey’s version of events to the world — and seemed flummoxed about why that message hasn’t been making an impact and why misleading a group of reporters might not be the best way to improve things.

There was near-disbelief that Western governments and the news media would interpret Mr. Erdogan’s constitutional referendum in April seeking greater powers as anything other than a necessary response to a traumatic assault on democracy from a failed coup last July.


Turkish leaders said they were astonished that they had so far been unsuccessful in persuading the United States Justice Department to even ask a federal judge to extradite Fethullah Gulen. The Turkish government said it had provided the United States with extensive proof against Mr. Gulen, who has denied involvement. But Turkish officials refused in several interviews to publicize a single piece of that evidence.


A faction of the Turkish military used tanks, fighter jets and helicopter gunships to attack government buildings in Ankara, the capital, including the Turkish Parliament and presidential palace, killing scores of people and injuring thousands.

The government’s expanded powers after the failed coup have included mass arrests and a wide-ranging purge of academia, the news media and civil society.

Turkish leaders said they were astonished that they had so far been unsuccessful in persuading the United States Justice Department to even ask a federal judge to extradite Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric living in Pennsylvania whom the Turkish government blames for plotting the coup.

The attempt by the mayor, Ibrahim Melih Gokcek, to reduce the yawning gap between Turkey and its Western allies by luring journalists to Ankara only seemed to widen it.

It didn’t help that Mr. Gokcek delivered a blistering anti-Semitic and anti-American harangue about the trauma of the coup attempt and Western prejudice against Turkey. (He also accused the United States and Israel of causing Turkey’s most devastating earthquakes.)

…..

In the end, the trip was not a total waste of time. At the last minute, interviews were arranged with Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag and Ibrahim Kalin, a top assistant to Mr. Erdogan. Nearly all the officials said they had only just heard about the interview requests (Mr. Gokcek’s staff had insisted for weeks that the interviews had long been confirmed).

…..

Officials pointed to France’s imposition of a state of emergency after the Paris terrorist attacks in 2015 as a response that Europeans seem to accept, in contrast to criticism of Turkey’s response to the coup attempt. Yet France has not arrested tens of thousands of people or purged 100,000 from its civil service.

Regarding the failed coup, the government said it had provided the United States with extensive proof against Mr. Gulen, who has denied involvement. But Turkish officials refused in several interviews to publicize a single piece of that evidence.

“According to us, the evidence we submitted to the United States shows that it’s crystal clear that Fethullah Gulen is behind that coup attempt,” said Mr. Bozdag, the justice minister, who submitted the evidence to Washington.

That anyone, especially a longtime ally, would doubt such a claim has struck Turks as astonishing, Mr. Bozdag said.

….

And then there was Mr. Gokcek, who said that he believed that the Islamic State was created by the United States. As proof, he offered President Trump’s assertion that former President Barack Obama had founded the group as well as the observation that the Islamic State had never attacked Israel, which it would have done, he said, if it were truly an Islamic organization.

We left Ankara and Istanbul having never seen Mr. Erdogan. The day after we landed back in Washington, some of us received an emailed invitation to join another media delegation to Turkey in April to interview him.

“We will organize meetings and interviews with President Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and/or Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu,” the invitation again promised.

Source: New York Times , March 13, 2017


Related News

Iranian gold stars in Turkish corruption scandal

It is difficult to predict how the bribery/corruption investigation into several Turkish ministers will end. Although there are those who frame the event as a power struggle between the Fethullah Gulen movement and the government, conspiracy theories expand its dimensions to include the United States and Iran. The government is looking for US and Israeli hands in the operation because of the use of Halkbank to circumvent the sanctions imposed on Iran.

Gulen Slams Turkey Crackdown Before Erdogan Demands Extradition

The exiled cleric accused by Turkey of orchestrating last year’s attempted coup charged President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with seeking to silence critics, as the Turkish leader prepared to push for the preacher’s extradition in a White House meeting with Donald Trump.

Under arrest for months, 62-year-old teacher dies of cancer in prison

Arrested for raising donations on behalf of a Gülen movement-linked charity, 62-year-old religion and ethics teacher Hüseyin Pembe passed away after his battle with cancer in prison on June 1.

An AKP-neo-nationalist axis?

Emre Uslu, 14 March 2012 Turkey’s foremost thinker, Etyen Mahçupyan, in the Zaman daily, underlined an interesting rapprochement between the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and the neo-nationalist (Ulusalcı) camp in Turkey. Mahçupyan listed a number of indicators to provide evidence for his argument. Indeed, the indicators he gives are worrisome and show possible […]

First “Families Meeting” series concludes with a spectacular night

The first series of “Families Meeting” project, intended to bring together the members of diverse cultures, faiths and ethnicities and let them get to know each other, by Intercultural Dialogue Platform (KADIP) in cooperation with Foundation of Solidarity (DIDADER), came to an end with a final gathering at Syriac Catholic Church. Following the president of […]

Cops vs. robbers [in Turkey]

The high-profile officials — whose involvement in bribery and corruption have been disclosed with much media coverage — and those who protect and abet them do not care about how they will be remembered by future generations. They do not feel ashamed about the positions they adopt, and they shamelessly proceed to give the impression of siding with “robbers” in the cops vs. robbers confrontation.

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

‘Portraying Hizmet against settlement process groundless’

Arrested journalist: I am on guard duty for democracy

The hype about the Gülen Movement

Bulgarians Outraged at Deportation of Gulen Supporter to Turkey

GYV President Yeşil decodes the Gülen movement

Education in Mother Tongue: Eventual Solution to the Problem

Gulistan schools in Kosovo to continue education despite its abducted teachers

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News