AKP to show ‘zero tolerance’ in clearing party of Gülenists: Deputy chair

ANKARA

A senior official from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has vowed that the party will show “zero tolerance” in clearing itself of sympathizers of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, denying reports that some Gülenists have been protected by high-ranking AKP officials.

“We are carrying out the work [on the principle of] zero tolerance. All necessary actions are being taken with no mercy for anyone indicted by concrete information. I repeat: We have zero tolerance,” AKP Deputy Chair Hayati Yazıcı told state-run Anadolu Agency on Sept. 7.

“We will clear our party of these just as we are clearing the civil service,” Yazıcı added.

Recalling that the AKP is Turkey’s largest political party with around 10 million members, he said efforts to clear the party of Gülenists began in late-2013 after the launch of a massive corruption case that engulfed senior government officials. The AKP believes the corruption probe was launched by Gülenists within the police and judiciary in order to topple the AKP government.

Yazıcı said the party conducted highly detailed investigations into candidate nominees for the mayoral and parliamentary elections in 2014 and 2015, but admitted that there may still be some Gülen supporters lying low within the AKP.

“We are receiving information from our provincial organizations. Commissions have been set up in every city that send dossiers to the party headquarters, where another assessment of each case is conducted. After making necessary discussions we submitting these cases to the prime minister and to the party’s Central Decision-Making Council,” he added.