ografyasi." Galip Ensarioglu, himself a Kurd, a member of Diyarbakir's business class and a mayoral candidate on the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) ticket, also stated on Dec. 3 that he "would not hesitate to call every territory where Kurds live `Kurdistan.' I myself am Kurdish as well, and I

e Hizmet movement he has inspired of being part of a "dirty operation, with external ties" aimed at overthrowing the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government. Prime Minister Erdogan's war on Gillen and the Hizmet community comes as a shock to all and, as an event, is something new for Turkey.

consistently pursued. Unfortunately, it failed. The plan was simple but elegant: The U.S. would work with moderate Islamist groups like Turkey's AK Party and Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood to make the Middle East more democratic. This would kill three birds with one stone. First, by aligning itself with

on the US to extradite him. Mr Gulen denies any involvement. Turkey has cracked down heavily in the wake of the coup attempt. On Friday the governing AK Party ordered an internal purge of Gulen supporters. More than 270 people died in events surrounding the coup attempt. Speaking at a news conference in Was