Fethullah Gülen Urges Common Sense Against Provocations
Following an increase in terrorist attacks over the last couple of weeks, Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, known for his widely lauded messages of tolerance, intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding, issued a statement of condolence on Wednesday and cautioned people not to succumb to provocation in the face of brutal terrorism, which he said would serve the terrorists and their cohorts.
"What our nation should do is avoid being antagonized by those who use the saddening and ugly occurrences for their dirty purposes. Our nation should not support thoughts and movements that will cause us to lose our gains in the fields of human rights and democracy," he noted in the statement yesterday.
In the past five days, 17 Turkish citizens have lost their lives because of attacks by the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and a mine explosion. The deaths occurred in Hakkari, Elaziğ and İstanbul.
Terrorists attacked an army border unit in Hakkari's Şemdinli district early Saturday morning, killing nine soldiers and wounding 14 others. Two other soldiers from the backup force were later killed by a land mine in the area. A separate terrorist assault on a military outpost in the eastern province of Elaziğ on the same day killed one soldier and injured another. The latest incident came on Tuesday when a roadside bomb claimed the lives of five in İstanbul, increasing the total number of casualties to 17.
In his message, Fethullah Gülen stressed that those attacks were masterminded by "shady circles." He added that they will not accomplish their goals. "The news about the sons of our motherland who were martyred or wounded in the recent successive terrorist acts is scorching our hearts. I convey my condolences, first to the grieving families of our martyrs and the veterans, and then also to the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK] and other security forces as well as to all our people. These terrorist attacks are nothing but a renewal of the dirty tricks that were staged many times in the past, too. Terrorism that hurts the entire society actually aims to darken our future and to distance our country from democracy and human rights. Like they did in the past, the wicked circles engage in their bloody tricks every time our country takes a step to reach world standards in human rights, to become a developed democracy and to improve its rule of law," he stated.
'We cannot abandon democratic gains'
Fethullah Gülen went on to elaborate on the kind of response he prefers to be given to deadly terrorist attacks and the ensuing efforts to provoke the people.
"Though it is a reality that the dark incidents which recently took place are upsetting and concern all of us, it is a must that proposals for a solution to this problem be in a form that does not serve the interests of those who planned these dark incidents. Our people, who have been hurt by coups and emergency rule as much as they have been hurt by terrorism, will give the best response to the traitors with messages of common sense, friendship and brotherhood. What our nation should do is avoid being antagonized by those who use the saddening and ugly occurrences for their dirty purposes. Our nation should not support thoughts and movements that will cause us to lose our gains in the fields of human rights and democracy. We should take a common stance against terrorism without heeding political, religious or ethnic differences amongst us. We should present a picture of unity and togetherness, one that says we will not bow to wicked circles. What should be done is that we should contribute with common sense to the peaceful coexistence of our people in the atmosphere of unity and togetherness and to raise our democracy to the highest possible level," he wrote in the statement, adding that Turkey will get over these difficult days and usher in a brighter future.
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