Five pilots who bombed coup base on July 15 arrested over Gulen links
Date posted: July 18, 2017
Five pilots who bombed the Akincilar Air Base in Ankara to halt the coup attempt on the night of July 15, 2016, were later arrested as part of an investigation into the Gulen movement, which the government accuses of masterminding the takeover attempt, a former military officer said.
Ahmet Zeki Ucok, a retired military prosecutor told CNN Turk TV channel on Saturday that the five pilots who bombed the Akincilar Air Base, the alleged headquarters of the coup attempt at 4.30 in the morning, have been arrested on accusation of membership to the movement.
Earlier, Ekrem Türk, a 34-year old police officer who fought to prevent the advance of army tanks in Turkish capital on July 15, 2016 was also rounded up over Gulen links.
Canadian Globe Editorial- It just gets worse in Turkey
We can reasonably hope that there won’t be any large-scale bloody purges, Stalin-style. But Turkey is likely to grow further away from Europe. The convenient travel visas to the rest of Europe, which many Turks have hoped for, may be a long time away.
Deviation, crisis and opportunities…
The recent crisis going on between the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and the Hizmet movement is indeed not just a struggle between the two actors. It means much more than that. This fight represents a struggle between democracy and autocracy, freedom and oppression and a harmonious society and a polarized society.
Silencing Taraf daily
The liberal Taraf daily, where I write a column, is one of the few independent newspapers in this country. Those who don’t know the Turkish media well need to know that media outlets are largely owned by private holdings which have close ties to the government. Thus, Turkish newspapers need to consider whether their reporting would harm their bosses’ business connections with the government.
Gulen says he is certain Erdogan behind failed Turkey coup
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.”
What lies beneath the prep-school row between AK Party and the Hizmet
It is an open secret that Erdoğan is not targeting the prep schools, but the Hizmet movement that is inspired by the Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. People and companies that are sympathetic to the movement operate the majority of Turkey’s prep schools. Like the rest of the educational institutions affiliated with the movement, they are the most academically successful, sending students with outstanding scores to the best schools each year.
Turkish PM Erdoğan’s imagined enemies
Turkey is no longer the old Turkey. The affluent middle class, the young population and stronger civil society organizations, strengthened by the digital revolution with such tools as social media and Internet portals, will resist any attempts to turn the clock backwards on the development of Turkish democracy. People will simply ask why Prime Minister Erdoğan is not going after his people who have been sleeping with the enemy next door if he is really sincere in addressing external threats to this great nation.
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