Turkey failed coup attempt was real, there is evidence

By Volkan Şahinkaya,

On July 26, Ofwono Opondo, the executive director of the Uganda Media Centre, wrote an unfortunate article on the recent developments in Turkey in the New Vision. All of his hasty arguments and baseless claims are drawn from false assumptions lacking historical depth. We have solid proof that this coup attempt was staged by Fethullahist Terrorist Organisation (FETÖ), led by Fethullah Gülen, who dissimulates his genuine thoughts and pretends to be a "peace-loving" personality.

In fact, he has been instructing his followers to infiltrate into the state organs and to take over the State control through violent means, as was witnessed on July 15. It is well-documented that the members of this terrorist network even stole the questions of entrance exams of many public institutions including the army.

Opondo is not aware of FETÖ's and its leader's hypocrisy and their terrorist activities despite all solid proof.

He obviously ignores the terrorist dimension of FETÖ and tries to depict it as a democratic network aspiring to promote religious co-existence.

How can a movement be democratic by killing its own people with heavy weaponry and bombing its own State institutions? How can a person promote co-existence by qualifying his own people celebrating the defeat of the coup plot as "foolish"?

Opondo's astonishment about the scope and the speed of Turkey's reaction to the coup plot is indeed a testimony of his prejudice and his obliviousness of Turkish politics. He does not know that Turkey has been combatting FETÖ terrorists in all public institutions and private sector for some time. FETÖ produced false evidence in some investigations to dismiss innocent officers from the Army.

FETÖ-linked judges and prosecutors unlawfully issued an arrest warrant for the National Intelligence Chief in 2012 as well as initiated unlawful investigations against the Government on December 17-25, 2013. Owing to such reasons, investigations to identify the members of FETÖ were undergoing for years even before the failed putsch.

Meanwhile, the National Security Council of Turkey decided on  April 29, 2016 that FETÖ is a terrorist organisation. It is understood that shortly before the date of the coup attempt, traitor military officers got the intelligence through their collaborators that they would be dismissed from the army and thus, they wanted to carry out a pre-emptive strike on July 15, which hit the wall of the national will of the Turkish people.

In order to fight against the FETÖ terrorism, which poses a grave threat to the survival and security of our state in a comprehensive and effective manner, on July 21, 2016, a 90-day state of emergency was declared in line with the Constitution.

It is a practice permissible under international human rights law, including European Convention on Human Rights. I would like to remind Opondo that even countries such as France, Germany and the US resort to this remedy in the face of such imminent security threats.

Opondo's criticism of the steps taken against the private entities such as FETÖ-linked companies, schools, NGOs and media outlets are also groundless.

Undoubtedly, he is unaware of how this terrorist network functions and collects revenues from the private sector. Judicial inquiries have thus far suggested that FETÖ's offshoots in the private sector are utilised to fund this terrorist organisation.

Such offshoots also provide a ground for prospective FETÖ recruits. FETÖ members are forced to donate at least 10% of their salaries (himmet) to the organisation.

On the other hand, unlike in many other developed countries, members of the press in Turkey are able to exercise their freedom of expression more effectively. FETÖ-linked media outlets, however, propagate hate speech against the legitimate Turkish government and president.

In spite of this, they were not closed down until the aftermath of the July 15 coup attempt. Turkey's comprehensive fight against FETÖ should be understood against this backdrop. Needless to say, such an effective and prompt response targeting traitors in all terrains demonstrates the strength of Turkey.   

Opondo's neo-colonialist rhetoric based on the "sick man" analogy is tragicomic, as his biased and hostile approach in the article is in a deep contradiction with his hitherto anti-imperialist discourse. I sincerely wonder what factors caused this U-turn in his stance towards Turkey, which is a vigorous advocate of African nations' interests in all international fora.

Turkish history dates back to the Sumerian civilisation, thousands of years back.

Throughout history, we have founded 17 great states and ultimately, the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed in 1923. One big sun at the centre and the 16 stars around it on the Presidential seal symbolises this. Opondo should know that the Turkish people have always been able to rise from the ashes.

Although the imperialist states considered the Ottoman Empire as a "sick man" and tried to occupy its territories at the time of World War I, they were expelled from the country thanks to the heroic Turkish nation. What the colonialists called a "sick man" got discharged very swiftly at that time and as of today, it is a member of NATO, G20, Council of Europe and carrying out accession negotiations with the European Union (EU), on the eve of becoming a key global power. With its patriotic nation, vibrant economy, and advanced democracy solidified by the rule of law and human rights, Turkey still continues to frustrate orientalists and neo-imperialists as well as their stooges desiring to see a "sick man" in Anatolia.

As such, Opondo, who now earns the title of collaborator of FETÖ terrorist organisation and who prioritises his personal interests over journalism, can be sure that he will continue to be frustrated with the success stories of the Turkish nation in the future as well.

The writer is the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Turkish Embassy in Kampala Uganda