Turkey's EU minister slams UK report on coup attempt

By Ecenur Colak

ANTALYA, Turkey (AA) - Turkey's EU minister on Saturday criticized a U.K. parliamentary committee report, saying some of its conclusions on last year's coup attempt in Turkey were partial.

"When such reports are being prepared, they either do not ask our opinions, or they put them aside and write a one-sided report," Omer Celik told reporters after speaking at a panel on the sidelines of Turkish-British Tatlidil Forum in southern Antalya province.

Celik said that the Foreign Affairs Committee, which released the report early Saturday, could have come together with Turkish parliamentarians, both from the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, and opposition parties, and drawn up a "joint report".

"This way, you could clearly establish the issues you agree and disagree on," he said.

As for the remarks of one of the report signatories calling for more evidence, Celik said he had a hard time understanding the question "Is there enough evidence?".

Noting that a lot of putschists testified that they were members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization -- which Ankara blames for orchestrating the defeated coup which left 249 people martyred, and around 2,200 others wounded -- and admitted that they attempted the coup on behalf of Fetullah Gulen, the U.S.-based leader of FETO, Celik said a large number of judges also admitted that they followed Gulen's orders in major cases they oversaw.

"I asked [the signatory] what evidence they wanted. More evidence, more talk... We are ready for this. There is nothing we are covering up," he said.

In addition to the coup attempt, Turkey's government also accuses the FETO terror network of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

Since the coup attempt, operations have been ongoing in the military, police and judiciary, as well as in state institutions across the country, to arrest suspects with alleged links to FETO.

The Tatlidil Forum, established in 2011, brings together leading figures from the fields of academia, business, the media and politics to strengthen relations between Turkey and the U.K.