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| Why not extradite Gülen to the International Court of Justice in the Hague? |
At the Vienna Airport, Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung published a
controversial message to international travelers: "Going to Turkey on
vacation supports Erdogan." This message, spread by one of the country's
top selling media outlets, fuels hostility - not just against Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom they openly hate, but the nation he
leads.
In Turkey, ordinary citizens thwarted a coup
attempt orchestrated by a terrorist organization that infiltrated the
military. People have been camping out at public squares to stand guard
against threats. Not only did the country's democracy collapse, but it
also became consolidated as a paradigm shift took place on July 15.
President Erdogan's opponents in Turkey, who resorted to anti-Erdoganism
in the past, experienced serious setbacks. While the authorities bring
coup plotters and their accomplices to justice, certain steps are being
taken to strengthen the state apparatus. For the first time in history,
there is genuine cooperation between various social and political groups
that are united in their opposition to the coup attempt.
The
West, however, does not share the Turkish people's enthusiasm. What
they desperately want is for Turkey to stop acting independently and
according to its national interests and instead assume a passive role in
the international arena. To be clear, it is the United States, not
Europe, that is the driving force behind the anti-Turkey rhetoric. The
Europeans are merely acting according to signals from the U.S. If
European leaders were able to devise a strategy of their own, they could
understand that the July 15 coup attempt could have meant destruction
for the continent. Sadly enough, Europe lost its sense of direction a
long time ago.
And how does the American political
leadership behave? By mounting pressure on the media, they bullied
mainstream news outlets to ignore the basic principles of journalism and
attack Turkey. Over the past two weeks, U.S. officials have tried to
characterize the situation in Turkey as a power struggle between two
rival groups - as if there were two legitimate powers engaging in some
kind of civil war. At the same time, the United States has falsely
portrayed the government's response to Fethullah Gülen's terrorist
group, the Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ), as a crackdown on
dissent.
The U.S. has been defending the coup plotters
so desperately that one cannot help but wonder why they will not stop
supporting FETÖ. Why does Washington try to cover up Gülen's tracks? It
would appear that they want to continue their cooperation with FETÖ to
keep Turkey in line. Moreover, one could argue that FETÖ's access to
information remains strong enough to make Gülen valuable for the U.S.
government. Likewise, they might be concerned that a comprehensive
crackdown on FETÖ could bring to light U.S. foul play in Turkey and
elsewhere over the years.
As Turkey's official inquiry
sheds light on FETÖ's crimes, Washington's relationship with Gülen will
become a matter of domestic policy rather than a foreign one. While the
involvement of a group in the United States in the failed coup attempt
becomes clearer, the U.S. will have a lot more questions to answer. The
very people who allowed Gülen into the country will be held accountable
in the court of law and in the public eye. Knowing exactly where the
current process leads, Gülen has started to beg his host country to
allow him stay in the U.S. Let him get on his knees and beg - even
though his words mean absolutely nothing
Note EU-Digest: To
support Turkey and possibly also help the US to get out of the mess
they are in with Turkey, the EU should request the US to extradite
Fethullah Gülen to the Netherlands and put him on trial at the
International Court of Justice in the Hague.
Read more: Fethullah Gülen and the United States - Fahrettin Altun - Daily Sabah
