MUNAWWAR HOSSAIN chronicles how a section of Turkish army associated with FETO made a coup attempt and how the brave citizens of the country resisted it.
A group within the Turkish army associated with Fethullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) headed by Fethullah Gulen, currently residing in the U.S. State of Pennsylvania, attempted a coup in Turkey on July 15. The coup attempt, which claimed the lives of 240 people so far, failed thanks to the exemplary resistance of Turkish nation together with other state institutions.
WHAT IS FETO?
The Gulen cult, referred to as FETO, is being directed by primary school graduate Fethullah Gulen who is believed to be a messiah by his followers. This cult emerged in 1970s as a movement providing education services. FETO promotes itself as a provider of education and its members, governed by a strong infrastructure, introduce themselves abroad as volunteers of education and peace. Yet, when we look at their organisation, they conceal their real identities and settle into the critical state institutions like the army, judiciary, security and intelligence units and bureaucracy with a variety of identities (leftist, rightist, liberal, pious, etc.). This situation reveals the actual objective of the organisation, which presents itself as the Hizmet Movement in the countries it operates.
WHAT IS ITS OBJECTIVE?
It infiltrates into strategic institutions by seemingly functioning as a school, education/culture centre, professional organisation or NGO – with the objective of seizing control of state institutions. Under their deviant religious ideology, they consider everything legitimate to engage in all sorts of self-defensive deception, conspiracy, trap and illegal activities to achieve their ends. Their ends justify means. They want to redesign the world according to beliefs and thoughts of their so-called “World Imam”. With years of confidential training and dissuasion activities, they have gained a high level of professionalism beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. Its members operate with a radical “devotion” and see themselves as “chosen ones”, they switch identities and commit all types of illegal acts including murder if it is needed.
WHAT HAS IT DONE SO FAR?
Particularly in the last 10 years, their judges, prosecutors and security officers, serving a hidden objective, have sentenced countless soldiers, police, bureaucrats, journalists, academicians and authors to penalise servitude with the objective of seizing control of all state authorities.
Considering itself strong enough to overtake the system, FETO made its first coup attempt in February 2012, justifying this attempt with National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) Chief Hakan Fidan’s tasks aimed at resolving the Kurdish issue. The second coup attempt was made on 17-25 December 2013 when it attempted to put members of the government under arrest on the basis of fake corruption allegations. FETO presents itself as a pro-peace religious movement and abuses the concepts of tolerance and dialogue. Yet it actually engages in illegal activities by settling into security, judiciary and intelligence institutions of the state.
WHAT HAPPENED ON 15 JULY?
On July 15, 2016, the FETO, nesting within the army, attempted a new coup with armed equipment such as fighter jets, tanks and helicopters. Tanks ploughed over the citizens on the streets protesting the coup. FETO bombed the Presidential Palace, National Assembly, police and public buildings. It attempted to assassinate President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The people in the streets resisted the coup in Ankara and Istanbul. The coup attempt failed due to the resistance of the citizens together with other state institutions. During the coup attempt, 173 civilians, 62 policemen and 5 soldiers lost their lives while 1491 people were rendered injured.
Had the coup attempt been successful, thousands of innocent people would have lost their lives, democracy and freedom would have been abolished and a military dictatorship in line with the deviant religious views of Fethullah Gulen would have been established. This brutal coup attempt has been strongly opposed by all segments of society with different views from political parties, trade unions, civil society organisations to the media and the business world. At this point, the bloody coup has been repressed, and government agencies have largely returned to their normal operations.
IS FETO A THREAT TO TURKEY ONLY?
As seen in the recent coup attempt, FETO that wishes to establish a military dictatorship based on a deviant religious ideology accepts no limits, principles or rules to achieve their ends. In the attempt of July 15, the attacks were directly aimed at killing unarmed innocent people. It organises in strategic fields with which it should not be concerned in any way as an NGO/movement that voices concepts such as dialogue and peace. Based on many years of training and techniques they received, they are very well on hiding their identities and deceiving others and they deny everything they do. Due to their deviant religious understanding, hidden agenda and use of every means to achieve their goal, this organisation is a threat to all governments and humanity in the countries they operate, not just to Turkey.
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?
The entire humankind should put up a joint fight against organisations like FETO, ISIS and Boko Haram, which interpret religion according to their own deviant belief. We will never forget the support given to the noble resistance of our nation by our citizens abroad, our kin, our relatives and all those international organisations and people who respect democracy, national will, human rights and freedoms.
We, hereby, condemn once again this inhumane bloody coup attempt, wish God to have mercy on our martyred civilians, policemen and soldiers, and wish the wounded a speedy recovery.
[The writer is In-charge Asia Desk, IHH-Humanitarian Relief Foundation, Istanbul, Turkey]