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Turkish Ministry Ordered Schengen Visas for Officials Linked to
Country’s Intelligence Services
Nov. 8, 2021
Two Islamist operatives linked to the Turkish intelligence have
received help from Turkey’s Foreign Ministry to obtain their Schengen
visas from the Belgian Consulate in Istanbul under the diplomatic
channels to deliver an official communiqué and secure urgent approval.
According to Nordic Monitor, the foreign ministry sent a most urgent
note to the Belgian Embassy in Ankara on May 19, 2017, asking the
Belgian Consulate to process two Schengen visas as soon as possible
for the two officials from the Turkey Youth Foundation (TUGVA), which
is run by the family of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“TUGVA President Ismail Emanet and Vice President Sekcin Koc are going
to participate in NATO Conference on the date May 24, that President
of Turkey Rexep Tayyip Erdogan will attend, as a member of the
committee of Presidency of the Republic of Turkey. Ismail Emanet and
Sekcin Koc are going to travel by plane of the Presidency. So, there
is no reservation for plane ticket,” the letter reads.
Moreover, TUGVA, which, according to Nordic Monitor, is an extension
of Turkish intelligence under the cover of an NGO and has a secret
mandate to recruit young people in Turkey and diaspora communities to
help support the Islamist regime of President Erdogan.
The foundation manages numerous dorms in Turkey, has access to schools
and promotes political Islam aligned with the ideology of the Muslim
Brotherhood.
The communiqué of the foreign ministry’s Directorate-General for
Protocol reveals that Ismail Emanet, the head of TÜGVA, and deputy
Seçkin Koç were part of the President’s delegation and listed that the
reason for their visit to Brussels was related to a NATO summit. Both
individuals were also part of the official delegation of President
Erdoğan, who was anticipated to attend the summit in Belgium on May
25.
However, according to a leaked memo from the TUGVA archives, both
officials planned to meet with the President to discuss the
foundation’s activities and receive guidance on pursuing operations in
Turkey and abroad. The memo also mentioned the following figures,
which figures TÜGVA could reach out to in an attempt to mobilize youth
in Turkey and invite in a youth convention there:
Khaled Mashal, the former Hamas leader and currently the head of
Hamas’s politburo abroad
Tunisian Muslim Brotherhood figure, Rashid al-Gannushi
Bosnian Muslim politician Bakir Izetbegovic, formerly the Bosniak
member of the Presidency of Bosnia
The memo also indicated that the TÜGVA operatives had planned to talk
on the plane to Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Erdoğan’s chief
advisor and spokesman, İbrahim Kalın, to discuss study areas that the
foundation has to focus on for the future.