Ex-minister slams EU’s coup response

By Kasim Ileri

WASHINGTON (AA) – Turkey was left alone by European leaders for more than one month after a bloody coup attempt, former Turkish Minister of EU Affairs Volkan Bozkir said Friday.

Bozkir, who is currently an MP for the ruling Justice and Development Party, spoke at the Washington-based Middle East Institute’s 7th Annual Conference on Turkey.

“Turkish people cannot understand why for 45 days we were left alone in Turkey without any visit, any solidarity statement,” he said, adding that European leaders began to question Turkey’s human right record just days after the July 15 coup attempt.

“This is a real heart breaking story,” he said. “We will always remember this for perhaps decades.”

The coup was led by a fraction within the Turkish Army linked to U.S.-based terror leader Fetullah Gulen.

Gulen runs the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), a network that has tried to penetrate the Turkish state by creating a quasi-state.

Following the overthrow attempt, the Turkish government removed tens of thousands of FETO-linked civil servants from their posts and nearly 32,000 members have so far been arrested.

Speaking at the same conference, former U.S. Ambassador to Ankara James Jeffry outlined steps to ease strained relations between the U.S. and Turkey.

Jeffry said U.S. support to the PKK/PYD in Syria, the security situation unfolding along Turkey's southern border and the extradition request by Turkey for Gulen are main issues to be blamed for strained relations between the two strategic partners.

“The United States should clarify its relations with PYD,” he said was a way to improve relations with Ankara.

He added that Washington should also support the Turkish drafted safe zone in northern Syria and take measures to monitor Gulen in the state of Pennsylvania.

Turkey has asked the U.S. to arrest Gulen or restrict his movements to prevent him from escaping the U.S.

“Extradition request for Gulen is a minefield for U.S.-Turkish relations,” Jeffry said, adding that is it a “very complicated legal situation”.