Failed 2016 coup was gov’t plot to purge Gülenists from state bodies, journalist claims


Date posted: July 16, 2021

Veteran Turkish journalist Can Ataklı claimed on the fifth anniversary of a coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016 that it was planned by the Turkish government in order to pave the way for removing tens of thousands of civil servants from their jobs over alleged links to the Gülen movement.

Immediately after July 15, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) government pinned the blame on the Gülen movement, inspired by Muslim preacher Fethullah Gülen, labeling the group as a terrorist organization.

Calling the coup attempt “a gift from God” Erdoğan initiated a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.

“They created a situation [suitable] to expel the movement’s members from public institutions. … They thought they could fake a coup,” Ataklı said in a video published on his YouTube channel on Thursday, adding that then-chief of general staff and current Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and National Intelligence Organization (MİT) head Hakan Fidan were also involved in the plot.

Akar and Fidan are among the key state actors who haven’t been asked to appear before a parliamentary commission that heard many retired generals, former ministers and mayors.

“July 15 was a terrifying incident. We still haven’t solved the mystery behind it. However, I can easily say it wasn’t a coup. … We must examine the results of such occurrences. Who benefited from it? They played [with us] under the pretext of a [fake] coup, and the government, one person [Erdoğan] profited handsomely from this, taking over the whole country,” Ataklı said.

“They declared a [state of emergency] four days after [the coup attempt]. Some 150,000 [Gülen] movement members were fired from jobs [by way of emergence decrees]. Now you decide who benefited from all this,” the journalist said, referring to Erdoğan and the AKP government.

“There’s no such a thing as FETÖ. They [AKP] made it up. Let’s not deceive ourselves or the people; it [the Gülen movement] isn’t a terrorist organization. They [the AKP] still scare people by saying they are,” Ataklı argued, using the derogatory term coined by the Turkish government to refer to the faith-based movement as a terrorist organization.

“We haven’t been able to speak out about this for five years. They intimidated us. They intimidated the opposition,” the journalist said, criticizing the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) for embracing the government narrative of July 15.

Having worked for major news outlets in Turkey as an outspoken government critic, Ataklı now writes columns for the anti-government Korkusuz (Fearless) daily.

Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement since the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013, which implicated then-Prime Minister Erdoğan, his family members, and his inner circle.

Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following an abortive putsch in 2016.

According to the latest official data, 622,646 people have been investigated and 301,932 have been detained, while 96,000 others have been jailed due to alleged links to the Gülen movement since the failed coup.

In addition to the thousands who were jailed, scores of other Gülen movement followers had to flee Turkey to avoid the government crackdown.

Source: Turkish Minute , July 16, 2021


Related News

Erdogan’s corruption defense falls flat

Denying the corruption accusations that brought his party under a disconcerting spotlight, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been lamenting press attempts to “throw the mud and see if it sticks.” He indirectly accused the judiciary of being taken over by the Fethullah Gulen religious movement, as well as acting as a subcontractor to foreign powers who, out of envy for Turkey’s political and economic success, manufactured this corruption plot to finish him off just as they tried to do at the Gezi Park protests in June.

Police raid prominent journalists’ foundation GYV in Turkey

GYV’s members strongly protested the police measure. Underlining that the raid violated standard protocol, high-ranking GYV official Recep Usta expressed; “the protocol states that VGM technical teams can come to the building and conduct examinations; and should they find any violation, a period of a month is granted to us [to fix any issues].

US law professor: Erdoğan’s talk of Gülen extradition ‘foolishness’

Jim Harrington, a US human rights attorney and University of Texas professor, has said that any talk of asking the United States to extradite Turkish-Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen to Turkey is “foolish, absurd and self-serving.”

Is Hizmet being subjected to genocide?

Indeed, the word genocide brings to our minds mass killings and relocations of members of a race, usually under war-like conditions. Yet, genocide is not a war crime. It is not a type of crime committed against a specific race. Rather, it has wider connotations. This crime may be committed against a specific group, without massacring them and in a peaceful setting.

Financial Times: Turkey’s crackdown on dissent has gone too far

More troubling is evidence emerging that his government is now using the attempted coup as a pretext to round up all manner of troublesome opponents, not just the Gulenists. It is also damaging the fabric of Turkish society and undermining its institutions, including the security forces. That is a dangerous move in a country whose immune system is already weakened by jihadism and which is battling armed opponents on several fronts.

MHP deputy dismissed gang allegations against Hizmet Movement

“[Hizmet Movement] is very transparent under the surveillance of the government. You would go a great wrong if you accuse [Gülen] as a gang affiliated person without any verdict of conviction by a prosecutor,” stated Yılmaz.

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

Kimse Yok Mu holds iftar dinner for Bosnian orphans

Turkey requests extradition of Fethullah Gülen but not for coup attempt, says US

Abant Platform on Africa to convene on Friday

Who is escalating tensions?

Fethullah Gulen says will return to Turkey if US backs extradition

Pillar of Society or Threat to Democracy?

Reflections on my first trip to TÜRKIYE

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News