The Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) is stronger than the phenomenal Illuminati, wrote German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung on Friday in an article, stressing that the group has gained a foothold in Germany’s Swabia southwest.
Its members present themselves as Turkish opposition and democrats, but they are blocking inquiries, ”the article said.
Süddeutsche Zeitung said that some 400 FETÖ fugitives who came from Swabia gathered at Karlsplatz, a large plaza in central Munich, for the protests in what is the first time the group has existed in decades.
The article drew attention to the terror group’s dark network and presence in southern Germany and how they infiltrated hundreds of thousands of followers into key Turkish institutions.
FETÖ, which has served as a religious-based charity movement for decades, has managed to infiltrate its members into law enforcement, military, judiciary and bureaucracy over the years. Most of the moles are recruited before they apply to the military, police or law school, and FETÖ is accused of stealing exam questions and answers to get into the institution, easily planting its members without suspicion. Authorities began cracking down on the group’s network after a 2016 coup attempt that killed 251 people.
Despite Turkey’s extradition requests and bilateral legal treaties and warnings that the terror group could harm the countries in which it operates and not just Turkey, many FETÖ members still enjoy their lives in countries around the world.
The United States, where the head of fugitive FETÖ Gülen lives, is the target of most extradition requests. Turkey has sent seven extradition requests for Gulen to Washington so far, but has seen little progress in his extradition.
Christian Rumpf, Turkish lawyer and jurist, was quoted by Süddeutsche Zeitung as saying: “Gülen’s supporters achieved a large community structure with strong cohesion and loyal groups in all areas of society – an almost secret alliance with a power greater than the legendary Illuminati.”
It said that according to figures from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, 32,000 Turks applied for asylum in Germany between 2016 and 2020 while “in Bavaria, there are 3,500, including countless Gülen supporters.”
“Lack of transparency is a hallmark of the movement,” he added, saying the group had also been active in Augsburg, a town in Swabia, for 30 years, largely undetected.
Gulen’s supporters set up four kindergartens, a women’s association and three religiously run dormitories, the article said. One association group called Frohsinn organized the FETÖ protests.
Matthias Garte, a former city integration officer, told Süddeutsche Zeitung that Frohsinn was always in the shadow. “We suspect there is a network behind it.”
