Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/709569
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016 15 Interview The failed military coup in Turkey this month exposed the vulnerability of the largest democracy bordering the already chaotic Middle East. Political activist TOLGA TEMUGE outlines the major complexities underpinning the coup PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD and a hard place though you can put them all in the same category – they are all Mus- lims – the world view represented by the Gulenists is quite different. Fethullah Gulen is actually an ex- treme Nationalist. His political background is anti-communism in the Cold War era. He has always been very close to the American establishment. In his speeches, he urges his followers not to fight against the USA, because America is the 'captain' of the 'ship' that we call Earth. And in order to achieve their political ends, they need to make an alliance with the captain. That's his line…" Another aspect that makes the Gulen movement quite unique is its international presence. One of its primary functions is to estab- lish schools around the world; and it now has an educational presence in over 140 countries. "I think Malta is one the few countries in the world that doesn't have a Gulenist establishment. You dodged the bullet there…" he adds with a laugh. The Gulenist school expansion began shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the first countries to host these establish- ments were former Soviet Union breakaway republics. "Wherever the Soviet Union withdrew, the Gulenists moved in and opened schools. Education was in English, and to very high standards. You will appreciate the political impli- cations: a movement close to the US establishes itself as a charity and education pioneer, and builds strong ties with the State officials in those countries. This follows international trade and a friendly base to Gulen and the USA…" Indeed it is the international im- plications I was just coming to. If I'm interpreting things right, Rus- sia is no friend to Fethullah Gulen, and – regardless of Putin's known mistrust of Erdogan – would cer- tainly not have liked to see the coup succeed. The United States has to date been sympathetic to the Gulenists, to the extent that there is speculation about CIA involve- ment in the coup itself. From this perspective, Turkey could almost be seen as the chessboard on which major geopolitical superpowers are playing a high-stakes game. Meanwhile, the people of Turkey seem to be facing a choice between a political strongman with authori- tarian aspirations, and an equally suspect organisation that throws dissent in jail by fabricating "evi- dence", and goes as far as opening fire on its own parliament and citi- zens… "Turkey is between a rock and a hard place. We were trying to get rid of Erdogan, and the only al- ternative being forced down our throat is Gulen. If you ask me, Gu- len is worse. Erdogan is, at the end of the day, the leader of a political movement. He does not seem to believe in democracy; nevertheless, he was popularly elected. So one way or another, there is a chance of getting rid of Erdogan through legitimate, democratic means. Gu- len, on the other hand, is not a po- litical movement; it is a secretive, covert organisation. I think they pose a greater danger to Turkey, and to the region as well…" Fethullah Gulen himself is in self- imposed exile in the United States, and Erdogan has declared that fail- ure to extradite him would 'hurt US relations'. Has this develop- ment lent weight to the conspiracy theory (if such it is) that the coup may have been a US-prompted at- tempt at 'regime change'? "I wouldn't exclude that possi- bility. To suggest that the CIA is involved in a military coup in the Middle East, or anywhere in the world, is not a 'conspiracy theory'. It's a fact. In this case, I obviously don't have evidence, so I'm not saying there was CIA involvement or not. But whoever was behind this operation – whether it was Gulenists acting alone, or with outside help – if they thought the people of Turkey would welcome this military coup… that is a real misunderstanding of the people's sentiments. "Because almost everyone in Turkey hates Gulen… including myself. We all know what he rep- resents. Gulen is not an alternative to Erdogan's regime. The secular- ists, the leftists, the Kurds… even the other political Islamists, for the reasons I explained… would never support a military coup. Not just by Gulen. If the coup came from, let's say, the secularist Kemalists, I think the majority would stand up against it today. Turkish de- mocracy has grown up. Actually, July 15th was a historic day for Turkey, because we didn't only see Erdogan supporters or Islam- ists in the streets… we also saw representatives of virtually all the factions taking to the streets to resist the coup. Now, there is po- litical consensus throughout the Turkish political spectrum: from the pro-Kurdish HDP, to the ultra- nationalist MHP; from the Kemal- ist and social democrats, to the rul- ing AKP. Everybody now seems to be united. Everyone can now read between the lines, though they may not openly say it. They can see there is Western support for this movement…" The Western media – and espe- cially American newspapers such as the New Yorker or the Wash- ington Post – seem to have taken a sympathetic view of the coup. Tolga Temuge admits he finds this strange. "If this happened in Berlin, or London, or Washington… if US military planes bombed the Pen- tagon or CIA headquarters, and the US military fought with the American police in the streets… we would be talking about it for 10 years or more. It would affect world politics in the same way as September 11. But after this horrif- ic coup attempt… I am really baf- fled by the Western reaction, and find it hard to explain to my Turk- ish friends. Yes, we understand. We don't like Erdogan; and thank you very much for not liking him, either. But let us remember that it was the Western powers that sup- ported Erdogan when he came to power. The European Union was behind him; the United States was behind him. And we were in op- position to Erdogan at the time. So it's fantastic that the West has finally come round to understand- ing why we had been complaining about Erdogan all these years. But all of a sudden, they are promoting a clandestine, international sect as an alternative. No, thank you very much."