The Pennsylvania - based controversial imam Fethullah Gülen is the main source of unrest in the country and his extradition from the U.S. may be sought, said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Istanbul (Daily Sabah) - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appeared as a guest on a live talk show Thursday night to answer questions about some of the latest developments in Turkey, including the passage of new laws and how the Gülen Movement's involvement in establishing a parallel structure within the Turkish state will be addressed by the government.
Strictly rejecting the movement's claim that it is merely a religious organization, the prime minister claimed that the Gülen Movement is politically charged and referred to it as a "revenge team." "We have been victimized by our good intentions because we thought the movement also had pure intentions but apparently that was not the case," Erdoğan said. However, he also stated there are genuine and innocent people within the movement who fell prey to the movement's deceptive claims.
Underlining the importance of outing members of the Gülen Movement working in government bodies, Erdoğan stated that the government will continue to combat all clandestine movements. "There are no ifs and buts about cleaning parallel components off the Turkish state," Erdoğan stated as he blamed the Gülen Movement for spying on thousands of people using wiretaps.
He explained that in its current state, the Turkish judiciary is unable to make fair decisions because it was designed and staffed by agents of the movement, who allowed the wiretapping of thousands through the use of a case against defunct terror organization.
The prime minister said this is why the government chose reform the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), which, according to Erdoğan, will pave the way for penal sanctioning of crimes committed by the board including wiretapping, bugging and unlawful video surveillance.
Erdoğan highlighted the urgent need for a fair set of new regulations for Turkey's judiciary and warned that failure to take action will only allow the issue to fester. He went on to note that judicial expert reports have become a troublesome issue as they are mostly compiled by movement supporters, whose decisions can easily protect both them and other Gülenists. Illustrating the significance of a judiciary reform package, Erdoğan said the current state of the institution is a direct threat to national security and he has personally stopped communicating via secure phone lines as they are also wiretapped by the movement.
The prime minister said he called U.S. President Barack Obama and explicitly stated that the "source of the problem" resided in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, referring to Fethullah Gülen, and demanded that the U.S. government take necessary action in the same way Turkey cooperates when there are individuals posing direct risks to American national security. Erdoğan stated that the American president responded positively to his demands, confirming that he "got the message." On the other hand, Erdoğan noted that many followers of the movement have begun disengaging themselves as a result of the Dec. 17 operation when it was officially revealed that the movement had been actively involved in establishing a parallel structure within Turkey's state institutions.
He also spoke about the alliance between the Gülen Movement and the Republican People's Party (CHP) and it is the result of the party's desperate need for votes. CHP wrongly believes that such an alliance will enable the party to win the local election in Istanbul and Ankara, Erdoğan said.
In response to a question about his refusal to meet Mustafa Koç, a prominent Turkish businessman, Erdoğan said Mr. Koç asked Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani to be a mediator and arrange a meeting with the prime minister. At the meeting, they mainly talked about investments in Kocaeli Yeniköy. He added that he would not agree to meet with another prominent businessman Aydın Doğan, because he owns media conglomerates that have predominantly anti-government policies, and which the prime minister has accused of working as an affiliate media organ of the Gülen Movement.
With regard to the controversial Balyoz and Ergenekon cases, Erdoğan stated the two were completely different. The Balyoz case proceeded immediately but the justification for the Ergenekon case has still not been prepared, despite more than six months having passed, a delay which Erdoğan blamed on the parallel structure.
In the same way, Secretary of General Staff İlker Başbuğ is unable to make an appeal to a higher court because the justification for his imprisonment has not yet been submitted by the lower court. The prime minister stressed that the issue is extremely sensitive and he hopes for a favorable resolution where Başbuğ can be tried at the Supreme Court instead of in existing courts.
Erdoğan also touched on the reconciliation process with the Kurds, stating that positive results are surfacing as the democratization package has swept in a positive mood in the region. Erdoğan is currently travelling around the country as part of the AK Party's March 30 local election campaign.
In responseto journalists' questions regarding his recent phone call with U.S. President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Erdoğan said he told Obama to take action regarding the Gülen Movement's activities, which Erdoğan called "the source of unrest in my country." In response to a question about whether he would seek a Red Notice - similar to an international arrest warrant - for Gülen, Erdoğan replied: "Why not?"
According to an official White House statement, Obama and Erdoğan discussed a range of bilateral and regional issues. However, the White House neither confirmed nor denied that the two leaders discussed Fethullah Gülen.
According to Interpol, the legal basis for a Red Notice is an arrest warrant or court order issued by the judicial authorities of the country calling for extradition. Moreover, many of Interpol's member countries consider a Red Notice to be a valid request for provisional arrest.
The issuing of an international red notice requires Turkey`s judiciary to establish that Gülen`s actions were criminal. Even though there is no court verdict against the controversial imam, it is no secret that the Gülen Movement is accused of holding a hidden agenda, infiltrating government bodies, non-transparency and secrecy. On several occasions Prime Minister Erdoğan accused Gülen followers of establishing a parallel state by infiltrating key government ministries, the judiciary and the police force. However, the controversial imam denies all accusations that he orchestrated the Dec. 17 operation and ordered illegal wiretappings in attempts to form a parallel state.
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ was asked last week on the possibility of an Interpol Red Notice being issued for Fettullah Gülen, to which he responded that this would require an initiative by the judiciary rather than the executive. "Preparation for legal action is run by prosecutors in strict confidence and as justice minister, I don't know the details of every investigation," he added.
Despite serious allegations against the movement, there is no criminal investigation or court order attributed to Gülen thus far.
However, the prime minister hinted that his government would seek to do more to fight the parallel state following the March 30 local election.
In addition to a court conviction, mutual agreements would be another issue to take into account in case of extradition. Turkey and the U.S. signed a treaty in 1979 on extradition and mutual assistance in criminal matters.
The treaty went into effect in 1981. According to the treaty, offenses are extraditable if they are punishable under both the federal laws of the United States and the laws of Turkey that exceed a penalty of one year or more. However, as a result of the principle of national sovereignty, each government has the right to make its own decision on the extradition of a person.
Under current conditions, it seems unlikely to claim extradition for Fethullah Gülen without a court order; however, after the March 30 local election, Ankara is likely to increase pressure on Washington to extradite Fethullah Gülen.
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