Gülen movement no different than ISIL, Turkish army chief’s former aide says
ANKARA
The movement of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen is no different than the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Levent Türkkan, Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar’s former top aide, has said, adding that both were “terrorist organizations.”“For the first time in my life, I’m speaking with my own free will. I was a poor, smart kid. I was looked after; I didn’t realize that they [the Gülen movement] were deceiving me. I’m not a traitor. No person can shoot at their own soldiers, citizens and police officers. This is no different than ISIL. ISIL is a terrorist organization, so is this one,” said Türkkan, who was arrested among the plotters of the July 15 failed coup attempt, in his 40-page testimony in court.
Saying that the movement accepted Gülen as their Mahdi, Türkkan added that the Gülenists wanted him to enter a military high school.
“They gave me the questions before the exam. They were all the same with the ones in the real exam. I continued seeing the Gülenists in high school. Those Gülenists were not solders, they were civilians. They saw Gülen as Mahdi,” he said.
In his testimony, Türkkan said that the coup plotting soldiers assumed that Akar, who was held captive at Akıncı Air Base by putschist soldiers, would accept the coup bid and even direct it.
“The brothers [Gülenists] loved Hulusi Akar. They thought he would accept and direct the coup,” he said, adding that Adil Öksüz, the Gülenist organization’s “imam of the Air Force” and a suspected leader of the plot, had contacted him.
In addition, Türkkan also said the Turkish Chief of General Staff’s key advisor, Col. Orhan Yıkılkan, asked him several questions regarding the residences of top figures on July 13.
“’Do you know the houses of the president, prime minister, [former interior minister] Efkan Ala and MİT [National Intelligence Agency] leader?’ he asked me. I said ‘I know.’ He told me that a coup would take place and a total of 100 bureaucrats, including the president and prime minister, would be taken. He said, ‘Do your preparations. We will land in the commander’s [Akar] residence with a helicopter and he will be taken away,’” Türkkan added.
Saying that the planners of the coup attempt were officials who graduated in 1994, Türkkan noted that Akın Öztürk, who was among the organizers of the coup bid, was a “puppet” and not “at the top of the coup attempt.”
“Yıkılkan was talking to the colonels. He was receiving orders from someone and coordinating the coup attempt. He was talking to someone at Akıncı Air Base, but I don’t if it was Adil Öksüz,” he said.
Saying that the movement accepted Gülen as their Mahdi, Türkkan added that the Gülenists wanted him to enter a military high school.
“They gave me the questions before the exam. They were all the same with the ones in the real exam. I continued seeing the Gülenists in high school. Those Gülenists were not solders, they were civilians. They saw Gülen as Mahdi,” he said.
In his testimony, Türkkan said that the coup plotting soldiers assumed that Akar, who was held captive at Akıncı Air Base by putschist soldiers, would accept the coup bid and even direct it.
“The brothers [Gülenists] loved Hulusi Akar. They thought he would accept and direct the coup,” he said, adding that Adil Öksüz, the Gülenist organization’s “imam of the Air Force” and a suspected leader of the plot, had contacted him.
In addition, Türkkan also said the Turkish Chief of General Staff’s key advisor, Col. Orhan Yıkılkan, asked him several questions regarding the residences of top figures on July 13.
“’Do you know the houses of the president, prime minister, [former interior minister] Efkan Ala and MİT [National Intelligence Agency] leader?’ he asked me. I said ‘I know.’ He told me that a coup would take place and a total of 100 bureaucrats, including the president and prime minister, would be taken. He said, ‘Do your preparations. We will land in the commander’s [Akar] residence with a helicopter and he will be taken away,’” Türkkan added.
Saying that the planners of the coup attempt were officials who graduated in 1994, Türkkan noted that Akın Öztürk, who was among the organizers of the coup bid, was a “puppet” and not “at the top of the coup attempt.”
“Yıkılkan was talking to the colonels. He was receiving orders from someone and coordinating the coup attempt. He was talking to someone at Akıncı Air Base, but I don’t if it was Adil Öksüz,” he said.
