Turkey has urged Thailand to sever ties with a Bangkok-based Turkish business group believed to have links with Fethullah Gulen, the US-based cleric it accuses of directing the mid-July coup attempt.
The move is part of a global campaign by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to crack down on the network of his friend-turn-foe, branded as the mastermind of the failed putsch that claimed at least 290 lives and wounded some 1,500 people.
Turkish ambassador to Thailand Osman Bulent Tulun told English-language newspapers this week the Thai government should not have contact with the Thai-Turkish Business Association (TTBA) as it is linked to Mr Gulen.
- Defying the world: Erdogan detains generals, journalists
The Turkish government alleges he leads a terror group called the Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organisation (Feto). Mr Gulen, who lives in self-exile in the US, insists he is a private citizen with no terror ties.
"They don't represent Turkey, nor business people in Turkey," Mr Tulun said during a lunch on Monday, referring to the TTBA.
A similar message was conveyed to the Foreign Ministry's European Affairs Department chief Songphol Sukchan last Friday, according to Mr Songphol.
Denying the allegation, TTBA executive director Abdullah Sabri Tok told the Bangkok Post it was a private organisation established in 2007 by Thai and Turkish business people with a prime interest in trade and businesses.
"TTBA is registered to the Board of Trade and Ministry of Commerce with the mission of building trade bridges and fostering business activities between Thailand, Turkey and TTBA's business partners around the world," Mr Tok said.
If Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan is to be believed, the TTBA is controlled by Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, pictured here at his 'self-exile' residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania. (AP photo)
About 700 registered Turkish residents live in Thailand while 1,500 Turkish people are believed to be staying here, according to the Turkish embassy.
TTBA's business activities include organising a forum for Thai businessmen with the Tanzanian Business Association in Bangkok, representing Thailand at the LeMit Ethnic Food Exhibition held in Germany and attending the Turkic American Convention in New York and Washington DC with Thai and Turkish members, he said.
Despite accusations by Mr Erdogan that Mr Gulen was the coup mastermind, Mr Tok said the scholar who has lived in exile in the United States since 1999 is an "Islamic preacher and social advocate whose decades‐long commitment to interfaith tolerance and altruism has inspired millions in Turkey and around the world".
With a global network of schools, charities and media interests, Mr Gulen is accused of running a parallel state that engineered the July 15-16 failed putsch. Mr Gulen denies any involvement.
Following the insurrection, Mr Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency and detained more than 13,000 people in the military, judiciary and other institutions.
The president also ordered the closure of thousands of private schools, charities and foundations with suspected links to Mr Gulen. The Turkish Foreign Ministry also has assigned "all embassies to explain to the host countries that the coup was plotted by disciples of the Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organisation".
Turkish ambassador to Cambodia Ilhan Khemal Tug last week hastily held a press conference to urge the Cambodian government to close the Zaman International School and Zaman University in Phnom Penh because of their association with Mr Gulen, according to the Phnom Penh Post.
But for military-ruled Thailand, the Turkish ambassador in Bangkok chose to hold a small lunch meeting with selected journalists on Monday to discuss the matter.
"We have previously called for Thai authorities to keep an eye on members of this spiritual network which has a long-time presence and connections with people in the bureaucracy," said a Turkish diplomat, who declined to be identified.
Even before the attempted coup, the Turkish ambassador had asked for cooperation from the Thai authorities to monitor the activities of four Turkish-funded schools in Thailand and an "imam" who has an arrest warrant against him in Turkey and has been hiding in Thailand.
Mr Songphol, of the European Affairs Department, confirmed the meetings.
"We reaffirm our government's stance that we won't allow anyone to use Thai territory to sabotage other countries. The ministry will certainly work with law enforcement agencies if we receive solid evidence," said the Thai diplomat.
In defence of the three schools in Bangkok and one in Chiang Mai, the TTBA's Mr Tok said they were not linked to any terrorist networks.
"The Marmara School, for example, was awarded with The King Royal Award in Education twice and has also represented Thailand in many International Science Olympiads and cultural events," he said.
The bloody Turkish clashes also prompted Thai trade negotiators to postpone their visit to Turkey for talks on a free trade agreement, which both sides expected to complete by mid-2017.
Two-way trade in 2015 was valued at US$1.21 billion (42.38 billion baht), down by 11.11% from 2014. Exports to Turkey amounted to $978.9 million while imports from Turkey were worth $233.3 million.
A government study estimates the FTA will increase Thailand's GDP by 0.03% or $33 million.