Gülenists in Turkey cooperating with Israel’s Mossad, Erdoğan says

ISTANBUL

President Erdoğan addresses a meeting of the All Industrialist and Businessmen’s Association in Istanbul. DHA photo

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodoğan said Jan. 31 that the Gülenists in the country, which he dubs “the parallel structure,” have joined forces with the Israeli intelligence service.“The sincere people backing this parallel structure should see with whom this structure is cooperating with,” Erdoğan said, while addressing a meeting of the All Industrialist and Businessmen’s Association (TÜMSİAD) in Istanbul.“Shame on them if they still cannot see that this structure is cooperating with the Mossad,” he said.Erdoğan accuses the followers of the U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen for illegal wiretappings and a “coup attempt,” starting from the revelation of a large corruption investigation in December 2013.The Gülenists did not let the other religious organizations and associations live, Erdoğan said.Turkey’s relations are tense with Israel since nine Turks and one Turkish-American were killed and several other pro-Palestinian activists were wounded when Israeli commandos stormed the ship Mavi Marmara on May 31, 2010, bound for Gaza.“They are not national, they are not local;” Erdoğan said for Gülenists. “The ones who are still accompanying them despite all these will face a big shame soon. We were hurt by [Gülenists] and don’t want others to be hurt. I address to those who think they are hiding at political parties, NGOs and associations right near us. They have no excuse in still remaining under that umbrella despite all this scum.”The president also harshly criticized two former prosecutors in the country’s largest graft probe case that started in December 2013, which is closed both at the regular courts and a parliamentary inspection commission, without giving names.“A newspaper, which has published the cartoons that insults our prophet, was insulting a prosecutor five years ago,” Erdoğan said.The president was apparently referring to daily Cumhuriyet, whose two columnists published the small black-and-white images of the Charlie Hebdo cover printed by the French mag after the Paris attacks, and former prosecutor Celal Kara, who was one of the initiators of the graft probe.“Now you see the same newspaper embracing that prosecutor. And that prosecutor is telling about how they materialized the Dec. 17 coup attempt,” Erdoğan said.“This is openly a confession of the coup attempt,” he said.Another graft probe prosecutor, Muammer Akkaş was also a targeted by the president. Criticizing Akkaş for distributing leaflets and making a press statement in front of a court house late in 2013, “Are you an anarchist, How can you distribute leaflets in front of the court house,” Erdoğan asked, still not giving a name.The president said Jan. 29 in a televised interview that it would be apprapriate if the U.S. deports Gülen.