Fethullah Gulen Calls Crackdown ‘Dark Pages’ in History – Responses to World Affairs Council of Philadelphia
Date posted: September 16, 2016
Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen whom Turkey accuses of masterminding July’s abortive coup again condemned the Turkish government crackdown on his supporters, saying Thursday that his “heart is aching.”
In videotaped remarks to the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, Fethullah Gulen said the Turkish government is using the attempted coup to justify persecuting his followers, who he said are being “subjected to oppression and tyranny, molestation and unlawful acquisition of their private properties.”
Last week’s military coup attempt in Turkey is likely to have a debilitating impact on Turkish democracy. Already, several thousand military officials and bureaucrats have been arrested. Even more perturbing, more than 2,000 judges were removed from their jobs.
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A 35-year-old man has been killed in Yalova province by a drug addict on the grounds that the victim was a follower of the faith-based Hizmet movement, against which the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has declared battle since last year, and because he was a critic of Erdoğan.
Post-coup Turkey sliding into terror regime: Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk
Prominent Turkish novelist and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in literature, Orhan Pamuk, has criticized the government’s large-scale crackdown in the aftermath of the failed July 15 coup, warning that Turkey is heading toward “a regime of terror.” “In Turkey, we are dramatically putting behind bars all those who struggle for freedom of expression, and criticize the government even slightly,” Pamuk said on Sunday.
School officials to sue the Turkish ambassador for defamation
In response to statements made by the Turkish ambassador to Cambodia on Monday, officials from the Zaman International School (ZIS) yesterday denied any links with terrorist organizations, saying the ambassador’s claims were unfounded and lacked evidence.
Row between Turkish government and Gulen Movement takes new twist
The row between Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and Fethullah Gulen’s Hizmet Movement, one of the most influential religious communities in the country, has taken an interesting twist after the revelation of a 2004 document. In 2004, the National Security Council proposed a clampdown on the Gulen movement (aka Hizmet), which suggested that harsh sanctions should be enforced on them.
Turkey’s Ongoing Crackdown: nearly 13,000 police officers suspended for alleged links to the Gulen movement
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suspended nearly 13,000 police officers over suspected links to Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based cleric Turkey says is responsible for the July 15 coup attempt. Erdogan’s critics believe he has used the coup as an opportunity to crack down on his political opposition. Erdogan was often accused of trying to silence critics.
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