President Erdoğan vows to finish off 'parallel structure'

ANKARA

Erdoğan addresses a council meeting of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), Dec. 12. AA Photo

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has again spoken out against the “parallel structure” – a byword for the Gülenist movement – vowing to “overthrow this network of treason and bring it to account.”

“The parallel structure has never acted alone. That country in the south was using it as a tool. The opposition parties and the actors of the old Turkey supported this structure,” Erdoğan said on Dec. 12 while addressing a “council meeting” with President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) and the presidents of 365 chambers and commodity exchanges.

Some circles in the business world and the media also support the “parallel structure,” he claimed.

“Occasionally even terrorist organizations and their political parties have been carrying out work with this network of treason. But this nation will set its course by its own accord, not by street demonstrations or interest and rentier lobbies," Erdoğan said, vowing not to go “back to the old Turkey.”

Touching on the Dec. 17, 2013 corruption probe, Erdoğan said “some circles in the judiciary” took action and launched operations.

“Their pretext was allegations of corruption; their cover was allegations of corruption,” he said.

The president said that if the government had not noticed the plot, “they would have launched police operations and detained the prime minister and other ministers on Dec. 25.”

“Gezi was an attempted coup, but they could not succeed. Dec. 17, Dec. 25 were attempted coups, but we stood upright and it did not work. We said we would go into their caves. Now, we are getting into their caves,” Erdoğan added, referring to last year's anti-government protests in Turkey.

"The parallel structure, which was talking about education, service and benevolence, [is involved in] dirty murders ... You will hear more surprising things, too,” he said.

The Gülenists, who have been accused of forming a “parallel structure” within the state, have also been charged with illegally eavesdropping on hundreds of thousands of people through operations by members employed in the judiciary and the police.