Well-respected Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has said the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is using manipulation tactics similar to those employed during the military intervention of 1997, in the wake of the propaganda campaign launched by the PKK against Gülen movement.
For some months, the PKK has misinterpreted the remarks of Gülen regarding the solution to Turkey's long-standing Kurdish problem.
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| Fethullah Gulen |
In a speech broadcast on the website http://www.herkul.org in late October, Gülen expressed his grief over the deaths of dozens of security members in terrorist attacks in the country's Southeast, while expressing his views about the measures that should be taken for the peaceful resolution to Turkey's Kurdish and terrorist problems. He also suggested that there should be military operations targeting PKK members who mastermind brutal attacks. Following this statement, the PKK launched a propaganda campaign against Gülen claiming that the famous scholar wants military operations against all Kurds.
In his latest speech broadcast on the website www.herkul.org, Gülen likened these tactics of the PKK to the tactics used by secular circles in the process leading up to the Feb. 28, 1997 military intervention, in which the military ousted a coalition government led by an Islamic party.
Before the military intervention, some media outlets and secular circles launched a propaganda campaign against religious communities including the Gülen movement in order to justify their claims of rising radical Islamism in the country.
“Just think of that June storm [the Feb. 28 process]. Back then, some tape recordings were cut in the beginning and the end to give them a very different meaning. Some [media sources] were not ashamed to print fabricated remarks which were changed by taking them out of context. They tried to deceive the nation through manipulative comments and misinterpretations. These efforts were a conspiracy, an execution without trial. Their aim was to demolish bridges of dialogue which had just begun to be built. Now some people who work for nothing but manipulation, hypocrisy and lies are doing the same thing. By omitting parts of speeches, they produce statements that are totally different from the originally intended message, and they spread these lies and disgust people,” said Gülen.
Published on Today's Zaman, 09 January 2012, Monday
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