Gülen movement acted ‘courageously’ when gov’t-involved graft revealed, Altan says

Turkish novelist and journalist Ahmet Altan (Photo: Cihan, Turgut Engin)
Turkish novelist and journalist Ahmet Altan (Photo: Cihan, Turgut Engin)


Date posted: May 19, 2015

Ahmet Altan, the former editor-in-chief of the Taraf daily, has said that the Gülen movement acted “courageously” during the public revelations of the Dec. 17, 2013 corruption scandal that implicated several senior members of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government.

In a televised interview with journalist Ayşegül Doğan on the İMC TV station on Monday, Altan praised the Gülen movement — also known as the Hizmet movement and inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen — for its courageous and critical stance while the graft operations were being conducted. “The AKP would not take such a stand in a similar situation,” Altan said.

He further said that the accusations leveled against the movement claiming that it is a “parallel state” within the state — a term coined by then-prime minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in order to smear members of the movement over their alleged role in the biggest graft scandal in recent Turkish history — have no legal substance.

“It is said that the movement was aware of corruption within the government for years but remained silent. But with good reason, because that was necessary to eventually uncover it. I think that the movement took a very courageous stance during this period. There is no crime related to ‘parallel’ organizations under the law,” Altan added.

Source: Today's Zaman , March 31, 2015

Tags: | | |


Related News

To escape punishment, punish them all

The Turkish prime minister has decided that if he continues to be angry and vengeful, his power will be cemented. In his latest address in Parliament, he pushed his angry discourse to higher — or lower — levels, to make clear that he will not forgive and he will punish. Since he has chosen the Hizmet movement as the enemy, all he wants to do is inflict harm, regardless of on who or what.

East Indian Activist Supports Inter-cultural Dialog and Gulen Movement

Swami Agnivesh, 72, a Hindu social activist best known for his work against bonded labor said on a recent visit to Istanbul that he believed in intercultural dialog and Fethullah Gulen’s liberal ideas. Agnives said he was impressed with the Fethullah Gulen Movement’s work to find fellowship between cultures. Agnives came to know Fethullah Gulen through the […]

Turkish minister’s leaked emails show pro-gov’t figure has eye on Gülen-linked dormitory

Leaked emails of Turkey’s energy minister and son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Berat Albayrak, have revealed plans by a pro-government figure to assume ownership of a dormitory in Kayseri province that used to be operated by the Gülen movement but was closed down by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.

Another Hizmet-affiliated school targeted by AK Party

The Antalya Metropolitan Municipality City Council decided on Tuesday to change the structural plan of a Hizmet-affiliated school that has been operating in the Muratpaşa district of Antalya since 1996, canceling its registration and paving the way for the destruction of the building that houses the school.

Lessons from Dec. 17: Who is parallel?

To prove whether the Gülen movement has a parallel structure , one has to establish that the investigations and wiretappings were not conducted within the scope of a legal investigation. If that is proven, one has to demonstrate that the police and prosecutors in charge of the investigations were receiving instructions not from the state but from sources within the movement. Both of these claims have to be proven with evidence.

Turkey After the July Coup Attempt – Alan Makovsky’s testimony before Committee on Foreign Affairs

The vastness and persistence of the purge of the civil service, arrests of journalists, and closure of media outlets—many seemingly having nothing whatsoever to do with the exiled Turkish preacher Fethullah Gülen or his Gülenist movement that the Turkish government blames for the coup attempt.

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

Editorial Opinion: Mistreating [Turkish] Teachers

Fethullah Gulen: Turkey’s Eroding Democracy (op-ed in NY Times)

Purge In Turkey Worries Kansas City Emigres

A perseverant Kurdish man at the Turkish school in Siberia

Dialogue Eurasia Institute Opens in Kazakhstan

U.N. rights chief questions due process in Turkey purges

Gülen movement can serve as bridge between Islamic and secular nations, intellectuals agree

Copyright 2025 Insightful Neighbor