FETO invaded information technology: Turkish minister

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia

FETO -- the terrorist group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey -- had infiltrated institutions involved in information technology, Turkey’s interior minister said Thursday.

"Two years ago, a coup attempt took place in our country. FETO was most nested in institutions that are working on information technology,” said Suleyman Soylu, referring to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

“I think we are the country that has done the most digital material inspections in a brief period in the world, after the coup attempt. The figure is 1 million,” Soylu told the Ministerial Conference on High-Tech Crime and Information Security in Serbia's capital Belgrade.

“Through the computer and similar devices, this puts forth another fact: when we communicate with the digital and conventional world, our ability to catch crime is at a much higher level,” he added.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup attempt of July 15, 2016 which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Soylu said that social media and the cyber world should be managed well, warning that without common principles and international cooperation, there is the threat of a new Cold War.

"Twitter, Facebook, and many other outlets that we use as a common tongue have no country of origin. These companies are companies of the world. If these companies are assessed through the countries that host them, they will host a Cold War," said Soylu.

Speaking about Turkey's fight against crime, Soylu pointed out that Turkey is not only fighting cybercrimes, but also terrorist groups such as the PKK, its Syrian branch the PYD, Daesh, and FETO, as well as irregular migration and drug trafficking.

- International cooperation

Emphasizing that the digital world makes the concept of crime transcend borders, Soylu said: "I am speaking as interior minister of Turkey, the country whose rights to access the Interpol database was suspended by Interpol. The red bulletins of 133 people who received a red bulletin on the issue of terrorism were canceled. This leads us to look at the notion of international cooperation with suspicion."

The conference in Belgrade was attended by Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic, as well as representatives from the countries of the region: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania.

As part of his official contacts in Belgrade, Soylu also met with Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic.