Fethullah Gülen extends condolences to families of deadly airstrike victims

Today's Zaman

Well-respected Turkish intellectual and scholar Fethullah Gülen has conveyed his condolences to the families of 35 people who were mistakenly killed by the military last week in an airstrike that targeted the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

“I wish God's mercy upon our 35 citizens, brothers and sons who tragically died in the incident and extend my condolences to their grieving families, and I hope that God grants patience to them,” Gülen said in message he issued on Saturday.

Fethullah Gülen (Photo: Cihan)

He said the incident comes at a time when Turkey was moving towards being a balancing power in the world and that expectations were high for Turkey's star to shine. Gülen noted that it is a source of consolation that the authorities have pledged to prevent any cover-up of the incident and that investigations into it have been launched.

“At a time when all security units are fighting together against terrorism and no tolerance is shown for banditry, the circles that want to undermine this harmony are also going ahead with their plans and are trying to sabotage preparations for a new constitution and [other] initiatives [by the state],” Gülen said.

Gülen underlined that he has full belief that the Turkish nation, which in the past did not lose its common sense and remained united in the face of many similar tragic incidents, “will -- with the help of God -- come through this critical process by preserving its unity and cooperation as well.”

“It should never be ignored that those who do not hesitate to abuse the pain of the patriotic people of Ortasu village -- where our village guards who when appropriate fought against terror with our soldiers -- will not give up playing the sons of the nation against each other and trying to establish their sultanate of bloodshed,” he added.

Turkish warplanes mistakenly killed 35 smugglers and other villagers in an operation that targeted PKK bases in Iraq last Wednesday night.

The government acknowledged that the victims were smugglers, not terrorists. The military said in an earlier statement that the warplanes targeted the group based on intelligence that suggested that a group of weapon-carrying terrorists was heading towards the Turkish border to stage attacks on the military. The victims were from the villages of Ortasu, Gülyazı and Ortabağ in southeastern Şırnak province's Uludere district. Uludere District Governor Naif Yavuz, who sought to offer condolences in Ortasu, was assaulted by a group that locals and authorities said did not include any villagers but were provocateurs.

The incident, which reportedly took place due to intelligence mistakes, has sent shockwaves across the country.

Published on Today's Zaman, 01 January 2012, Sunday