As part of “15 Panels on July 15th” panel series, organized by the Directorate of Communications on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the treacherous coup attempt by FETO terrorist organization, the online seminar titled “Turkey-US Relations in the Fourth Year of the Failed Coup Attempt” was held in Washington, the USA.
Turkey's Ambassador to Washington Serdar Kılıç, SETA General Coordinator Prof. Burhanettin Duran, Secretary General of the US Council of Muslim Organizations, Oussama Jamal, Director of the Global Policy Institute Paolo von Schirach, and Producer and Director of the documentary Killing Ed Mark S. Hall attended the panel which was moderated by SETA Washington DC Research Director Kılıç Buğra Kanat.
“Disappointment continues over Gülen's still being not extradited”
In the program during which FETO’s true face was explained on the occasion of the July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day, Ambassador Kılıç stated that FETO’s coup attempt was the worst attack against democracy in Turkey's recent history.
Kılıç noted the following:
“Referring to Turkey's history, before July 15, we had a history of failed or successful coup attempts against Turkey's democracy. However, the July 15 coup attempt was very different from the previous ones. First, the July 15 was a coup attempt, the chain of command of which was controlled by civilians and during which the civilians lost their lives. Most importantly, the Turkish people took to the streets to defend their elected leader and democracy. It was the first time in the history.”
Reiterating that the July 15 coup attempt was not FETO’s first attempt to overthrow the government and control the state, Kılıç said, “In 2013, they tried to spark social unrest by first organizing demonstrations, then they tried to make a ‘legal coup' through their members who infiltrated the judicial and security forces by using the legal system on December 17-25.
Pointing out that FETO’s activities outside Turkey should also be considered to understand its structure, Kılıç added, "If you look to the US, they operate nearly 170 schools here. They collect 850 million USD per year from the Americans' taxes. In these schools, they employ Turkish teachers who are their members, some of whom do not even speak English, by violating the visa system.”
Emphasizing that the attitude of the US side towards the coup attempt on the night of July 15 was the biggest disappointment of his life, Kılıç said, “This disappointment continues since no step has been taken regarding the extradition of Gülen despite the strong evidence presented after the coup attempt; however, anyhow, at the end of the day, I want to be optimistic for the future of Turkey-US relations.”
“Turkish people felt the fear of becoming a new Syria or Iraq on the evening of July 15”
SETA General Coordinator Duran indicated that the July 15 coup attempt was still alive in the minds even though four years had passed and said, “That night, people from different sections of the Turkish society took to the streets and stood against the coup in a heroic way.”
Duran continued as follows:
“I think that there was a connection between the reasons behind people consciously taking to the streets that night and the reasons such as the instability in the region and terrorism stemming from the Syrian civil war. Turkish people, as they knew well the problems in the region, stood up against the FETO coup attempt with their loyalty to democracy and with the aim of ensuring that the state remained safe and secure. They felt the fear that unless they did so, they would become a new Syria or Iraq. They did not want what happened to Adnan Menderes in 1960 to happen to President Erdoğan.”
Stating that the July 15 coup attempt created a new situation in Turkey's domestic politics and in international relations, Duran noted that Turkey, with its robust leadership, took steps into new positive opportunities for cooperation in domestic politics and international diplomacy by prioritizing its own interests in a chaotic world.
“The Western media's discourse was surprising”
Secretary General of the US Council of Muslim Organizations Jamal started his words as follows: “First of all, I hereby extend my greetings to the Turkish nation who made an astonishing history in these modern times by standing up against the coup attempt.”
As someone whose origins come from the Middle East and who had bitter experiences in the region, Jamal noted that the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey greatly worried them, and said, “This is because every incident in the region and every policy the US pursues in the region affect us as American Muslims.”
Criticizing the western media's attitude towards the July 15 failed coup attempt, Jamal said, “During their broadcasts, it was seen that they were sad because of the failed coup attempt, which is in contradiction of democratic values. A discourse as such was really surprising. If democracy was beaten in the region, they were going to be happy.”
Jamal added that after his research about the FETO organization following the coup attempt, he reached the conclusion that FETO was "not a civil movement" but rather "a project".
“I believe the days when they will give an account are going to come”
Director of Global Policy Institute, Schirach stated that he agreed that the July 15 failed coup attempt was accepted with sorrow in certain capital cities, and said, “I will never understand why a coup gets support, I am sad to say this but there was an atmosphere similar to that.”
Noting that there were still rightful concerns in Turkey about on which side the US was, Schirach said, “We as Americans need more information about how much dangerous FETO is because many people here still do not know what is going on.”
The final panelist Mark S. Hall, Producer and Director of the documentary Killing Ed, also pointed out that the FETO organization members still introduced themselves as moderate and educated people in the US despite the horrible damage they caused in Turkey, and warned, “FETO members show themselves as someone different and also try to penetrate local and federal political offices and the Congress in the US.”
Underlining that he as an American was feeling the same worry now about FETO that Turkish people felt seven-eight years earlier, Hall said, “They have charter schools here funded by the taxes we pay; for example, in Texas alone, they have 64 schools and they make over 300 million USD a year in this State.”
Noting that he believed that people in the US would eventually get to understand the FETO organization, Hall continued, “The Gülenists' efforts to open schools in states such as Alabama and Nevada in recent years failed. We have to stay very alert against this organization. I believe the days when they will give an account are going to come.”