Turkish PM warns US Muslims against FETO terrorism

WASHINGTON

There is no difference between Daesh and the Terrorist Organization (FETO), said Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Thursday, adding that both terror groups flout the sacred values of Islam.

Both terrorist groups have threatened the peace in Muslim countries, Yildirim told a crowd in a speech at the Diyanet Center of America (DCA), also known as the Turkish-American Community Center and Mosque Complex in Lanham, Maryland.

The Turkish premier decried how FETO leader Gulen, who masterminded last year’s deadly coup attempt in Turkey and is still living in the U.S., has corrupted and fooled many Muslims by presenting himself as “moderate Muslim”.

“The leader of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization is no cleric, he is a bloody terrorist,” Yildirim said.

“FETO’s main goal was to infiltrate the Turkish state and put it under his control,” he added.

“And they killed Muslims to reach their goal,” he added, referring to the July 15, deadly coup attempt which martyred 250 people and left some 2,200 others injured.

He warned Muslims living in the U.S. to “stay away from schools and cultural centers affiliated with the FETO network.”

“Don’t take FETO supporters among you and don’t allow them to mislead you,” he added.

'They should pay the price'

Yildirim said that since the coup bid, the Turkish government has continued “to decipher the secret structures of this bloody terrorist organization within the bounds of .”

They should pay the price for every single act of evil they did to Turkey, he stressed.

The FETO terrorist group has lost its influence in Turkey but still continues to carry out a dark campaign against Turkey on an international scale, said Yildirim.

“Citizens in our country know about the misinformation games played by FETO terrorists. I also know that our citizens living abroad aren’t fooled by these games either,” he added.

Ankara has been seeking the extradition of Fetullah Gulen from the U.S. since last year’s attempted coup.

Gulen has been indicted in several cases relating to the defeated coup bid in Turkey.

Yildirim is expected to discuss the extradition issue with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday at the White House, and to press for quicker action on the issue.

Reporting by Hakan Copur and Hamdi by Alam