Erdogan fights 'parallel' state

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Turkish cleric based in the United States Fethullah Gulen and his group are working as a “parallel state” and called it a “terrorist organisation”, the Anadolu Agency reported yesterday.

His remarks came during a one-day visit to Albania aimed at boosting economic relations and raising security cooperation between two countries.

Erdogan said the trade volume between the two countries was $430 million per year, adding: “My wish is for this trade volume to reach $1 billion per year.”

Albanian President Bujar Nishani said Albanian-Turkish relations were already consolidated with traditional relations between the two peoples and strategic interests could also be shared.

Nishani expressed his and the Albanian people’s gratitude “for the support that the friendly nation of Turkey has given to Albania over the years, including recognising Kosovo’s independence, lobbying for an increase in the countries that recognise Kosovo, the support for Albania’s integration to NATO, etc.”

Recalling that Turkey is the fourth-biggest economic partner to Albania, the president said Turkish businessmen were welcome to invest in strategic sectors such as energy and transport in the country.

Erdogan’s remarks also came after four public prosecutors and a judge linked to the December 2013 anti-corruption investigation, which targeted senior officials and businessmen close to the government, were expelled from the judiciary.

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has denounced the probe as a “dirty plot” by Gulen’s supporters in the criminal justice system.

Hundreds of police officers have been detained and judges and prosecutors reshuffled in the aftermath of the affair.