Bosnian professor: July 15 coup was like Sarajevo siege

By Talha Ozturk and Lejla Biogradlija

BELGRADE, Serbia

The events of the night of the July 15 failed military coup in Turkey are reminiscent of the 1992 siege of Sarajevo, said Amina Siljak Jesenkovic, a lecturer at the University of Sarajevo.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Jesenkovic said, "The Yugoslav army that we thought was ours opened fired on civilians with weapons purchased with our money. As Turkey had its first victims at the Bosphorus Bridge [facing coup soldiers], we had our first civilian victims at [Sarajevo’s] Vrbanja Bridge," said Jesenkovic.

FETO in Bosnia

Speaking about Bosnian presence of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) – the group blamed for the coup – Jesenkovic said it first became active in the 1990s, in the wake of the Bosnian war.

The terror network has operated in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1998, and established the Bosna Sema education facilities the same year, she said.

Schools affiliated with FETO in Bosnia and Herzegovina include four preschools, five elementary schools, five high schools, and one university operating in Sarajevo, Mostar, Bihać, Zenica, and Tuzla.

The International Sarajevo Burch University has a key role in structuring the network, she said. In tourism, the well-known Fidan company provides public employees with tours to Turkey. Gulen’s books are available in Bosnian through Hikmet Publications, she added.

"Some people came and said they want to support the education of your children after the war, when people were having financial issues. So what's behind this? Meat-eaters don’t feed sheep for nothing. They do it to take advantage of its wool and meat," said Jesenkovic.

Moreover, Jesenkovic said that a group from FETO told her after the war that they have a project with the motto, "We will conquer and rule the world."

"I remember I asked them how [they would do that]. They said they would establish schools worldwide and raise generations to serve in state bodies. So they could rule the world. Their project proceeded, but there was neither Islam nor humanity behind it. They exploited people's religious feelings," she said.

‘Turkey is important for Bosnia’

Jesenkovic also said that Turkey is an extremely important country for Bosnia, stressing that some 5 million Bosnians live there.

"Turks proved that they are a powerful nation by its citizens stopping the tanks [on the night of July 15]," she concluded.

Turkey's government has repeatedly said the deadly coup attempt, which killed more than 230 people and injured nearly 2,200 others, was organized by U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen's followers and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

Gulen is also accused of running a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.