Parliament to counter pro-Gülen congressmen’s letter to Kerry

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking on his way to Colombia – the first leg of his Latin America tour that will also include visits to Mexico and Cuba – said Turkish parliamentarians are mobilizing to counter the propaganda campaign waged by the Gülen Movement in the U.S. Responding to a question about the letter sent by 88 congressmen to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, claiming that the Turkish media was under government pressure, Erdoğan said that the members of the Turkish-American Friendship Group in Parliament were penning a letter to Kerry. An investigative report by Daily Sabah's Ragıp Soylu, published on Feb. 9 showed that 43 of the 88 congressmen who signed the letter, which was originally sent to them by Gülen Movement-affiliated groups in the U.S., had received campaign donations from the movement as well as free trips to Turkey, also organized by the group. The rest of the signatories are said to have been influenced by Armenian and pro-Israel lobbies. Erdoğan noted that in addition to an article by Fethullah Gülen published in The New York Times, there was information on efforts by the group to recruit American politicians to damage ties between the U.S. and Turkey.

The Gülen Movement, led by U.S.-based Fethullah Gülen, and its operatives within the state are accused of waging an indiscriminate campaign of intimidation against opponents and trying to topple the government.

Erdoğan said he would not be surprised if information about the criminal practices of the group is released in books and documentaries in the future.

He also cited yesterday's arrest of 21 police officers for illegally wiretapping him when he was the prime minister and all his ministers, apart from former Interior Minister İdris Naim Şahin, who is known to have links to the shadowy movement. Erdoğan said such illegal activities were ordered by Fethullah Gülen.

He said that as criminal investigations uncovered new information, the true extent of the illegal activities of the group would come to light. "The provincial heads of the movement were identified and suddenly all of them fled. In the future, we may come to know the country leaders of the movement. I talked to the president of Mali about this matter. He, without any hesitation, said that anyone acting against Turkey would be acting against them and that he would take the necessary measures."

Erdoğan said he was faced with threats to his own safety and that of his family. "You trust those who guard you, but suddenly it comes to light that some belong to them," he said, adding that they only found out about the security risk posed by these infiltrators when the fight against the Gülen Movement started.

Erdoğan said Latin America may be far from Turkey, but his trip was aimed at bridging the physical, economic and political distance. "Investors are accompanying me. We know there is a lot we can cooperate on, including infrastructure, mining and energy."

He said that he would soon undertake another tour of Latin America, which will include visits to Brazil, Venezuela and Bolivia.

One key reason behind the visit to Colombia was counterterrorism, said Erdoğan. "We will discuss the progress they have made on ending terrorism."