Ex-General Blames US-Based Cleric Gulen for Turkey Coup Bid
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A former Turkish military official put the blame squarely on supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric living in exile in the US, for an attempted coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, saying the coup was primarily aimed at bringing discredit on the army.
In an interview with the Tasnim News Agency, General Ismail Hakki Pekin, former head of intelligence department at Turkey’s General Staff, said the abortive coup was “undoubtedly” masterminded by Gulen.
While the bulk of Turkish servicemen are against the Gulen movement and have condemned the coup plot, around 2,000 followers of Gulen have infiltrated the military forces, he added.
The ex-general underlined that the coup was indeed a move against the army itself, with the purpose of creating a rift between the armed forces and people and discrediting the army following “its recent successful operations in southeast of the country and its growing popularity.”
General Pekin also dismissed the notion that Erdogan had been informed of the coup beforehand, stressing that the coup was a “last-ditch insane attempt” by a failed current in the army.
For several hours overnight on Friday, violence shook Turkey’s two main cities, as the armed faction which tried to seize power blocked a bridge in Istanbul and strafed the headquarters of Turkish intelligence and parliament in Ankara.
At least 265 people were killed. An official said 161 of them were mostly civilians and police officers, while the remaining 104 were coup supporters.
Turkish authorities rounded up nearly 3,000 suspected military plotters on Saturday and ordered thousands of judges detained after thwarting the coup,
The government declared the situation under control, saying 2,839 people had been rounded up, from foot soldiers to senior officers, including those who formed "the backbone" of the rebellion.
Authorities also began a major crackdown in the judiciary over suspected links to Gulen, removing from their posts and ordering the detention of nearly 3,000 prosecutors and judges, including from top courts.
