US Has to Choose Either Turkey or “Parallel State”, Says Erdogan
Ankara, 08 Dzulqa’dah 1437/11 August 2016 (MINA) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday the United States has to make choose either Turkey or FETO (Fetullah Terrorist Organization), which orchestrated the coup attempt on July 15.
He reiterated the call for Washington to extradite the Pennsylvania-based preacher Fetullah Gulen in the wake of the coup attempt that left 240 people dead and nearly 2,200 injured.
“Sooner or later the U.S will make a choice. Either Turkey or FETO. Either coup-plotting terrorist FETO or democratic country Turkey. It has to make this choice,” Anadolu Agency (AA) quoted Erdogan as saying in an address to a mass rally in front of the Presidential Palace here.
Turkey’s government said the foiled putsch, which left 240 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, was organized by followers of Gulen who has lived in a self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999.
Erdogan also announced the end to weeks of “democracy watch” rallies across Turkey, according to the AA.
The daily gatherings, which have attracted hundreds of thousands wishing to show their opposition to the foiled July 15 coup, culminated Sunday in an Istanbul rally that 5 million people are thought have attended.
The Turkish president warned citizens however to stay vigilant constantly as “betrayal can come from anywhere and anyone”. “We want to finalize it here (Ankara). But, I see that our people do not want to leave the squares,” Erdogan said.
“Democracy watch cannot be only kept in certain hours, in certain places,” he added.
Gulen is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the Turkish government through the infiltration of the state institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the “parallel state.” (T/R07/R01)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
