The parallel structure is a term that is being used by the government to refer to the faith-based Hizmet movement inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
Davutoğlu, who spoke to reporters on his way back to Turkey from Poland on Tuesday, had said that his government knows “who is working with whom,” adding that it has documents of meetings between the PKK and the “parallel structure.”
The GYV released a written statement on Thursday to respond to the allegations directed at the Hizmet movement by pro-government circles. In the statement it says that whenever unlawful deeds or government corruption arrive on the public agenda, ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) officials attempt to direct attention to the Hizmet movement via “imaginary and unreasonable accusations that become more intense each time.”
The statement said the latest example of such accusations was made by Davutoğlu, who attempted to link the Hizmet movement with the outlawed PKK organization.
“Instead of making a civil society movement a target of the masses with such a serious claim, the state authorities should put a judicial mechanism in place to prove its accusations. As it is understood, the esteemed prime minister preferred to be a part of this ugly plan by occupying the public with such baseless claims without having sufficient information or documents.”Pointing out that the arrested police officers who conducted operations against the Kurdistan Communities' Union (KCK) -- an umbrella network that includes the PKK -- were claimed to have Hizmet ties, the GYV asked how the prime minster could then turn around and claim the Hizmet is cooperating with the PKK. “It's nothing more than reversing the truth,” it said.
The statement pointed out that back when he was prime minister, current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan himself said the PKK had leaked the details of secret Oslo talks between Turkish intelligence officials and PKK members in 2011. But then, following the December 2013 corruption scandal, the government directed its accusations at Hizmet, saying it had leaked the details. The GYV underscored that this is another example of slander that the movement has been subjected to at the hands of the Turkish government.
Published on Today's Zaman, 11 December 2014, Thursday
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