Turkey warns Kyrgyzstan over 'Gülen coup' risk


Turkey on Thursday warned the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan over the risk of a coup by followers of the Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ) and claimed that the organization had infiltrated every state institution in the country.

"In Kyrgyzstan, for example, there could be an attempt to launch a coup," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavuşoğlu told CNN Türk television. "If there is a coup in Kyrgyzstan, then it will be carried out by the FETÖ," he said. "They have infiltrated all institutions. Kyrgyzstan is our brother nation. We need to immediately share our intelligence with them," he added.

Kyrgyzstan has seen two revolutions and several bouts of bloodletting in recent years.

FETÖ leader Fethullah Gülen is accused of building influence through a vast network of private education establishments in Turkey as well as Africa and Central Asia.

Having formed a broad network of schools, nongovernmental organizations and businesses, Gülenists covertly infiltrated public offices to overthrow the democratically elected government in Turkey, according to Çavuşoğlu.

At least 246 people were martyred and thousands of others wounded when rogue elements of the Turkish military tried to overthrow the country's democratically elected government on July 15.

"The statements of those arrested and information from multiple agencies prove that this terrorist coup attempt was staged by the Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organization," Çavuşoğlu wrote in an article published by Al-Jazeera early Tuesday.

"For more than 30 years, Fethullah Gülen has encouraged his followers to infiltrate the military and judiciary in Turkey," he said.

Meanwhile, Indonesia has joined the list of countries asked by Turkish authorities to clamp down on Gülenist-linked organizations within its borders. The Turkish Foreign Ministry request follows similar reported appeals to Cambodia, Thailand and Japan.