Interior minister vows to clear Turkey of FETO 'plague'

ANKARA

Turkey will get rid of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) “plague” until no member is left, the country’s newly-appointed Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said Thursday.

Soylu took on the new post from his predecessor Efkan Ala at a handover ceremony at the Interior Ministry in Ankara.

Speaking at the ceremony, Soylu said: "July 15 is a turning point for our nation, for the region and countries who are hopeful of Turkey. Our noble people have shown to the world that democracy is a vital element in becoming a nation."

"Turkey will clear this calamity, this cowardice," Soylu continued. "We are determined. This is not a decision by the Interior Ministry, but it is Turkey's government policy and an order from its people."

Soylu said Turkey had started the 21st century well and would not give up on its efforts to improve living standards for its people.

"Democracy, law and our land are the signatures of Turkey's 21st century picture," Soylu said. "Turkey's struggle against Daesh and PKK, its development and growth, its efforts to glorify democracy will take place in our history."

Ala congratulated Soylu on his new role and expressed his gratitude to the Turkish people for "protecting the national will".

Turkey's government has said the defeated coup, which left 240 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, was organized by followers of Fetullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his FETO network.

Gulen is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.

Soylu, a Justice and Development (AK) Party lawmaker for the Trabzon province on Turkey’s Black Sea coast, was appointed as interior minister on Wednesday. Mehmet Muezzinoglu was appointed as Turkey's labor and social security minister, Soylu's former post.

There was also a handover ceremony in the Labor and Social Security Ministry as newly appointed Muezzinoglu took over the ministerial position from Soylu.