It is useful to make a point here: Is it not true that some civil servants and officers, including prosecutors, judges, police officers, district governors and governors, are members of the Gülen movement? Of course it’s true. But is that a crime? No, it is not. People cannot be blamed for their beliefs, thoughts, identities or colors. They cannot be discriminated against because of such characteristics.
The voice recordings of four phone calls made to Fethullah Gülen were posted on the Internet at midnight on Monday. As you know, Gülen lives in the US. Those who phoned him are some executives from institutions established and run by the people who are inspired by the Hizmet movement in Turkey. The calls do not have any incriminating content. Rather, one of these unlawfully wiretapped recordings exposes how the Hizmet movement was targeted in a conspiracy by circles close to the government.
Erdoğan and his supporters have cast the corruption probe as a smear campaign devised by Gülen, who exercises broad, if covert, influence in the media and judiciary through his followers. In response, the government has staged an unprecedented purge of the police forces and has moved to increase its control over the judiciary. Yeşil said that all these allegations were unfounded.
The Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), whose honorary chairman is Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, has categorically rejected accusations that it is linked to the corruption and bribery investigation that has rocked Turkey for nearly a month, urging everyone to avoid language that only deepens the “dangerous polarization” in the country.
The core matter is neither a power struggle between the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and the Hizmet movement or a so-called imaginary “parallel state,” claim propagated in reference to the natural presence of sympathizers of the Hizmet movement in the public sector. Despite all attempts at diversion and distraction, what we should always keep in mind in our discussions is the charges of corruption, graft and unfair revenues.
The clampdown on the Bank Asya first started with a defamation campaign run by pro-government media outlets and was later followed by a claim by Interior Minister Efkan Ala, who asserted that the bank had made extraordinary profits on the foreign currency market. All these allegations were refuted by the bank, which published their currency transactions; the central bank has confirmed that there has been no wrongdoing by the bank.
The Supreme Court of Appeals has asked a senior Justice and Development Party (AK Party) official to hand over any evidence regarding his allegations about US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen amid claims by the official that a judge at the high court had acted contrary to legal procedures and contacted Gülen before issuing his final verdict in a case against a businessman several years ago.
It is unfair to accuse a movement whose only goal is to win hearts of seizing the state through bureaucracy. It destroys the world of the Anatolian people who are now holding hopes that they would be able to deal with their fate in the world. The goal and purpose of the Hizmet movement is not to create a parallel structure; its goal is to establish parallel hearts and a universal chorus of peace.
Just to prevent the graft probe…They [AK Party] declined the honor of ending the military tutelage system and also declared the procedures used to achieve this triumph to be “unlawful.” Since they sacrificed the most important victory of their eleven-year rule, we can easily say the following: My friends, this must be one hell of a shoebox!
Professor Büşra Ersanlı, who is among suspects in an investigation into the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) on terrorism charges, has said she doesn’t believe claims raised by some officials linked with government that the faith-based Hizmet Movement led by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen is behind major trials.
A claim made this past weekend by Hüseyin Gülerce, a senior columnist for the Zaman daily, affiliated with the Gülen (Hizmet) movement, increased tensions in Ankara when he suggested that a major operation will be carried out by the government against the Gülen movement, which it believes to be behind the graft investigation.