ISTANBUL
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc has criticized a police operation against six nongovernmental organizations in western Turkey’s Manisa province for allegedly providing funds to the “parallel state.”
"These are innocent NGOs, and most of them are people that I know. It is grave for them to be portrayed as harbors of terrorism," Arinc said Wednesday, adding: "I think this is wrong."
Arinc stood as Member of Parliament from Manisa for four terms between 1995 and 2007. He is still a member of parliament, but currently represents the Bursa province.
In March, Ankara Mayor Melih Gokcek accused Arinc of being close to the U.S.-based preacher, Fethullah Gulen, and his Gulen movement, which the Turkish government believes formed a "parallel state" within state institutions -- primarily in the judiciary and police -- to seize power.
Arinc and Gokcek, both senior figures in the ruling AK Party, were then mired in a quarrel over the "parallel state," exchanging blame for supporting the movement and catering to it during its time of influence in Turkey, before its eventual fallout with the government.
The Turkish government has vowed to crackdown on the "parallel state" since a graft probe targeted Turkish cabinet members, which the government claims was a coup attempt.
Many police chiefs and thousands of officers have since been relocated to different cities, and the top judicial body has been restructured.
Last week, two judges were detained on charges of attempting to overthrow or disable the state after they appeared to give a green light to a move that would, if successful, have resulted in the release of dozens of "parallel state" suspects, including the manager of a pro-Gulen Turkish television network.
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