Gülenists use fake names to trick US: Turkish justice minister

ANKARA

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Followers of the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen have been changing their names in order to “trick” the United States, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has said, adding that the group poses a “national security threat” for all countries.

“We are saying that this terrorist group, which is a major national security threat to us, is also a national security threat to you. Gülenists in the U.S. are changing their Turkish names and adopting Christian names,” Bozdağ told daily Milliyet on July 3, adding that members of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) disguise themselves as people who converted to Christianity in order to enter cults and Christian groups. 

“By gaining a reputation there, they want to convey the power they obtain there to their group. The number of it increased strikingly recently. Now, I’m saying that if you ignore Turkey’s experiences and rightful warnings regarding this organization, this group can also betray you just as it did to its own people. Why wouldn’t those who betrayed their people and their state betray the U.S. or other countries?” he said. 

Saying that Gülenists can’t be controlled, Bozdağ added that the U.S. and Europe must take precautions against FETÖ, which is widely believed to have been behind the July 15, 2016, failed coup attempt.

“They [Gülenists] are traveling around saying they control the U.S. and Europe. It’s a must for both Europe and the U.S. to take precautions against Gülenists for their own national security. They may now laugh and say, ‘What is the minister saying?’ but 15 or 20 years from now they will be have to adopt the same measures that Turkey did and maybe even heavier ones,” he added.  

Ankara has been requesting Gülen’s extradition since the attempted takeover. 

Bozdağ said the extradition files regarding Gülen were sent to the U.S. and it’s on the main agenda between Ankara and Washington. 

“The extradition files consist of 8,000 pages. This is on the main agenda between Turkey and U.S. relations. It will definitely have an effect on the healthy proceeding of the relations. The U.S. needs to empathize. The fact that the U.S. didn’t take a step regarding Gülen negatively effects Turkish people’s perception of the U.S. and its government,” he said. 

Bozdağ added that the U.S. administration hadn’t sent files that Turkey sent to its courts yet. 

“The standards of the files perfectly suit the agreement between Turkey and the U.S. If there is no extradition with these evidences presented, then it’s not possible with any file. We don’t believe that a stronger file was ever sent to the U.S. The time to extradite him has come and passed,” he said.