Two staunchly pro-Erdoğan Turkish newspapers, Güneş and Yeni Akit, have accused the UK of supporting the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and said the country was hit by the ISIL it has nurtured in Manchester on Monday night.
The ISIL attack, which took place at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US singer Ariana Grande, claimed the lives of 22 people, some of whom were children.
In its front page story on Wednesday, Güneş said: “They [the UK] are reaping the harvest of what they have sown.”
The daily said: “The scorpion nurtured by Europe, which supports terror groups such as the PKK [outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party], FETÖ [a derogatory term used by the Turkish government and its supporters to refer to the faith-based Gülen movement] and DHKP/C [Far-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front] and tries every means to obstruct Turkey’s fight against terrorism, has again stung it.”
Güneş said Western countries have been overwhelmed by the panic of terrorism after the UK was drenched in blood by the ISIL attack.
Güneş is one of the newspapers owned by pro-government businessman Ethem Sancak, who was recently elected to Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan led the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK).
The Islamist Yeni Akit daily also covered the Manchester attack in its main story on Wednesday with the headline “Those sowing the wind are reaping the whirlwind.”
“The West, which has not only left Turkey alone in its fight against terror organizations but also embraced and armed them, has faced terrorism, which it nurtured, at the heart of the UK this time,” said Yeni Akit.
FETHULLAH GÜLEN CONDEMNS BOMB ATTACK IN MANCHESTER
Meanwhile, US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, whose views inspired the Gülen movement, popularly known as the Hizmet Movement, has condemned a terrorist bomb attack that took place after a concert at the Manchester Arena killing 22 people and injuring 59 others on Monday night.
In a written statement issued by the New York-based Alliance for Shared Values, of which he is the honorary president, Gülen said the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which claimed the credit for the attack, continues to be a scourge on society, propagating senseless, appalling violence and terrorism.
“I am deeply saddened by the bombing that took place at a concert at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England on May 22. I condemn this brutal assault in the strongest terms, and extend my deepest condolences to the 22 victims – some of whom, unthinkably, are innocent children – who lost their lives and the 59 others who were injured, as well as their families and loved ones. The Islamic State claimed credit for the attack and continues to be a scourge on our society, propagating senseless, appalling violence and terrorism.
“It is heartbreaking that a concert, a joyful event meant to bring people together to enjoy music and friendship, so quickly devolved into a scene of violence, chaos and terror. As I have said before, any attack on the sanctity of human life is an attack against humanity. There is no justification for such an atrocity and I will continue to denounce without hesitation any use of violence to promote an agenda – whether religious, political or ideological.
“As disturbed as I am by this vicious act, I pray to God, the Most Compassionate, for the quick recovery of those injured and that he may lead the victims of this tragedy, and indeed our global community, to a place of peace and harmony,” the statement said. (SCF with turkishminute.com) May 24, 2017
