Mastermind of failed Turkey coup should not be portrayed as naive

I refer to the commentary “Democracy on the rocks in Turkey” (July 21).

It was disappointing that Mr Fethullah Gulen, an imam and leader of a movement that undermines the Turkish state, who fled to the United States in 1999 to avoid persecution for his subversive activities, was portrayed in a naive, biased manner.

While he and his movement were praised, there was no mention of their anti-democratic dimensions or the illegal nature of his activities, which manifested in the most serious manner: The coup attempt aimed at taking control of the Turkish state.

Through the years, his movement has infiltrated into almost all the state institutions, with the intention of destabilising the state and creating a new religious political order in Turkey through their domestic and international activities.

Relevant Turkish authorities, including security forces, have been engaged in a wide-ranging fight, for some time now, against his illegal entity called the Parallel State Structure, also known as the Fethullah Terrorist Organisation.

Its latest and gravest action occurred on July 15, when a faction of the Turkish Armed Forces attempted to stage a coup in various Turkish cities, Ankara and Istanbul in particular.

That this was a terrorist campaign was soon understood. The perpetrators fired at their own people, betrayed their commanders and bombed the National Parliament and the Office of the Presidency.

From the beginning, the command chain and the vast majority of the Turkish Armed Forces stood up to the coup attempt. Only some elements of the Air Forces, Gendarmerie and armoured units joined the violent conspiracy.

Both the police and public prosecutors took immediate measures to foil the attempt. Above all, it was the Turkish nation that thwarted the plot. They displayed a historic solidarity as they took to the streets and remained defiant.

They stood bravely in front of tanks and reclaimed their democratic rights. Throughout the process, all the political parties and members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly stood by democracy, democratic politics, democratic institutions and the Constitution.

A joint declaration of the defence of democracy was issued during the General Assembly’s extraordinary meeting on July 16.

Ongoing investigations have unveiled proof that Mr Gulen’s organisation staged this coup attempt.

Turkey has requested his extradition from the US and has called upon its allies to take measures to prevent the activities of this group on their soil.