Fethullah Gülen offers condolences for helicopter crash victims

Fethullah Gulen

World renowned Turkish Islamic intellectual and scholar Fethullah Gülen has offered his deep condolences to families of the fallen soldiers who were killed in a helicopter crash in the eastern province of Siirt over the weekend.

“I offer my condolences to our security forces, who are fighting against terror with great resilience and determination without batting an eye, and extend my condolences to their self-sacrificing heroic commanders, praying for the best patience for families and relatives of the martyrs,” Gülen said in a message his published on his own website.

He said he was deeply saddened after receiving news that 17 soldiers were killed in the helicopter crash in Siirt at a time when he “was praying for our dear nation to be far away from any kind of tragedy and unrest and while longing for peaceful days.”

The soldiers perished on Saturday when their helicopter crashed in southeastern Turkey. The Sikorsky helicopter crashed into Herekol Mountain in the Pervari region of Siirt province reportedly due to adverse weather conditions. Siirt Governor Ahmet Aydın said all of the soldiers aboard the helicopter were killed in the crash.

Fourteen of the victims were members of the gendarmerie forces, and the rest were the helicopter's crew, he said. The soldiers were being transported to a region near the Turkish border with Iraq to help troops in their fight against terrorists. Aydın said three officers, four noncommissioned officers, one special sergeant and nine privates were killed in the crash.

Gülen said the deaths of the soldiers, who were rushing to come to the aid of their friends despite adverse weather conditions, has created tremendous grief at the heart of the nation.

He expressed his optimism about better days for the nation and added that he is praying for this growing unrest will be eliminated.

Deadly clashes between the Turkish security forces and the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) are frequent in the country's Southeast. The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the United States, has been waging a bloody war in the country's southeast since 1984, killing more than 40,000 people so far.

Published on Today's Zaman, 12 November 2012, Monday