Major UN body drops FETO-linked groups

NEW YORK (AA) - 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.

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, Journalists and Writers Foundation (JWF), and Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON).

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

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

Consultative status gives non-governmental organizations various rights of access and engagement, including United Nations passes, the right to be represented at designated meetings and to have their documents translated and circulated as official UN documents.

Kimse Yok Mu had the status since 2010, and the JWF and TUSKON since 2012.

Turkey's Permanent Mission to the UN praised the move as "an important success" in the fight against FETO at international agencies.

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 the parliament.