ANKARA
Turkey will use its "soft power" against the rise of Islamophobia and anti-Turkish sentiments around the world, Culture and Tourism Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Thursday.
In remarks made at Anadolu Agency's Editors’ Desk in capital Ankara, Kurtulmus said: "There an intensive Islamophobia and anti-Turkey sentiment in the world. Misperceptions like ‘Don’t go to Turkey, Turkey is a dangerous country’ are being created to directly affect Turkey’s tourism.
“Turkey will use its culture and tourism against Islamophobia and anti-Turkey sentiments as two important instruments of its soft power.”
The minister also said it would be difficult to prevent terrorism “unless the understanding that promotes terrorism is stopped”.
He urged for “a sincere international dialogue” to address the issue and called for an end to “proxy wars” in the region.
“No terrorist benefits any country.”
Referring to the recent terror attack in New York that claimed eight lives, Kurtulmus said: “Terror has become international in terms of its targets and sources.
“If you ask where the safest city in the world is, then even that city [termed as the safest] is a target.”
Middle East 'big game'
About tensions in the Middle East, Kurtulmus said: “There is a big game in the region. A century-old system is being tried to be revived; the region is being partitioned into smaller areas.
“Turkey is the only country that can stop this game, in terms of both its power and political stability.”
Speaking about the recent visa row between the U.S. and Turkey, Kurtulmus hoped the issue would be resolved during Prime Minister Binali Yildirim’s upcoming visit to Washington.
“I hope some steps would be taken on the U.S. row during this visit,” he said, adding that Yildirim’s official visit “may help to solve the issue”.
On Wednesday, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin confirmed Yildirim’s plan to visit the U.S. that would come amid a row which was sparked on Oct. 8, when the American embassy in Ankara announced the suspension of non-immigrant visa services to Turkish nationals.
This followed the arrest of a local employee at the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, prompting a tit-for-tat response from Ankara.
Describing the U.S. visa row as a “temporary” issue, Kurtulmus said the fact that Terrorist Organization (FETO) leader Gulen still lives in the U.S. is a “permanent” and “vital” problem for Turkey.
FETO and its U.S.-based leader Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Probe coup plot 'further'
Kurtulmus pointed out that Yildirim would reiterate Turkey’s demand for Gulen’s extradition at the prime ministerial level during his visit.
On the links of coup plotters Adil Oksuz and Kemal Batmaz with the Terrorist Organization (FETO), Kurtulmus said they were probably not in the U.S. “for tourism” a short time before last year’s defeated coup on July 15.
Oksuz is alleged to be the “imam” of FETO members in the Turkish Air Forces and is said to be a key link between Gulen and coup plotters in Turkey.
Batmaz, a civilian accused of being one of the defeated coup leaders, was arrested at the base on the morning of July 16.
“If the investigation goes a little further, a footage recording the meeting [between Oksuz, Batmaz and Gulen in the U.S.] may be revealed,” the said.
Evidence of Oksuz’s links to FETO includes him and Batmaz being reportedly caught on camera returning to Istanbul from the U.S. on July 13, 2016, just two days before the defeated coup attempt.
Authorities say they had visited Gulen at his home in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania to discuss the plot. Batmaz had denied these allegations as well, saying it was that they were at the airport on that day.
When was accused in court of commanding the 143rd fleet at the 4th Main Jet Base Akinci, he denied it, claiming he was in the area to inspect a plot of land that he was considering to buy.
