Watch your mouth

Ekrem Dumanlı

Be Fair

"The Gülen movement is worse than the Kurdistan Workers' Party [PKK]," Erdoğan told a group of journalists. This is cruel! “The Gülen movement did greater damage to the country,” he says. This sentence does contain any trace of truth in it, but betrays a profound grudge and incurable hatred and the potential for limitless violence.

The PKK is an armed terrorist organization. It killed thousands of soldiers, police officers and innocent citizens (including Kurds). It is said that it is Erdoğan himself who is directing the negotiations being conducted with the PKK.

The Gülen community existed before Erdoğan even started his political career. It has been conducting its humanitarian services all around the world with a neutral, democratic and peaceful identity. No one should covet it; no one should try to replace it with good-for-nothing organizations. Any entity that lacks the ability to develop novel projects tries to consume already existing projects. The result will, of course, be disappointment.

All the irrational assertions and brainwashing efforts about the Gülen movement are actually promoting the movement's recognition in the international arena. The attempts to scare people are futile. No member of the Gülen movement is afraid of oppression. What certain people fail to understand is that these fearless people do not exhibit their courageous stance just for show; it is because they don't expect to be rewarded for their acts in this world.

"The Gülen movement is worse than the PKK" is an unfortunate assertion. When the dust settles, such remarks will be examined in depth and everyone will be held accountable for their acts and words. "Be fair," cries any sensible person.

Excerpted from the author's column published on Sunday's Zaman, 15 February 2015, Sunday