Dodik, Erdogan discuss Gulenists in Bosnia

Anadolija

Bosnia Presidency Chairman Milorad Dodik confirmed on Tuesday that he and his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan talked about Turkish citizens who currently reside in Bosnia and whom authorities in Turkey suspect of collaborating with terrorist organisations.

“Turkey has information regarding the attempted coup. It was tracked down that there are some people and institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, mostly in the Federation (FBiH) entity and I think it is a matter for the Federation's institutions and I believe Erdogan completely understands that,” said Dodik, who met with Turkish President on Monday alongside other two members of Bosnia's tripartite Presidency.

Bosnia's investigative media outlet Zurnal.info published on Monday that the Ministry of Security received a list with names of supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish Islamic scholar, the leader of so-called Gulen movement, an international organisation presently outlawed in Turkey as an alleged terrorist group.

The Gulen movement is known as FETO and its supporters, Gulenists, are the main suspects in the 2016 Turkish coup attempt.

The same source claimed that Erdogan asked Bosnian authorities to extradite all Turkish citizens whom authorities in Turkey suspect of collaborating with the Gulen movement. According to Zurnal.info, Ankara delivered a list of eight Turkish citizens who now live in Bosnia and whose passports have been annulled.

“Turkey has certain demands and this matter was not raised this time, this was discussed when we were in Ankara too,” added Dodik.

Commenting on the Monday incident when Turkish President's security guards collided with Bosnia's Border Police at the Sarajevo International Airport, Dodik briefly said it was unnecessary and that he was sorry it happened.

The valid regulations apply to everyone and have to be respected, stressed Dodik, adding that he cannot say more on this topic until he sees official information on what happened there.