140,000 books collected from Turkish libraries over ‘Gülenist propaganda’
ANKARA
Almost 140,000 copies of books have been collected from 1,142 libraries across Turkey since the July 2016 coup attempt for “including propaganda of the [Fethullahist Terrorist Organization] FETÖ,” Culture Minister Numan Kurtulmuş has said in response to a parliamentary question.
“Publications on FETÖ and [the U.S.-based Islamic preacher] Fethullah Gülen, as well as publications from publishing houses closed down by state of emergency decrees - included in our ministry’s collection of 1,142 libraries - have been urgently withdrawn,” Kurtulmuş said on Oct. 10 in parliament’s General Assembly, addressing deputies.
Some 139,141 of these publications are the subject of an investigation, daily Cumhuriyet quoted Kurtulmuş as saying on Oct. 11.
He made the comments in response to a parliamentary question submitted by main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Ömer Fethi Gürer.
Gürer demanded to know about the number of books collected from libraries affiliated with the Culture Ministry following the coup attempt, the date of the purchase of these books, their numbers, and the methods through which they were acquired.
He also asked about the number of purchased books in 2014 and 2015 and which periodicals the libraries subscribed to during this period.
In response, Culture Minister Kurtulmuş announced that the ministry had bought 1,185,200 copies of a total of 5,045 books in 2014 and 1,220,889 copies of 5,421 books in 2015.
