Gülen Movement to be defined as national security threat

As Turkey gears to hold a National Security Council (MGK) meeting on Oct. 30, it is expected that announcing the Gülen Movement as a national security threat in Turkey's Red Book will be discussed. In the meeting, the road map to deal with the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), the latest developments on Turkey's Iraq and Syria border and the updating of the Red Book will also be discussed.

This meeting is the first MGK summit in which Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will chair as president and Ahmet Davutoğlu will participate as prime minister.

According to sources in Ankara, the Gülen Movement will be defined along the lines of "civilian elements attempting to take over the state by unlawfully organizing within state institutions" in the Red Book, a legal document that contains the country's security threats. The movement is led by retired imam Fethullah Gülen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the U.S.

The Gülen Movement is seen as a national threat for the government since the movement is accused of wiretapping thousands of people including Turkish government officials and encrypted phones and allegedly infiltrating state institutions with the aim to overthrow the government.
Known also as the National Security Policy Document, the Red Book is able to be updated at MGK summits with the level of threat accordingly. The document is a 10-page list of domestic and foreign threats and any prescribed law or regulation must be compatible with the text and points indicated within. The document is also updated on a five-year basis in line with new developments.

Erdoğan previously said that the movement will be included in the Red Book and that fighting against the organization through lawful means will be one of Ankara's priorities. On Oct. 19 during his visit to Kabul he said, "All these national security threats will constitute the agenda of our MGK meeting this month," and added, "If it takes place on the recommendations list and Turkey's cabinet of ministers adopt the stance, the threat can enter into Turkey's National Security Policy Document."

Despite denials by members of the Gülen Movement of the allegations of wiretapping and attempting a coup, they claim they are only seeking justice by not raising their voice. Some previous members of the movement find this effort of denial insincere.

Hüseyin Gülerce, previously a columnist at the pro-Gülen newspaper, Zaman, and previously a well-known figure of the movement, slammed the organization he was once a member of. He said that nobody should be convinced, including himself, that the Dec.17 and Dec. 25 operations were corruption investigations.

"[The Dec. 17 and Dec. 25 operations] were never bribery and corruption investigations for me. It was the third step after the Feb. 7 MİT [National Intelligence Organization] crisis and Gezi Park events. I have a clear conscience about that," he said, and added, "The AK Party [Justice and Development Party] has been in power for 12 years. In the first decade, there were no cases of bribery, corruption or unearned income opened, but then these honest prosecutors and police noticed that ministers and their sons were doing such things. They even go further, attempting to arrest the prime minister's son. Nobody can say this is a corruption case."