Has Turkey’s Gulenist witch hunt spiraled out of control?

Turkish drivers with license plates bearing the “FG” letters have recently fallen under suspicion of being members of a terrorist organization for the simple reason that the two letters signify the initials of Fethullah Gulen, the US-based Turkish cult leader who, by a large consensus, is the instigator of the July 15 coup attempt.

In an Aug. 22 story about the license plate hunt, the mainstream daily Hurriyet reported the following on its website: “An inquiry has been launched into all ‘FG’ license plates on the grounds they denote the initials of terrorist chieftain Fethullah Gulen. The ‘FG’ license plates, issued in 2014 by the directorate-general of police, are being examined as part of the investigation. All private and public vehicles with ‘FG’ plates across Turkey will be examined to determine whether their owners are linked to the terrorist organization.”

As in many other countries, drivers in Turkey can pay to have vanity plates. In most cases, the sequence of letters that follows the two-digit province code forms a meaningful acronym, like the name of a soccer club. GS, for instance, stands for Galatasaray, and FB for Fenerbahce. AK has become another popular acronym in recent years, suggesting the vehicle’s owner is a supporter of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). So this, in fact, is an expression of identity. Some drivers would also have their own initials on the plate.

Many, however, can end up with a meaningful acronym on their plates by mere coincidence, without any relation to what the letters denote. Yet the Turkish authorities seem to have ruled out the probability of F and G coming together randomly, probing all vehicle owners with “FG” plates for possible links with the Gulen movement, dubbed in Turkey as the Fethullah Gulen Terror Organization (FETO).