‘I would like to request you to differentiate Turkish people from the disciples of Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organisation’

Esteemed Editor, I have read the special report published on August 4 titled “Turkish nationals in Bangladesh living in fear” with great disappointment. With all due respect to freedom of speech, I was appalled by the hostile tone of this article, which is full of unfounded allegations. Giving such a misleading headline on the front-page is unacceptable. The title was so dreadful that some Turkish people who live in Bangladesh have contacted with our Embassy early in the morning to express their sadness for the story you published. In Bangladesh, there are many Turkish people and companies, and these people and the companies have enriched the relations between our two nations. We believe that they are significant assets for keeping our brotherly relations. Nevertheless, claiming that Turkish nationals in Bangladesh living in fear can lead to some misunderstandings. Hence, I would like to request you to differentiate the Turkish people and the disciples of Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organisation (FETO) and inform your distinguished readers about the July 15 coup attempt and FETO, both of which were shortly and poorly mentioned in your report. July 15, 2016 was a horrifying night for the Turkish people and its longstanding democracy. The treasonous putschists hiding in the Turkish military, linked to the FETO, attempted to overthrow the democratically-elected government together with the president and the constitutional order. This bloody attempt was defeated by the Turkish State, through its resolve and fight, acting together with its people and security forces. Despicable murderers attacked civilian people, crushed democracy defenders on the streets under tank palettes, and even bombed the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT). The statements of those under arrest and the information from multiple agencies prove that this coup attempt was staged by the Fethullah Gulen’s terrorist organisation. For more than 30 years, Gulen has encouraged his followers to infiltrate the state institutions, mainly the military and judiciary, in Turkey. Camera footage from 1997 reveals Gulen telling his followers to “avoid detection and infiltrate” all levels of the state down to its “capillaries.” Cloaking this sinister and heinous agenda, Gulen has formed a broad network of schools, NGOs, and businesses, and covertly infiltrated into public offices to overthrow the democratically-elected government in Turkey. The FETO is recognised as a terrorist organisation by the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), both of which Bangladesh is a member. What happened in Turkey one year ago is a reminder of what this terrorist organisation may be capable of doing in any country that it operates. In our fight against FETO, which poses a grave threat to survival and security of our state through its clandestine infiltration of state mechanisms, we declared a nationwide State of Emergency (SoE), which is pursuant to Article 120 of the Constitution and Article 3 & 1 (b) of the Law on the State of Emergency (Law no. 2935). The purpose of the SoE is to take necessary measures in the most speedy and effective manner in the fight against the FETO terrorist organisation to save our nation from this ferocious terror network and return to normalcy as soon as possible. I would like to remind that the SoE is a measure to be regulated by the Turkish Constitution and relevant national legislation; and it is also a practice permissible under international human rights law, including European Convention of Human Rights. Turkey is fully aware of its obligations related to democracy, human rights, the principle of rule of law, and international conventions in this process and as in the past. The purpose of the declaration of SoE is not to restrict the fundamental freedoms of our citizens, but to eliminate the FETO terrorist organisation in a speedy and effective way. We are determined to fight FETO with three things that they despise most: Rule of law, morality, and democracy. I also believe that disciples of FETO have misled your newspaper with some made up stories. Our Consular Section has not stopped giving civil registry services to any Turkish citizen. All newborns and their Turkish families can apply for birth registration and passport regardless of their parents’ passport validity. There are some Turkish citizens whose passports have been rendered invalid by relevant Turkish authorities. However, the number of those people represents a very small part of the Turkish community in Bangladesh. Furthermore, as also mentioned in your article, instead of renewing their passports, our Embassy offers them a temporary passport if they want to travel to Turkey. I kindly request you to publish this letter on your newspaper in order to bring these facts to the attention of your readers.Devrim Öztürk is Ambassador, Turkish Embassy in Dhaka.