Yilmaz on Gülen Controversy: Is this a Plot?
Turkey has been rocked by the Gülen controversy over the past few days. A secret recording distributed to the press by unidentified sources revealed Gülen asking his followers to keep a low profile in the state system, hinting that he wanted them to infiltrate the state apparatus and when the time came, stage an Islamic takeover.
Many politicians including Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and President Suleyman Demirel regard Gülen as a moderate Muslim who can be a real antidote to the Islamist activists.
Yilmaz, speaking to Motherland Party (ANAP) deputies, said he has suspicions that the Gülen recordings were leaked to the media by a state organization. Yilmaz drew attention to the fact of the timing of the leaks and said if a state organization is trying to set a trap for someone, this is unacceptable.
He said the state cannot set up such traps, and if its sees any wrongdoing, it has to prosecute the suspects. Yilmaz stressed that if a state organization has recordings which might prove that a crime was committed, it cannot sit on the evidence and leak it at an appropriate time. "This would cast a shadow on the seriousness and effectiveness of the state," he warned, adding, "This would create a very serious situation in Turkey."
There are currently press claims that a former military unit which was charged with monitoring fundamentalists in Turkey may have leaked the recordings to the media.
There are repeated claims that both Yilmaz and Ecevit turned a blind eye to repeated military warnings that Gülen and his followers pose a danger to the secularist system.
Yilmaz said the Motherland will always defend the secularist regime but is against exaggerations and disinformation.
He said if the Gülen recordings prove that the Islamic preacher has committed a crime by challenging the secularist system, then he should be punished. But Yilmaz stressed that everyone should approach the issue with a cool head and stop exploiting the current confusion.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit told reporters while leaving the Prime Ministry building that he has a very clear record about his fight against fundamentalism and religious activism in Turkey and recalled how he came under fire for his outburst on the Parliament floor when he opposed Virtue Party (FP) Deputy Merve Kavakci taking the oath while wearing a headscarf.
On Monday night, Ecevit said in a TV interview that he is not satisfied that Gülen is a fundamentalist.
Meanwhile, main opposition leader Recai Kutan told his own deputies in Parliament on Tuesday that the attack against Gülen is not only targeting the preacher but all the moderate devout Muslims in Turkey.
Kutan said Gülen is facing a plot aimed at extrajudicial execution. "Some newspapers are trying to put Gülen and terrorist leader Abdullah Ocalan in the same basket and have them both executed. This is outrageous and unacceptable." 06.23.1999
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