Turkey's coup attempt examined at UK parliament

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON

July’s coup attempt in Turkey and the country’s relationship with the EU will be debated at a parliamentary meeting on Wednesday.

Talip Kucukcan, a lawmaker from Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, will speak at the event organized by the Daily Sabah Center for Policy Studies and the Democracy for All initiative.

Other developments in the Middle East and Turkey’s ties with the U.S. and Russia will also be addressed, Kucukcan said in a statement.

Kucukcan, who heads the Turkish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, said he would explain Turkey’s priorities in attempting to bring those responsible for the July 15 coup bid to justice.

Turkey holds the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen responsible for the attempt to overthrow the government, which resulted in 248 deaths.

In the statement, Kucukcan said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had started significant work in closing FETO schools and extraditing members who planned and supported the coup.

However, Turkey’s humanitarian policies would be the focus of the talk, the statement added.

“Turkey is the country that accommodates the most number of refugees in the world, including Syrians,” Kucukcan said.

“We will explain this humanitarian policy to the world. While Turkey is fulfilling its responsibilities, the European Union has acted hesitantly in sharing responsibilities and burdens. We will discuss on political outcome of this.

“We will remind Europe their moral, conscious and political responsibilities.”

He will also underline the need for cooperation in fighting terrorism, highlighting the groups Turkey is tackling such as the PKK, Daesh and FETO.

“Turkey’s security means the security of NATO and Europe,” Kucukcan said in the statement. “We will emphasize that attacks targeting Turkey are also a threat against NATO and Europe.”

Turkey’s continued desire to become a full EU member will also provide a focus for the talk.

Fellow AK Party lawmaker Gulnur Aybet will also participate in the House of Commons event, which will be chaired by British lawmaker Geoffrey Clifton-Brown.