Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk says he is convinced Gülen network was behind coup attempt

Nobel laureate writer Orhan Pamuk has said he is convinced that the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen and members of his network were behind Turkey's failed July 2016 coup attempt.

"For two weeks I watched videos of the failed coup attempt. I was not convinced at the beginning that Gülen and his followers were behind it but now I am convinced, seeing how much they infiltrated the Turkish army, marginalized other soldiers, and carried out the attempt," Pamuk said in an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review.

"However, I ask myself: How was it possible that they infiltrated the army? And who managed their ascent to the high ranks within the army? This is an immense [show of] insincerity as this group gained this power through the ruling party, and now that party is accusing everyone else of being [connected] with this group," he added. 

Pamuk said people "indirectly" laid claim to democracy on the night of the attempted takeover to defend the Justice and Development Party (AKP), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and their right to vote.
The Nobel laureate also criticized arrests and dismissals in the wake of the failed coup attempt, describing the implementation as "unfair and inconvincible."

"What is most insincere and unethical is putting journalists in jail, including ones writing books against [Gulen]," Pamuk said.

"For me, it started with the state of emergency and getting rid of two Constitutional Court judges. If you can get rid of the highest court, you can do anything. Now there is collaboration [between] the ultra-right and political Islam. Now right-wingers are in power they are trying to forget about the rule of law [and] constitutional courts. We do not have full democracy anymore. We have limited...