Combatting Gülen Movement included in new gov't program

Combatting the Gülen Movement, which is believed to have infiltrated key governmental bodies with an aim to overthrow the Turkish government during the Dec. 17 and Dec. 25 corruption operations, is expected to be included in the new government program that is being prepared under the prime ministry of Ahmet Davutoğlu, according to Turkish newspaper Sabah.

The government said that a state within the state is not allowed and that the fight with those organizations within the government will be continued under the legislative framework. As the new government is established following Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's election on Aug. 10 as the 12th president of the country, a new phase to combat organizations and gangs within the government has begun.

Reportedly, after the new government receives a vote of confidence, Parliament will vote on combatting the Gülen Movement. In addition, the Gülen Movement is considered as the "new tutelage" in the new government program draft, and it is stated that combatting the movement will continue with no concessions.

The government stressed that the Gülen Movement, which has infiltrated key governmental bodies for years, was uncovered for the first time in the Feb. 7 operation when Istanbul's specially authorized prosecutors, Sadrettin Sarıkaya and Bilal Bayraktar, who are considered followers of the Gülen movement in the judiciary, issued a summons for National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief Hakan Fidan for collaborating with the outlawed PKK organization.

The movement's activities are regarded as political engineering in the program. Last week, the movement was also included in the National Security Council's (MGK) counter-terrorism's domestic and foreign security threat section in the MGK meeting. Government officials have continuously expressed their determination to continue to lawfully fight against the Gülen Movement, which is led by U.S.-based imam Fethullah Gülen, whose followers are accused of infiltrating state institutions to gain control of state mechanisms and illegal wiretapping, forgery of official documents and spying.