.... But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.....
Turkey coup: Pennsylvania cleric is Erdogan foe
Turkish government lawyer: US cleric had 'unlawful conduct'
SCRANTON — As government officials and military forces clash in the streets of Ankara and elsewhere in Turkey, attention has turned to a reclusive Muslim cleric in Pennsylvania whom Turkey's president has long accused of orchestrating coup attempts.
"(S)uspicion has fallen on Fethullah Gulen, a US..-based Turkish religious scholar and political enemy of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the strongman Turkish president," writes Steve LeVine at qz.com.
"Until now, Erdogan had appeared to have crushed the 75-year-old Gulen, who has deep roots in the Turkish political, military, judicial, and media establishments, as well as in Muslim countries around the world.
But if, as Erdogan himself has alleged, Gulen or his followers are involved in the putsch, then it demonstrates that he remains a force to contend with, though he has lived for years in seclusion in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania."
The Turkish uprising comes just two weeks after a lawyer representing the Turkish government vowed to continue exposing what he calls the "unlawful conduct" of Gulen. Robert Amsterdam released a statement on June 30, one day after a federal judge in Scranton dismissed his lawsuit against Gulen. ...
The suit contended Gulen ordered sympathetic police, prosecutors and judges in Turkey to target members of a rival spiritual movement critical of his teachings. The legal action was filed as part of a crackdown on the Turkish cleric and his followers by Erdogan. ...
U.S. District Judge Robert Mariani threw out the suit, ruling the claims did not belong in U.S. courts. Gulen's attorneys had called the legal action an attempt by Erdogan to silence Gulen, who has criticized the Turkish leader.
Gulen has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999, according to Time magazine. "Despite his distance, he remains one of the most influential people in Turkey," the magazine writes online. "From afar, he has run a powerful movement calling for a secular and democratic government."
Erdogan has launched a broad campaign against Gulen's movement in Turkey and abroad. The Erdogan regime has carried out a purge of civil servants suspected of ties to the movement, seized businesses and closed some media organizations. Gulen has been charged criminally with plotting to overthrow the government, and was placed on trial in absentia in Turkey earlier this year.
http://www.ydr.com/story/news/2016/07/15/turkey-coup-pennsylvania-cleric-erdogan-foe/87158206/
Gulen's nonprofit, the Alliance for Shared Values, denies any involvement and has condemned "any military intervention in domestic politics of Turkey."
In a 2014 profile, The Times described Gulen's faith and politics, which include a blend of Islamic piety and Sufi mysticism as well as support for free markets, democracy and religious tolerance.
http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-turkey-unrest-turkey-s-coup-is-broadcasting-live-on-1468628296-htmlstory.html
Turkey’s Leaders Say Coup Attempt Foiled as Clashes Rock Nation
Turkey’s leaders said they have largely quelled an attempted military coup, after army officers claimed to have seized power in the country. Clashes persisted in major cities as tanks blockaded roads, soldiers fought with police and warplanes bombed the parliament in Ankara. ...
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the situation was largely under the control, and top military leaders who weren’t involved in the uprising condemned it. Turkey’s NATO allies declared their support for the elected government. ...
But clashes persisted around military headquarters in Ankara, while massive explosions continued to rock the capital -- where the legislature was hit by at least two airstrikes -- and Istanbul.
“The coup attempt in Turkey seems backed by only a faction in the Turkish military and is unlikely to succeed,” said Jorge Benitez, a senior fellow at the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security in Washington. “The rest of the Turkish military, plus the intelligence services will keep Erdogan in power.”
The U.S. backed Erdogan and his government. The Obama administration has “absolute support” for the elected government of Turkey, its NATO ally, Secretary of State John Kerry said in an e-mailed statement.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-15/turkish-premier-says-elements-of-army-attempt-to-seize-power
Donald Trump to Turkish reporter: are you friend or foe?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/02/donald-trump-to-turkish-reporter-are-you-friend-or-foe/
The Latest: Pence with Trump on blocking some immigration
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence says he supports Donald Trump's call to "temporarily suspend immigration from countries where terrorists' influence and impact represents a threat to the United States."
http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2016-07-15/the-latest-trump-said-to-offer-ind-governor-spot-on-ticket
Cog wrote:I support this coup.
dissident wrote:This "coup" was more than likely engineered by Erdo-turd's regime to enable a further consolidation of his dictatorship. It is just too convenient for him. He even gets to look like a hero of the people.
Hoodwinking a few soldiers is easily done with a few regime plants who pose as dissidents. There can even be serious fighting and a few dozen victims. But the main thing is that there is zero chance for the rebels to succeed. ...
Hundreds of soldiers but thousands of judges? Really now.
The Counter-Coup Begins: Erdogan Purges 2,745 Judges, Prosecutors; Arrests Hundreds
Turkey Coup: US would consider extraditing Fethullah Gulen after Erdogan points finger at cleric
Gulen has harshly condemned the attempted coup attempt by military officers that resulted in a night of explosions, air battles and gunfire that left dozens dead. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government is blaming the chaos on the cleric, who lives in exile in Pennsylvania and promotes a philosophy that blends a mystical form of Islam with staunch advocacy of democracy, education, science and interfaith dialogue. ...
“We haven't received any request with respect to Mr. Gulen,” Kerry told reporters. “We fully anticipate that there will be questions raised about Mr. Gulen. And obviously we would invite the government of Turkey, as we always do, to present us with any legitimate evidence that withstands scrutiny. And the United States will accept that and look at it and make judgments about it appropriately.” ...
Gulen is understood to maintain significant support among some members of the military and mid-level bureaucrats. His movement called Hizmet includes think tanks, schools and various media enterprises. Gulen and Erdogan only became estranged in recent years.
In a statement, Gulen said he condemned, “in the strongest terms, the attempted military coup in Turkey.”
“Government should be won through a process of free and fair elections, not force,” he said.
Gulen sharply rejected any responsibility: “As someone who suffered under multiple military coups during the past five decades, it is especially insulting to be accused of having any link to such an attempt. I categorically deny such accusations.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkey-coup-fethullah-gulen-erdogan-extradition-us-barack-obama-john-kerry-return-cleric-blamed-a7140786.html
Fethullah Gülen: Turkey coup may have been 'staged' by Erdoğan regime
Cleric speaks to reporters including Guardian at Pennsylvania compound
Kerry: Turkey should present ‘evidence’ to back any extradition request
Pentagon loses airspace access crucial in airstrikes against Isis targets
Opinion: Turkey was already undergoing a coup – by Erdoğan
In a rare and brief interview on Saturday with a small group of journalists at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, Gülen rejected all accusations that he was behind the coup attempt.
“I don’t believe that the world believes the accusations made by President Erdoğan,” Gülen said. “There is a possibility that it could be a staged coup and it could be meant for further accusations [against the Gülenists].”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/16/fethullah-gulen-turkey-coup-erdogan
Fethullah Gülen is a Turkish writer, former Islamic preacher and the leader of the Gülen’s movement, one of the largest Islamic movements in Turkey. As the author of more than 60 books, Fethullah Gülen advocates tolerance, acceptance of others, and dialogue for peace. He sees the solution to many of the world’s problems in a return to religious faith, and advocates that in true Islam, terrorism is murder and is strictly forbidden. Gülen’s followers have formed more than 500 educational institutions in over 90 countries around the world (on Better World Heroes).
He says: “Today, people are talking about many things: the danger of war and frequent clashes, water and air pollution, hunger, the increasing erosion of moral values, and so on. As a result, many other concerns have come to the fore: peace, contentment, ecology, justice, tolerance, and dialogue.
http://word.world-citizenship.org/wp-archive/2627
The Turkish Islamist movement of Fethullah Gulen is one of the most interesting examples of liberal Islamist thinking in the Middle East. Gulen and his followers have tried to produce a religious-political movement favoring modernism, Turkish nationalism, tolerance, and democracy without sacrificing religious precepts. The structure and philosophy of this movement and its leader have been manifested in many groups and educational institutions.
Part of the Turkish secularist elite views Gulen as a progressive development, though others see him as a threat in moderate garb
Turkish official: Women shouldn't laugh in public
their country's deputy leader said in a speech assailing "moral corruption" that women should not laugh in public and not talk on their mobile phones so much.
Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç took aim at contemporary life in Turkey, arguing for more chastity, humility and reading of the Quran and less consumerism, oil consumption and sex in the media, the Hurriyet Daily News reported.
Social media lit up as news of the speech spread, with hundreds of Turkish women posting photos of themselves and friends laughing in public places. Popular hashtags included #kahkaha (laugh) and #direnkahkaha (resist, laugh).
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/07/29/turkey-women-laugh/13326925/
radon1 wrote:Cog wrote:I support this coup.
Of course you do. People are shooting other people using rifles. Sounds like Cog's paradise.
Did Erdogan STAGE the coup?
US-based Turkish cleric facing extradition over botched rebellion claims president orchestrated plot to justify a clampdown on civil rights
Exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen accused Recep Erdogan of staging the coup
The Pennsylvania-based preacher has condemned the attempted rebellion
Erdogan told supporters he is considering reintroducing the death penalty
He claimed Gulen was behind a 'parallel structure' to overthrow the state
Looking relaxed and smiling, giving an occasional thumbs up to his supporters in Istanbul, Erdogan said the coup attempt had been carried out by a minority in the army.
He said: 'The army is ours, not that of the parallel structure. I am chief commander.'
Earlier Erdogan urged the US to extradite Gulen claiming Turkey never turned down an extradition request from Washington for 'terrorists'. ...
Gulen is understood to maintain significant support among some members of the military and mid-level bureaucrats. His movement called Hizmet includes think tanks, schools and various media enterprises. Gulen and Erdogan only became estranged in recent years. ...
Gulen sharply rejected any responsibility: 'As someone who suffered under multiple military coups during the past five decades, it is especially insulting to be accused of having any link to such an attempt. I categorically deny such accusations.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3693729/Did-Erdogan-STAGE-coup-based-Turkish-cleric-facing-extradition-botched-rebellion-claims-president-orchestrated-plot-justify-clampdown-civil-rights.html
Who is this mysterious man in Pennsylvania?
Supporters describe Gulen as a moderate Muslim cleric who champions interfaith dialogue. Promotional videos show him meeting with Pope John Paul II in the Vatican in the 1990s. He also met frequently with rabbis and Christian priests in Turkey.
Gulen has a loyal following -- known as Gulenists -- in Turkey, who all subscribe to the Hizmet movement.
Hizmet is a global initiative inspired by Gulen, who espouses what The New York Times has described as "a moderate, pro-Western brand of Sunni Islam that appeals to many well-educated and professional Turks." Nongovernmental organizations founded by the Hizmet movement, including hundreds of secular co-ed schools, free tutoring centers, hospitals and relief agencies, are credited with addressing many of Turkey's social problems.
The preacher and his movement also spawned a global network of schools and universities that operate in more than 100 countries.
In the United States, this academic empire includes Harmony Public Schools, the largest charter school network in Texas.
Within Turkey, volunteers in the Gulen movement also own TV stations, the largest-circulation newspaper, gold mines and at least one Turkish bank.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/16/middleeast/fethullah-gulen-profile/
In 2016, an email revealed during the Hillary Clinton email controversy indicated that Gulen follower Ghakan Ozkok had had direct access to Clinton’s staff member, Huma Abedin, and asked for a 15 minute meeting for Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu (an ally of Gulen who lost to Erdogan in 2014) with President Obama in 2009. The meeting with Obama took place in Istanbul, several days after the email. Gulen followers have reportedly donated between $500,000 and $1 million to the Clinton Foundation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%BClen_movement
Erdogan: the deeply divisive rule of Turkey's 'Sultan'
Istanbul (AFP) - Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who appears to have survived a bloody attempt to remove him from power, is the most divisive leader in the history of the modern Turkish republic.
Adored by supporters as a transformative figure who modernised Turkey, his foes paint him as an increasingly despotic "Sultan" who ruthlessly shuts down any criticism. ...
With a notoriously fiery temper, Erdogan is known to himself and followers as the "buyuk usta" -- the "big master" -- or simply "the Sultan".
The 61-year-old first came to power as prime minister in 2003, bringing stability after a history of coups and rocky coalitions and dragging the Muslim-majority country out of an economic quagmire.
He succeeded in clipping the wings of the military by purging elements that opposed him -- or so he claimed.
But ordinary Turks became suspicious of moves to "Islamicise" society by restricting alcohol sales, curbing the internet and even trying to ban mixed-sex dorms at state universities.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/erdogan-deeply-divisive-rule-turkeys-sultan-160235398.html?ref=gs
Sixstrings wrote:Certainly, what secular people / Christians in Europe and the US would like, is just for muslims to just stop going crazy and get religious violence out of their religion, and just be friggin' normal and step up into the year 2016, and that's the bottom line about it.
Does Erdogan want his own Islamic state?
Parliament Speaker Ismail Kahraman unexpectedly sparked controversy in Turkey when on April 25 he declared that Turkey’s new constitution should forgo mention of “secularism” and instead be a “religious constitution” referencing God. His words reignited Turkey’s always tense “secularism debate,” which has been amplified since 2002 when the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power.
Kahraman's remarks led to protests in a number of cities, a call by the main opposition leader for him to resign and allegations by secular pundits that the Speaker had shown the AKP’s “true face,” its “real intentions.”
Erdogan’s ambitions are more about power than doctrine. For power, he needs to sustain popular support, and for popular support, he needs to use religion, but only to a certain extent. While religious symbolism has broad appeal in Turkey, a Quran-thumping Islamic state does not. Various polls bear this out. The most recent survey of the political inclinations of Turkish society was conducted in 2013 by the Pew Research Center, which found that only 12% of all Turks support “making Sharia the official law in their country.” In contrast, 84% of Pakistanis and 74% of Egyptians supported the idea.
Erdogan likely has the support of this hardcore, Islamist minority of 12%, who probably do expect him to create their utopia. At the same time, he also has the support of a much larger block of “conservative” voters who are religious and like reference to religion, but who still prefer to live under secular law. This is why Erdogan would want to retain secularism in the Turkish constitution, albeit while not shying from venerating religion in the public square or perhaps even in the constitution.
A journalist with access to the AKP recently wrote in an insider report that there is a chance that the new constitution will preserve secularism — “laiklik,” from the French “laïcité” — but the preamble might make reference to “Allah and the religion of Islam,” along with some historical figures such as Rumi and Atatürk — in other words, something for everybody. Another rumor is that the preamble will make reference to “the Creator,” a possible inspiration from the US Declaration of Independence.
The more likely future for Turkey is not a Sharia-imposing Islamic state, but a more conservative state re-designed in the image of the AKP. Keep in mind that the latter-day ideology of the party is not simply “Islamism” after all, but “Erdoganism,” in which Islamism is indeed an important theme, but not the only theme. This would not put Turkey on the path to becoming another Iran or Saudi Arabia, as Turkey’s secularists fear, but it could lead in the direction of another Russia, where a similar ideology, “Putinism,” rules.
As the journalist Fareed Zakaria astutely observed, Putinism consists of five fundamentals: religion, nationalism, social conservatism, state capitalism and government media control. “Returning to the values of religion” — in particular Orthodox Christianity — is a powerful theme in Putin’s agenda, with a global vision of “protecting persecuted Christians all over the world.” Replace “Christian” with “Muslim,” and one has Turkey’s ruling ideology.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/04/turkey-does-erdogan-aim-islamic-state.html
Tensions rise between US, Turkey after failed coup as flights from key airbase are grounded
The U.S. and Turkey traded harsh words Saturday in the wake of a failed military coup against the Ankara government, while all air missions against the ISIS terror group out of Turkey were grounded.
Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook confirmed that power had been cut to the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey, near the Syria border. Cook also confirmed that Turkey had halted all military flights out of the base, including those by its own jets.
The Pentagon said it was trying to get permission to resume air operations from the base, while adjusting mission operations in the meantime.
Erdogan himself bluntly requested the extradition of Pennsylvania-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Erdogan blamed for inspiring the coup, saying, "If we are strategic partners, then you should bring about our request."
Although he didn't outline any threat, Erdogan's emphasis on U.S.-Turkish counterterrorism cooperation raised the prospect of a prolonged closure of Incirlik if he didn't get his way.
Stung by the criticism, the State Department fired back. In a readout of the telephone call between Kerry and Cavosoglu, the department said Kerry told his fellow diplomat, "public insinuations or claims about any role by the United States in the failed coup attempt are utterly false and harmful to our bilateral relations."
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/07/17/tensions-rise-between-us-turkey-after-failed-coup-as-flights-from-key-airbase-are-grounded.html
U.S., Turkey on a Collision Course Over Ankara’s Demand for U.S.-Based Cleric
Erdogan accuses opponent in coup; U.S. decries ‘insinuations or claims’
Turkish government officials on Saturday said Turkey would view the U.S. as an enemy if the Obama administration doesn’t hand over Fethullah Gulen, a reclusive but influential Turkish cleric who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania for nearly two decades.
“Any country that stands behind him is no friend of Turkey, is engaged in a serious war with Turkey,” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said from his office in Ankara. Mr. Erdogan, in televised remarks from Istanbul, made a personal appeal to President Barack Obama.
“Today, after this coup attempt, I’m once again calling on you, I’m saying: Extradite this man in Pennsylvania to Turkey now,” he said.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/07/17/tensions-rise-between-us-turkey-after-failed-coup-as-flights-from-key-airbase-are-grounded.html
Fethullah Gulen calls for international probe into Turkey coup allegations
https://youtu.be/acYkhO5RKAw
Egypt Blocks U.N. Call to Respect 'Democratically Elected' Turkish Government
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council failed on Saturday to condemn the violence and unrest in Turkey after Egypt objected to a statement that called on all parties to "respect the democratically elected government of Turkey," diplomats said. ...
Diplomats said Egypt asked for a call for all parties to "respect the democratically elected government of Turkey" to be removed from the draft statement, saying the council is "in no position to qualify, or label that government — or any other government for that matter — as democratically elected or not." ...
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is a former general who overthrew elected President Mohamed Mursi, of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, in 2013 after mass protests against Mursi. Turkey provided support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/turkey-military-coup/egypt-blocks-u-n-call-respect-democratically-elected-turkish-government-n610941
Turkey urges US that harboring Gülen is a hostile act after coup attempt
Any country that would harbor Fethullah Gülen, the leader of the parallel state that is regarded as the mastermind of July 15’s coup attempt would not be Turkey’s friend, the Turkish prime minister has said, obviously urging the United States where the self-exile religious leader lives since late 1990s.
“I do not see any country that would stand behind this man, this leader of the terrorist gang especially after last night. The country that would stand behind this man is no friend to Turkey. It would even be a hostile act against Turkey,” Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım told reporters at a press conference on July 16 as the coup attempt has been foiled earlier in the day. ...
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who spoke late on July 15 to his Turkish counterpart Çavuşoğlu, said: "We haven't received any request with respect to Mr. Gülen."
"And obviously we invited the government of Turkey, as we always do, to present us with any legitimate evidence that withstands scrutiny and the United States will accept that and look at it and make judgements about it appropriately," he said.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-urges-us-that-harboring-gulen-is-a-hostile-act-after-coup-attempt.aspx?pageID=238&nID=101688&NewsCatID=510
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