Gülenist figures make allusive coup remarks after coalition talks end
Following the rise in the possibility of early elections after the third and final round of coalition talks between the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Republican People's Party (CHP) yielded no results, Gülen Movement-affiliated figures commented on the issue, making allusions to coup attempts as a "solution."
On her Twitter account, Sevgi Akarçeşme, a columnist with Gülen Movement-affiliated Zaman and Today's Zaman newspapers, posted a tweet on Thursday that said: "Thanks AKP for proving the argument that Islamists come with elections but do not go with elections!" Bekir Çınar, a Gülen Movement-affiliated academic, responded to her, saying: "The AKP leaves power either by streets or military intervention."
The Gülen Movement is seen as a threat to national security by the government, as it is accused of infiltrating top state institutions, including the police and judiciary, and wiretapping thousands of people including senior officials, journalists, actors, nongovernmental organization heads and others.
A purported coup attempt was witnessed on Dec. 17 and Dec. 25, 2013 when an anti-graft probes targeted a number of high-profile figures, including the sons of three then government ministers and leading businessmen constructed by the alleged group of Turkish bureaucrats and senior officials embedded in the country's institutions.
Previously in May, former Zaman daily columnist and senior figure of the Gülen Movement, Hüseyin Gülerce said the Dec. 17 and Dec. 25 operations were "an all-out attack," and added that he tried to stop Gülenists from conducting the operation. "[The Dec. 17 and Dec. 25 operations] were never bribery and corruption investigations for me. It was the third step after the Feb. 7 MİT [National Intelligence Organization] crisis and Gezi Park protests. I have a clear conscience about that," Gülerce said.
He also added that the Feb. 7 operation, in which Gülenist prosecutors attempted to detain MİT head Hakan Fidan after accusing him of collaborating with the PKK, was "the declaration of war."
Following the Dec. 17 and Dec. 25 operations, dozens of journalists left Gülen Movement-affiliated media outlets, including Armenian-Turkish journalists and intellectuals such as Etyen Mahçupyan and Markar Esayan.
Fethullah Gülen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the U.S., is accused of leading a criminal organization and officials have claimed that sufficient evidence has been discovered to prove his alleged crimes. The movement has been under scrutiny in numerous countries including Russia, Azerbaijan, the U.S., Germany and others.
On her Twitter account, Sevgi Akarçeşme, a columnist with Gülen Movement-affiliated Zaman and Today's Zaman newspapers, posted a tweet on Thursday that said: "Thanks AKP for proving the argument that Islamists come with elections but do not go with elections!" Bekir Çınar, a Gülen Movement-affiliated academic, responded to her, saying: "The AKP leaves power either by streets or military intervention."
The Gülen Movement is seen as a threat to national security by the government, as it is accused of infiltrating top state institutions, including the police and judiciary, and wiretapping thousands of people including senior officials, journalists, actors, nongovernmental organization heads and others.
A purported coup attempt was witnessed on Dec. 17 and Dec. 25, 2013 when an anti-graft probes targeted a number of high-profile figures, including the sons of three then government ministers and leading businessmen constructed by the alleged group of Turkish bureaucrats and senior officials embedded in the country's institutions.
Previously in May, former Zaman daily columnist and senior figure of the Gülen Movement, Hüseyin Gülerce said the Dec. 17 and Dec. 25 operations were "an all-out attack," and added that he tried to stop Gülenists from conducting the operation. "[The Dec. 17 and Dec. 25 operations] were never bribery and corruption investigations for me. It was the third step after the Feb. 7 MİT [National Intelligence Organization] crisis and Gezi Park protests. I have a clear conscience about that," Gülerce said.
He also added that the Feb. 7 operation, in which Gülenist prosecutors attempted to detain MİT head Hakan Fidan after accusing him of collaborating with the PKK, was "the declaration of war."
Following the Dec. 17 and Dec. 25 operations, dozens of journalists left Gülen Movement-affiliated media outlets, including Armenian-Turkish journalists and intellectuals such as Etyen Mahçupyan and Markar Esayan.
Fethullah Gülen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the U.S., is accused of leading a criminal organization and officials have claimed that sufficient evidence has been discovered to prove his alleged crimes. The movement has been under scrutiny in numerous countries including Russia, Azerbaijan, the U.S., Germany and others.