“KNOW BETTER WITH MESOP” : TODAYS FETULLAH GUELEN INTERVIEW IN NEW YORK TIMES

26 July 2016 – MESOP  – Gulen rejects coup allegations, saying he is against military intervention in politics

The US-based Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen has denied the Turkish government’s allegation that he orchestrated the failed coup attempt in mid-July and claims that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is using it as an excuse to give himself more power.“Not only does Mr. Erdogan’s suggestion run afoul of everything I believe in, it is also irresponsible and wrong,” Gulen wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times on Monday.

“Throughout my life, I have publicly and privately denounced military interventions in domestic politics,” he added. ulen went on to charge that Erdogan is turning Turkey “from democracy to despotism,” in what amounts to a “systematic and dangerous drive toward one-man rule.” “The United States must not accommodate an autocrat who is turning a failed putsch into a slow-motion coup of his own against constitutional government,” Gulen warned.  Erdogan, however, charges that Gulen’s supporters in Turkey were behind the coup attempt, he has consequently rounded up thousands of suspects in the military and called on the US to extradite Gulen.

The US has says they will only extradite Gulen if Turkey provides them with concrete evidence which proves Gulen had a hand in the coup attempt. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday that Turkey expects to soon complete a dossier officially requesting Gulen’s extradition.  www.mesop.de