'Parallel state to be neutralized'

ISTANBUL

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan has said the fight against the “parallel state” will continue until all its components are neutralized.

In remarks made to the media following Friday prayers in Istanbul, Akdogan also said he is now responsible for the coordination of the fight against organizations conducting illegal activities under a legal appearance, which includes the struggle against the “parallel state”.

He said efforts "will continue to completely neutralize [the parallel state] with all its components which have infiltrated the state."

The “parallel state” represents a clandestine group of Turkish bureaucrats and senior officials, allegedly embedded in the country’s institutions, including the judiciary and the police.

"We know that the organization has harmed a lot, everybody from other religious communities to non-governmental organizations. Therefore, it is very important to eliminate the damage [done by the organization] completely."

Akdogan said the “parallel state” had damaged the Turkish state, its laws and Muslims.

He said that apart from being a key issue for all Justice and Development (AK) Party governments, the “parallel state” is also an issue which the country's National Security Council accepts as a "national security problem”.

The “parallel state” is headed by U.S.-based preacher Fettullah Gulen, who runs a network of schools and commercial enterprises in Turkey and around the world.

Known also by the initials FETO/PDY, the organization is said to be behind the December 2013 corruption investigation into senior Turkish government figures, including ministers.

"What happened on Dec. 17 was not an attempt to topple the [AK] party or a person, but an attempt to overthrow the whole state," Akdogan said.

Since early 2014, investigations into the parallel state have seen hundreds of civil servants, including police and public prosecutors, arrested or reassigned.