April 9, 2011

Flautre refutes Cumhuriyet report on Gülen movement

Today's Zaman

Magalie Cleeren, assistant to co-chairwoman of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee Helene Flautre, refuted a news report published by the ultranationalist Cumhuriyet daily on Flautre’s alleged remarks on the faith-based Gülen movement in an e-mail she sent to all Turkish reporters based in Brussels, including the ones working for Today’s Zaman.

The e-mail read that Flautre strongly opposes Cumhuriyet’s distorting her comments, which were made within the framework of a conference at the University of Strasbourg on April 5. According to Cumhuriyet, Flautre said the Turkish judiciary and press are under the heavy influence of the Gülen movement. “We are closely following that this is not a new phenomenon in Turkey,” Flautre reportedly said during the conference.