EU and Erdogan: Suspicious role of Turkish organizations (Part 3)

Mahmoud al-Batakoushi

The proverb “kill two birds with one stone” applies to the policy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in making use of his tools to penetrate the countries of Europe, as these tools play a central role in controlling Turkish communities and turning them into social bases for the political system in Ankara and using them to mobilize support for the regime. The president and his party were inside the Turkish communities during the electoral stations until European capitals turned into a large electoral reservoir that contributes to Erdogan’s survival at the helm.

In the third part of the “EU and Erdogan” series, we find at the head of the organizations used for this purpose are the Milli Gurus movement, which was established by Necmettin Erbakan, Erdogan’s mentor. It is an Islamic organization that operates in the West and adopts many Brotherhood goals and tactics to brainwash the masses. These policies have achieved positive results to achieve Erdogan’s goals, the most important of which is persuading the Turks in Europe to vote for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). In the last presidential election in June 2018, Erdogan obtained more than 60% of the votes from all parts of Europe, and this strategy succeeded to a large extent.

Erdogan exploits his tools in Europe

Erdogan is exploiting his tools in Europe as an important source of financing the ruling regime through the transfers of Turks in Germany and France. It is also considered one of the sources of foreign investment for the state, as companies founded by Turks or people of Turkish origin in Germany alone exceed 100,000. The number of Turkish banks in Europe have reached about 18 banks running 106 branches, 78% of which are in Germany alone, and they work mainly in capital transfers to Ankara and in establishing businesses, as well as trying to influence the host countries’ policies with the economic card, especially in light of the fundamental points of contention between Europe and Turkey. The biggest proof of this is the role of Turkish tools in the crisis of Ankara with the countries of the European Union in various files.

Perhaps the most telling evidence is the campaign launched by the Justice, Equality and Peace Council against a number of French newspapers after they published press files and articles about Erdogan’s policies and about the networks with which he penetrated France for years, as he described these newspapers as “a flagrant example of irresponsible and aggressive journalism.”

Turkish networks also led numerous media attacks and demonstrations against the bill that was discussed by the French parliament in 2011 regarding the criminalization of the denial of the Armenian Genocide in 1915 by the Ottoman Empire, in an unprecedented mobilization campaign that ended in failure after the ratification of the law.

The Turkish Islamic Union in France succeeded in blocking the drafting of the Charter of the National Council of Imams, which the French authorities asked the Council of the Muslim Faith to put in place to regulate the work of imams of mosques and to prevent foreign interference in the organization of Islamic rituals, taking advantage of the climate of political and media freedoms in EU countries.

Addressing the currents of anti-Turkish policies

Erdogan exploits his foreign tools to confront any currents against Turkish policies. The patterns of confrontation differ between the political pressure exerted by the lobby groups, the Union of European Turkish Democrats, the Council of Justice, Equality and Peace, and the use of political violence by the Grey Wolves movement. Last October, about 250 people belonging to the movement in the city of Desine-Charpieu near Lyon, eastern France, took to the streets and attacked citizens of Armenian origin due to the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the latter of which is supported by Turkey. This led to injuries, and they wrote the words “Grey Wolves” and Erdogan’s short name on a monument honoring the victims of the Armenian Genocide and the National Center for Armenian Remembrance.

Before that, three Kurdish activists were killed in the French capital in 2013, and French investigators pointed the finger at members of the Turkish intelligence services MIT, which denied any involvement.

Perhaps the last of Erdogan’s crimes in this context, the Turkish diplomacy in Austria collected intelligence information and gathered information about the activities of opponents of the regime. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was notified of the names of Turkish teachers, representatives of local associations and businessmen living in Austria, and 13 Turkish citizens were investigated in Austria on charges of espionage, in addition to the involvement of the mosques of the Turkish-Islamic Federation of the Directorate of Religious Affairs in Germany in spying on Erdogan opponents, whether they are Turkish or German.