Report: FETÖ took root in Germany while authorities looked on
by Daily Sabah
ISTANBULMar 07, 2017 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Daily Sabah
Mar 07, 2017 12:00 am
A recent report has revealed that the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) has been using Germany, the host of the largest Turkish population abroad, as its main functioning center and that German authorities have embraced the structures of the group with open arms. The Political, Economic and Social Research Foundation (SETA), an Istanbul-based think tank, published a report concerning FETÖ settlement in Germany, its history and its institutional, education and media network. The report advocates that if Germany treats FETÖ the same way it treats the PKK terrorist organization, its relations with Turkey may be forced into a difficult position. The report titled "The FETÖ Settlement in Germany and Germany's FETÖ Policy," was prepared by academics Kemal İnat and Enes Bayraklı and their team.
According to the report, Germany is one of the top countries that FETÖ uses as a main center since it has the largest Turkish population outside of Turkey, which makes the country a fertile ground to be ploughed. Besides, Germany is Europe's biggest economic power, which is beneficial for the FETÖ group to be easily effective all around Europe.
In addition, the German government actually made organizing convenient for the organization over the years through embracing its structures.
The report states that the group has a two-dimensional structure in Germany, the publicly visible one with its NGO's, educational institutions and media networks and also an invisible structure, that members strongly deny, as the executive branch of the organization with its hidden nature, quite similar to their settlement in Turkey.
Furthermore, they preserve their strictly hierarchical system in the German settlement as well, the report indicates. Although Gülenists have actively been in Germany since the 1970s, their first institutionalization attempts in the country did not occurred until the mid-1990s and accelerated with the foundation of the first Gülenist educational institution in 2003.
According to the report, until the July coup attempt in Turkey, Germany has turned a blind eye to Gülenist activities despite the fact that there have been several accusations against the group in German media and criticism from opposition parties regarding FETÖ's anti-democratic structure.
In spite of Turkey's extensive explanations on the issue, Germany insists on denying any connection between the coup attempt in Turkey and FETÖ, and rejects the fact that it is a terrorist group.
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