A recently leaked report drafted by the parliamentary coup commission established to investigate a July 15 coup attempt suggested that the government reorganize Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and lobby among the Turkish diaspora against members of the Gülen movement, a global civil society movement accused by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of being behind the coup attempt.
The commission drafted a 936-page report despite requests by opposition members of the commission for the testimony of MİT Undersecretary Hakan Fidan, Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar and former chiefs retired generals Necdet Özel and Yaşar Büyükanıt to shed light on the mysteries surrounding the botched coup.
The report suggested going on the offensive against “FETÖ,” a derogatory term and acronym for Fethullahist Terrorist Organization, coined by Erdoğan and the AKP government, by forming an anti-FETÖ diaspora among Turks abroad, and also claimed that the Gülen movement still has assets valued at $25-50 billion around the world.
Underlining that a head-to-tail purge is a must in the state bureaucracy to cleanse it of members of the Gülen movement, the report noted that MİT needs to be overhauled since it failed to inform authorities in advance of plans for the failed coup.
“Turkey might take the example of the US reorganizing the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] following the September 11 attacks [to redesign MİT],” the draft report said.
According to the details of the leaked report, the commission focused on the Gülen movement instead of questions regarding the coup attempt. It includes three sections that analyze the establishment, development and structure of the Gülen movement.
The coup commission in the Turkish Parliament is criticized by many for merely listening to the memoirs of people who were far from responding to controversial statements on the nature of the July 15 putsch and who learned about the coup attempt and when they learned it.
A video recently emerged that shows President Erdoğan talking to the press before an appearance on CNNTürk. The public assumes Erdoğan appeared on CNNTürk first, but he blames the Gülen movement in this newly aired clip.
As of today, it is still not clear when and how Erdoğan actually heard about the coup, while the main opposition argues that he knew about it in advance. Erdoğan described the coup as a “great gift of God” to facilitate cleansing within the state.
While Fethullah Gülen calls for an international investigation of the coup, the Turkish government has been undertaking the largest purge in its history by arresting at least 36,000 people including journalists, academics, judges and prosecutors.