By Coskun Ergul
ANKARA (AA) – Turkey’s opposition Nationalist Movement Party’s (MHP) leader voiced support for Turkish president and prime minister in the fight against the Fetullah Terror Organization (FETO), held responsible for the July 15 coup attempt.
Addressing the parliamentary group meeting of his party in Ankara on Tuesday, Devlet Bahceli said Turkey is “a powerful country” that will not “fall as prey to traitors”.
Bahceli also called on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim to be balanced and unifying during the process to bring the perpetrators of the failed coup to justice.
“[The] Prime minister and his cabinet should hug everyone without discrimination, and they should not forget that we are in the same shelter, same ship and same line,” said Bahceli.
He urged the government to make a distinction between those who are guilty and those who are innocent in the deadly failed coup.
“My expectation from the government is to separate the guilty from innocent while exterminating the Fetullah terrorist organization.”
– Turkey-US relations
Bahceli also expressed concern over the future of Turkey-U.S. relations amid demands to extradite Pennsylvania-based Fetullah Gulen, who is accused of masterminding the coup attempt.
“If CIA and Pentagon stands behind traitors, we have a serious problem ahead,” Bahceli said.
“As a natural consequence, the friendship and the [allied] relationship between the two countries would be damaged at a serious stage,” Bahceli said.
Bahceli was referring to the comments made by former CIA Ankara station chief during the 1980 military coup, known as one of the most violent military interventions in Turkey’s history, claiming hundreds of lives.
Paul Henze, CIA Ankara station chief during the 1980 coup, had reportedly cabled Washington after then government was ousted and said: “Our boys [in Ankara] did it!”
“They said in September 12 ‘Our boys won [in Turkey]’, thank goodness, their illegitimate children lost in July 15 [coup attempt],” Bahceli said.
The July 15 failed coup martyred 246 people and left thousands of others wounded.
Turkey has repeatedly accused Gulen and his terror organization or Parallel State Structure (FETO/PDY) of being behind the failed coup and has called for his extradition to face trial.
*Emin Avundukluoglu contributed to this story.
