Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed at a press conference in Istanbul’s Dolmabahce Palace on Saturday that he had received a letter from the Hizmet Movement calling him for compromise.
Claiming that the letter was signed by the leader of the movement, Fethullah Gulen, Erdogan said that he was yet to reply to the letter, which covered the controversial topics of transforming movement-owned prep schools into private schools and the removal of movement members from their posts.
Writer Fikret Bila, who attended the press meeting, said that Erdogan did not mention Gulen by name, although, like other attendees such as Mehmet Barlas, he did confirm a signed letter had been received.
Another attendee, writer Ismail Kaplan, said that Erdogan claimed that the movement was trying to distance him from President Abdullah Gul.
World Bulletin writer Ali Bulac was also at the meeting, who said that the Prime Minister saw a link between the his fall-out with the movement and a conspiracy that was set up on the Turkish border on Thursday to make it appear as if the IHH charity was smuggling weapons to Al-Qaeda affiliated rebels in Syria.
Bulac also said that Erdogan believes similar plots were likely to occur in the lead up to the local elections on March 30.
When it comes to the retrial of those locked up by the Ergenekon and Sledgehammer cases, which found many security officials guilty of running an underground state and plotting to overthrow the democratically elected ruling AK Party, Fikret Bila said that Erdogan had no problems with it.
Source: World Bulletin
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