Mozambique: Government proposes another criminal investigation unit
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday called for Mozambican support in fighting what he called “a group of terrorists” who launched an abortive coup against the Turkish government in June last year.
Speaking to reporters, alongside his host, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, after the two leaders had held discussions behind closed doors, Erdogan said “we would like to count on your support to fight against this group”.
The group in question is led by a Turkish Islamic preacher, Fethullah Gulen, who was once an ally of Erdogan, but has lived in exile in the United States since 1999. The group has no official name but is usually referred to as Hizmet (“the Service”) by its followers, while the Turkish authorities call it FETO (the Turkish acronym for Gulenist Terror Organisation).
Gulen condemned the 2016 coup attempt and strongly denied any involvement in it. Since Gulen continues to live in the United States, it seems that the US authorities have also not been convinced by the claims that he is a terrorist.
Erdogan claimed that Turkish “terrorist cells” are active in Mozambique. “We know that cells of this group are present here in Mozambique, and are replicating their initiatives and their hidden agendas in several parts of the world”, he said.
These alleged terror cells, “have a vast network of schools and associations, and they have a very broad network here in Mozambique too”, he continued. “We know that in Mozambique they have infiltrated. What they are trying to achieve in Turkey they will also want to achieve in Mozambique sooner or later. This is something to which we are drawing your attention”.
An offensive against Gulen’s followers is clearly high on the agenda of Erdogan’s African tour (which also includes visits to Tanzania and Madagascar). Before leaving Ankara he declared that one of his goals was “to expose the activities of FETO in African countries”.
The best-known Gulenist initiative in Mozambique is the Willow International School in Maputo. This school has a reputation for high academic standards, and many well-to-do Mozambicans send their children to study there.
In his public remarks at the press briefing, Nyusi made no mention of Gulen, of Turkish “terrorists”, or of the Willow School, although it is not known what reply he may have given Erdogan in their private meeting.
On less controversial areas, Erdogan said that his 24 hour visit to Mozambique will give a greater impulse to bilateral relations, and diversify interchanges between Mozambique and Turkey. He added that he was proud to be the first Turkish president to visit Mozambique since diplomatic relations were established 40 years ago.
He hoped that a southern African regional branch of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) will be set up in Mozambique to stimulate an increase in cooperation between Turkey and all the countries of the region.
Erdogan noted that trade between Mozambique and Turkey, between January and November 2016, amounted to only 93 million US dollars, a figure he regarded as far from adequate. He wanted to see the figure more than double, to 250 million dollars a year, in the near future, and then double again, to 500 million dollars a year.
Four cooperation agreements were signed, in the presence of the two Presidents. Mozambican Foreign Minister Oldemiro Baloi and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, signed an agreement on suppressing entry visas in diplomatic and service passports, and an agreement on regular political consultations.
Agreements on commercial and economic cooperation, and on the promotion and protection of investments, were signed by the Mozambican Minister of Industry and Trade, Max Tonela, and by the Turkish Minister of the Economy, Nihat Zeybekci.
Two memoranda of understanding, on culture and on tourism, were signed by the Mozambican Minister of Culture and Tourism, Silva Dunduru, and his Turkish counterpart. No details were given about the contents of any of these agreements.
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