Did the Glorious State of NSW attempt to frustrate moves to extradite F.Gulen from the US? Perceptions matter, Governor, Premier,senior members of the judiciary must provide answers

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Gladys Berejiklian (right) and Governor Margaret Beazley 

The Washington Post and others have reported that , Rudy Giuliani privately urged President Donald Trump in 2017 to return a Turkish cleric living in exile in the Poconos back to Turkey to face criminal charges.




At and around that time senior members of the NSW Government and judiciary, including the Premier Gladys Berejiklian, current Governor Margaret Beazley (who was then president of the Court Of Appeal), and the Chief Justice Of The Supreme Court NSW Tom Bathurst supported in heir offical capacity various Gulen activities in NSW. They did so despite protests from the successive ambassadors from Turkey.




The above names as well as the Attorney General NSW Mark Speakman AG have refused to provide answers to the numerous stories published by this writer and others, including the SBS, about this embarrassing state of affairs which put Australia at odds with Turkey's interest despite Turkey being a friendly nation with which Australia maintains diplomatic relations.

Indeed, the AG's officers have accused this writer of "defaming" Governor Beazley for simply pointing out that she had associated herself with an organisation accused of terrorist activity, and known for influence peddling.







The Washington Post story raises the possibility that the above named knowingly or otherwise attempted to frustrate the moves to extradite Gulen. After all, how could anyone accuse the Chief Justice, the President of the Court of Appeal, and the Attorney General of poor judgement.




Nevertheless, this support for Gulen has frustrated Turkey. As SBS reported in 2016:

SBS contacted the Turkish Ambassador to see whether the embassy here had issued similar warnings to politicians as had been delivered in New Zealand. In both countries, MPs on either side of the political fence did not heed the embassy’s advice last month. They attended the iftar dinners.

Ambassador Gokdenizler tells SBS:

“Of course we are concerned, and of course we warned both federal and state authorities about how we approach these groups. This is not something new. We have been doing it for a few years.”

But he concedes: “The things is, I have no way of knowing whether there are some terrorist activities in Australia. But since the government of NSW is [hosting the iftar dinner], they’re not seen as such.”

The above is almost Boratesque, with NSW personalities seeing themselves as players on the world stage, not simply "making learnings" of complex international affairs, but attempting, it would seem, to interfere in the affairs of a friendly nation.

END




See also
Gulen, Governor Beazley, the Premier and AG NSW and members of the judiciary : Revelation of Gulen's financing raises perception of bias that must be addressed.