An exiled Muslim cleric whom Turkey’s president has accused of orchestrating a failed coup attempt denied any responsibility, saying he had no knowledge of the plot.
Fethullah Gulen yesterday told reporters at his Pennsylvania compound that he knows only a “minute fraction” of his legions of sympathisers in Turkey, so he cannot speak to their “potential involvement” in the attempted coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
You can think about many motivations of people who staged this coup. They could be sympathisers of the opposition party. They could be sympathisers of the nationalist party. It could be anything,Fethullah Gulen (told through an interpreter)
Gulen has lived in the US for more than 15 years.
The reclusive cleric, who very rarely speaks to reporters, talked about the failed overthrow attempt shortly after Erdogan demanded that the United States extradite him.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said the Obama administration would entertain an extradition request but Turkey would have to prove wrongdoing by Gulen.
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Looking frail, Gulen, who is in his mid-70s, sat on a sofa in a large reception room outside his living quarters, with an aide taking his blood pressure before the news conference.
He said he wouldn’t have returned to Turkey even if the coup had succeeded, fearing he would be “persecuted and harassed.”
Longing for Homeland in Conflict With Freedom
This is a tranquil and clean place and I enjoy and I live my freedom here. Longing for my homeland burns in my heart, but freedom is also equally important.Fethullah Gulen
The latter lives on the grounds of the Golden Generation Worship & Retreat Center, an Islamic retreat founded by Turkish-Americans.
He has criticised Erdogan, his onetime ally, over the Turkish leader’s increasingly authoritarian rule. The Erdogan regime has launched a broad campaign against Gulen’s movement in Turkey and abroad, purging civil servants suspected of ties to the movement, seizing businesses and closing some media organisations.
In the United States, a lawyer hired by the Turkish government has lodged numerous accusations against a network of about 150 publicly funded charter schools started by followers of Gulen, whose philosophy blends a mystical form of Islam with staunch advocacy of democracy, education, science and interfaith dialogue. Nobody associated with the US schools has been charged with wrongdoing.
“Coup May Have Been Staged”
Gulen also went on to suggest that the coup may have been “staged”.
There is a slight chance, there is a possibility that it could be a staged coup. It could be meant for court accusations and associations.Fethullah Gulen
Gulen stated that democracy could not be achieved through military action, proceeding to criticise President Tayyip Erdogan’s government.
“It appears that they have no tolerance for any movement, any group, any organisation that is not under their total control.”
(With inputs from AP and Reuters)
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