Erdogan Pushes Macedonia to Suppress 'Gulenist Terrorists'

As Macedonia's President Gjorge Ivanov paid an official visit to Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reminded Macedonia that Ankara expected it to cooperate more in the fight against Erdogan's foes among supporters of the exiled cleric Fetullah Gulen.

"We want to see Macedonia take precautions against FETO members and institutions," Erdogan said on February 20, using an acronym for what Ankara has dubbed the "Fethullah Terrorist Organisation", referring to the network of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.

"We will cleanse the Balkans of FETO with the help of our friends."

Ivanov also addressed FETO as a terrorist group stating that Macedonia is "aware of what evil has been inflicted on Turkey by terrorist organisations, especially by the Fethullah Terrorist Organisation - FETO".

"We expressed support for all the legitimately elected institutions in Turkey.

"It is Turkey's sovereign right to protect its citizens and its borders from all forms of terrorism… We have agreed that our security officials and intelligence institutions will cooperate more in the regard to terrorism," Ivanov added.

Ankara claims that Fethullah Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan's who now lives in exile in the US, was behind the failed July 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.

Gulen himself insists he had nothing to do with the attempted coup and has asked an international commission to investigate the failed coup.

That has not stopped Ankara from arresting more than 60,000 alleged "Gulenists" in Turkey, closing schools, colleges, NGOs, companies and media outlets linked to him and demanding that foreign governments do the same.

Turkish officials have pressured Macedonia and other states in the Balkan region to suppress Gulen-linked NGOs...