UN move away from FETO-linked groups 'perfectly normal'

By Cigdem Alyanak

ISTANBUL (AA) - Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday said it was "perfectly normal" that the United Nations distanced itself from groups linked to terrorist organizations.

Cavusoglu's remarks came during a news briefing at a Central American Integration System (SICA) foreign ministers’ meeting in Istanbul.

A major UN agency on Wednesday canceled the consultative status of three groups linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), a move hailed as a victory by the Turkish mission to the global body.

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the six principal UN organs, came to a consensus after voting to terminate all affiliation with the Kimse Yok Mu Relief Foundation, the Journalists and Writers Foundation and the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists.

The 54-member ECOSOC also canceled consultative status applications for two other FETO-linked groups.

All three organizations were shut down in Turkey for their support for FETO following the July 15 coup attempt last summer.

"Yesterday, the decision was made unanimously… It was the outcome of Turkey's initiative," Cavusoglu said.

Turkey's foreign minister also said that it was a "positive thing" that Central American nations did not host FETO-linked organizations.

The Turkish government holds FETO responsible for the defeated coup attempt that resulted in 249 deaths and thousands of injuries in a series of events July 15 that included the bombing of crucial state organs, including parliament.