Turkey's Erdogan vows to 'liquidate' treachery at home and abroad

April 8, 2014 
By Jonny Hogg and Gulsen Solaker
Source: Yahoo News

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday local elections had given him a mandate to "liquidate" the enemies he sees as contriving a corruption scandal and would go after their international activities and sources of funding.

In his first parliamentary speech since his ruling AK Party dominated March 30 municipal polls, Erdogan said "traitors" responsible for a stream of graft allegations and the illegal tapping of thousands of phones would be brought to account.

Erdogan accuses Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former ally now based in the United States, of orchestrating the graft scandal to undermine him. Gulen's Hizmet network claims millions of followers and holds influence in the police and judiciary.

Erdogan has accused the movement of running a "parallel state", spying on thousands of government officials over years and leaking manipulated recordings in a bid to unseat him ahead of last month's elections.

"March 30 is the day when the page was turned on tutelage, when the monuments of hubris were felled, and the privileges (of an elite) were lost forever," Erdogan said.

"The nation gave us a mandate for the liquidation of the parallel state. We will not have the slightest hesitation. We shall never forget the betrayal," he said.

He said the government would follow up on what he called the network's international links and investigate all "illegally collected monies and donations".

The movement, also known as Cemaat (JEH-maat), "The Community", has for decades been a spearhead of Turkish cultural influence and commerce overseas, especially in the assertive moves into Africa, the Middle East and Asia in the years after the AK Party took power in 2002.

Cemaat says the Turkish government is already putting pressure on governments to close down its global network of schools which have been a major source of influence and revenue. Government officials say Turkish embassies have stopped backing schools and business linked to Gulen.

Hizmet denies using followers in the police and judiciary to launch a graft inquiry targeting Erdogan family members, ministers and businessmen, or any involvement in the illicit recording of top officials.

Erdogan's Islamist-rooted AK Party relied on Hizmet to break the grip on politics of the army, which carried out three coups between 1960 and 1980 and forced an Islamist-led government from power in 1997. But he now casts the fight with Hizmet as a continuation of that struggle against tutelage in any form, the final chapter in a battle for democracy and justice.

"They will answer before the courts. But not in front of their parallel courts; they will answer before the court of the nation," Erdogan said.

PRESIDENTIAL AMBITION

Erdogan has made little secret of his ambition to take up a powerful presidency, but such is his determination to finish the battle with Gulen that it remains unclear whether he will run in the first direct elections for the post in August.

He is barred by AK Party rules from standing for a fourth term as prime minister, currently a more powerful role than the largely ceremonial presidency; but the party could amend those rules with relative ease if it feels his leadership is needed to see out the feud with Gulen, senior officials have said.

Erdogan would seek to shape the presidency as a more powerful role than that played by incumbent Abdullah Gul. Erdogan was quoted on Tuesday as saying the direct election of the next president would automatically bestow the role with greater powers.

"The responsibilities will be different after these elections. It will not be a president of protocol, but one that sweats, runs around, works hard," he was quoted as saying by the pro-government Sabah newspaper.

Until now, Turkey's parliament has elected the head of state. Gul is a close Erdogan ally and co-founder of the AK Party, tipped as a possible prime minister if Erdogan were to run for what he would shape as the top job.

Understanding the conflict between the Gulen Movement and the Turkish government

28 March 2014
Furkan Torlak
Source: Middle East Monitor

 In the past week, the Washington-based Bipartisan Policy Center published a report titled, "Turkey's Local Election: Actors, Factors, and Implications" signed by Alan Makosky, Eric Edelman and Morton Abramowitz, all known for their poor judgment of Turkey's democratization process.

The report conducted an analysis of Turkey's upcoming local elections through reading basic conflict parameters and tried to explain the elections to American policymakers. The report set forth the following hypothesis: Between 2003 and 2010, the main division dominating Turkish politics was the struggle between the secular and conservative segments of the society. The conservative wing was represented by the Gülen Movement and the AK Party, both based along the lines of the National Vision Movement (MGH) founded by Necmettin Erbakan. The secular strata lost following the 2010 referendum, starting a brand new course in Turkish politics.

According to the report, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan did not fulfill his democratization promises and chose the path of authoritarianism instead. Tensions escalated as a direct result of his ambitions and transformed into a conflict between the Gülen Movement and the government. The local elections came along in this atmosphere and are thought to be the first response to the political turbulence that Turkey entered. The report declares Erdoğan will become more rigid following the local elections and will increase oversight over the system in an effort to protect his dominance.

In a strange kind of way, the report says the only way election results will be considered significant is if the AK Party loses. As it is clearly evident, the report is not patient inasmuch as waiting for the elections. With an explicit bias, the report argues that Erdoğan has become a burden on the conservative Islamic segment of the population.

Primarily, one of the remarkable aspects of the report is that it establishes the Gülen Movement as the main actor, that started the probe on Dec. 17 and revealed the corruption allegations "in accordance with procedures." This depiction on its own seems to verify the existence of a parallel structure within state institutions from an external viewpoint regardless of how "poor" the judgment may be.

However, the report's depiction of the existing political conflict is considerably far from reality. Reducing the struggle that occurred in Turkey between 2003 and 2010 to a conflict between the secularists and conservatives is an allegation that is difficult to defend. In fact, the conflict that took place was a struggle on a much larger scale against the Old Turkey's tutelage regime by a wide segment of conservatives acting in accord with reformist lines toward a New Turkey, along with the block comprised of liberals and Kurdish politicians previously marginalized by the state.

Yes, with the 2010 referendum Turkey reached a juncture whereby the tutelage regime unique to Old Turkey would be left behind. The historical juncture began with a new Constitution and brought into action the reconciliation process as a peace project to resolve the Kurdish issue. It would also bring into action the democratization packages in order to provide cohesion between the state and the nation. The prospect of these expectations increased with the AK Party's decisive victory in the 2011 general elections.

As a matter of fact, the AK Party took initiative to create a new Constitution. Despite having a majority in Parliament, the party adopted an approach that emphasized "reconciliation" and led the establishment of a constitutional commission where all parties would be represented equally. After long discussions, the AK Party proposed the approval of articles reaching an agreement in Parliament. It announced and promulgated the democratization package. Many of the steps that were taken by the party indicated Erdoğan did not diverge from the final destination of democratization.

However, during this new course, the Gülen Movement started to falter. The movement first made a u-turn with regard to the solution of the Kurdish issue, a task taken upon by Prime Minister Erdoğan, who undertook political risks. The movement tried to sabotage the process with the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) case. The ensuing National Intelligence Agency (MİT) crisis was interpreted as an attempt to hinder the reconciliation process and aimed to sending a warning message to Erdoğan, rather than a personal settlement with [MİT chief] Hakan Fidan, whom they have known since his position as president of TİKA [Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency].

The Gülen Movement also turned a blind eye to the AK Party's efforts regarding constitutional reforms and disdained the democratization packages. It attempted to manipulate through the use of a parallel structure within state institutions granting them significant control. The movement could not break away from the characteristics of the Old Turkey and became a pos- sessor of those characteristics in attempting to shape the new Constitution, determine the fate of politics and be- come a tutelage candidate.

These details stand out, especially when one goes beyond a neoconservative interpretation of the developments in Turkey. Without going beyond this analysis, it is not be possible to understand the reason why the movement did not receive support from conservative circles throughout the conflict with the government or the suspicions of the secular circles and the detached approach to Kurdish politics. So much so that during this process, even other branches of the Nur Movement - from which the Gülen Movement originated - took an opposing stance toward the movement!

The current state of affairs indicates the struggle has become one that brought the government and the movement against each other rather than the prime minister's personal efforts to protect his power. This is clearly evident by the fact that different segments of the society within the bureaucracy have explicitly expressed their support for the prime minister and the government through a notion of protecting the state. A senior bureaucrat who does not identify himself as an AK Party supporter said: "The prime minister of the Turkish Republic can only come to power through elections and leave through elections. All attempts apart from this will find themselves facing the state."

Accordingly, interpreting the current situation as the prime minister's attempts to increase his control over the system as claimed by the report does not seem realistic. In actuality, the current process is one of normalization within different ranks of state institutions and the bureaucracy.

In other words, this is a period to terminate the tutelage of a minority over state institutions, because reform in the bureaucracy is moving toward a resettlement inclusive of National Vision, Islamist, Nur Movement, nationalist, social democrat, liberal, left-wing and Alevi circles. Perhaps the current tensions are steps on the way to the New Turkey.

Bipartisan Policy Center report

On March 14, 2014, the Bipartisan Policy Center published a report titled, "Turkey's Local Elections: Actors, Factors and Implications." The Washington-based think tank previously published reports on Turkey. This particular report was compiled by Morton Abramowitz and Eric Edelman, former ambassadors of the United States to Turkey. The report mainly claims that the current political situation in Turkey is "highly worrisome" for American interests as the authors claim the country is becoming less reliable and stable, going as far as comparing it to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan simply based on the notion that these countries share Islamic values. The authors disregard the radically different political cultures and economic and social situation in these countries, reducing the judgment to a monolithic rhetoric. Bipartisan Policy Center describes itself as a think tank which "drives principled solutions through rigorous analysis, reasoned negotiation and respectful dialogue" charac- terized by "politically balanced policy making with strong, proactive advocacy and outreach." The Center was founded in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George J. Mitchell.
This article was first published by Daily Sabah

Link:  www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/europe/10584-understanding-the-conflict-between-the-gulen-movement-and-the-turkish-government.

Ahead of vote, Erdogan paints picture of Turkey besieged by enemies

19 hours ago
By Ralph Boulton
Source: Yahoo News

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - To the adulation of the cheering crowds at his election rallies, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan paints a picture of an "evil alliance" plotting to topple him and break Turkey. In another place, on another day, his chief rival portrays him as a rogue doomed to jail or exile.

Sunday's local polls have taken on a significance far beyond what anyone could have dreamt before a graft scandal broke around Erdogan with police raids in December. Emerging from the harsh rhetoric of what can now scarcely pass as debate is a vision of two Turkeys that are scarcely compatible.

Elections will be held across Turkey, a Muslim NATO state of huge significance to Europe and the United States because of its place on the edge of a volatile Middle East; but Erdogan's fate is in essence a tale of two cities, the capital Ankara and the city seen as the treasure chest of Turkish politics, Istanbul.

"The polls this weekend are truly critical," a senior government official told Reuters.

"The results in Ankara and Istanbul will be serious indications of the future of the government as well as the decisions concerning presidential elections and early general elections," said the official, who declined to be named.

"Everyone knows that in this election it is not the parties that are being voted on, but Erdogan and his rivals."

As an ex-mayor of Istanbul himself, Erdogan is all too aware of this and has stepped up his campaign with evening rallies, his voice becoming hoarser as the days go by.

Sunday will be the first electoral test since a harsh crackdown on summer anti-government protests and a graft scandal fed by anonymous Internet postings of hacked Erdogan telephone calls. The prime minister accuses the secretive Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who lives in the United States, of manipulating recordings to give the impression of corrupt acts.

 "If AK loses Istanbul, he is in dire straits," said Today's Zaman newspaper commentator Yavuz Baydar, remarking on what he sees as silent concern about Erdogan among some in the party since the summer riots. "If he loses Istanbul, a lot of people will begin to stick their heads up out of the trenches."

FEAR OF RETURN TO CHAOS

Erdogan created the AK Party in 2001, a virtual 'emergency coalition' of conservative religious Muslims, nationalists and reforming center-right elements. At polls a year later, it dealt a crushing blow to traditional secular parties mired in graft and economic failures from which they have yet to recover.

He remains the figure who holds AK together. Even opponents who wish him gone fear his departure could herald the disintegration not only of AK but also of the broader party political landscape, with a return to the chaotic coalitions and economic crises of the 1990s.

In the absence of reliable polls, the outcome in the European Union candidate state is uncertain.

Turkish stocks and the lira, hit by the graft scandal and the related power struggle with Gulen, rose on Wednesday on what traders saw as likely success for Erdogan's party, with the promise of a more settled political climate.

A vote significantly above the 40 percent that AK won in the last local elections in 2009 would probably secure Istanbul and Ankara, and could encourage Erdogan to run for the first directly-elected presidency in August.

That, however, would have its risks.

 AK won almost 50 percent of the vote in the 2011 general election, but there are doubts whether he could match that to win outright in a first round of presidential polls. If opposition forces then united behind a single candidate in the runoff, Erdogan could lose.

Erdogan must also reckon with the unpredictable effects of further Internet postings. There is no firm evidence so far that the tapes have had any substantial effect on his popularity and supporters argue that, with their murky provenance and the implications for state security of hacking confidential state communications, they could even turn people against Gulen and rally them behind Erdogan.

If AK's support slips on Sunday, he might take the cautious path of changing party rules to allow him to run for a fourth term as prime minister in next year's parliamentary election.

The opposition CHP, having suffered three successive defeats to Erdogan, believes Turkey will turn against him over the graft scandal and his moves to purge the police force, strengthen the internal intelligence agency loyal to him and ban Twitter to impede the release of any more tapes.

A KIND OF COUP?

CHP head Kemal Kilicdaroglu said Erdogan was leading Turkey into another period of dictatorship.

"He will do or say anything because he is fighting for his life, because he knows full well what will happen if he loses power," he told Reuters at a rally. "He knows that he will be jailed. He would most likely have to flee the country."

Erdogan has criss-crossed Turkey excoriating his former ally Gulen as the engineer of a stream of anonymous Internet postings of tapped calls implicating him and his family in graft. Erdogan says the tapes were manipulated to give a false impression.

At a rally in Istanbul, he described Gulen's Hizmet network, which played a key role in Erdogan's early reforms, notable for pressing the army out of politics, as a terrorist organisation locked in an "alliance of evil" with the main opposition parties.

While the CHP, the nationalist MHP and the Kurdish BDP party hold their final rallies, none quite as colourful and dramatic as Erdogan's, Hizmet will not be visible on any podium, or anywhere else, for that matter.

Through its schools and business activities, Hizmet has over decades built up a covert network in most areas of state. Gulen compares it with a fully democratic pressure group, denies involvement in the police graft investigation and says he has no intention of forming a political party.

Polls suggest in any case it would gain few votes.

Link:  http://news.yahoo.com/ahead-vote-erdogan-paints-picture-turkey-besieged-enemies-123010766.html.

AK Party: Turkey is facing conspiracy to overthrow regime

27 February 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor

The AK Party's Deputy Chairman for Economic Affairs Numan Kurtulmuş said that military coups in Turkey empowered the corrupt to infiltrate the Judiciary, police, and media.

In a lengthy interview with Al-jazeera Wednesday, Kurtulmuş claimed that "Arab and Islamic countries are conspiring with anarchists to bring down the legitimate government in Turkey."

Kurtulmuş slammed UAE's withdrawal of $12 billion investments as a "mistake it will regret".

He pointed out that "anarchists" have "arms" in the interior ministry, the judiciary and the media, seeking to carry out a coup against the ruling AK Party (Justice and Development Party), in coordination with foreign entities.

Kurtulmuş condemned the phone tapping of the prime minister and other government officials.
"Those conspirers from Fethullah Gulen group have no popularity and will not be able to steal the Turkish people", he said.

Link:  .middleeastmonitor.com/news/europe/10005-ak-party-turkey-is-facing-conspiracy-to-overthrow-regime.

On 1997 coup anniversary, Erdogan warns of attempts to replicate it

01 March 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his party will not allow conspirators and liars to reach their goals.

In his speech before supporters in Balıkesir city Friday, Erdogan said that the upcoming municipal elections scheduled for March 30 will be a lesson for all "traitors" inside Turkey.

Friday marked the anniversary of what Erdogan called "a black day in the history of Turkey", namely the military coup of February 28, 1997. Erdogan recalled the repression that followed the coup, such as that suffered by conservative Muslim women who were banned from university education because of their choice to wear the Muslim headscarf. He added that the post-coup government tried to reinforce the image of poor citizens as perpetually poor, and that veiled Muslim women would always be confined to inferior jobs.
"Your votes in the upcoming elections will disappoint Turkey's enemies abroad," he told the crowd.

Erdogan made reference to Fethullah Gulen, the US based leader of the Gulen Movement, calling him the "leader of the parallel entity". Erdogan accused Gulen of fabricating a recording, allegedly of a conversation between Erdogan and his son, aiming to insult the ruling party. "Unfortunately, the Republican People's Party and the Nationalist Movement collaborate in supporting this treason," he added.

"Those people [namely, the Gulen Movement] praised the February 28 coup and honored its architects. Now they are providing information to them by taping phone calls. We can see the same scenario repeating itself with the same source of financing and the same media outlets," he said.

Supporters of Gulen, which Erdogan label the "parallel entity", eavesdropped on his phone calls and his son's, as well as encrypted calls of senior officials in the government. "Who gave them the right to eavesdrop on phone calls of the prime minister?" Erdogan asked.

"This entity has committed grave treason against the country and disclosed its most important strategic secrets. I call on my misled brothers to be aware of the reality of this entity."

"The parallel entity constitutes the last obstacle facing Turkey...On the 30th of March, you will make a choice between the old and the modern Turkey," Erdogan concluded.

Link: www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/europe/10035-on-1997-coup-anniversary-erdogan-warns-of-attempts-to-replicate-it.

Fethullah Gulen and CHP co-plotted a coup in Turkey, says Erdogan

02 March 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Fethullah Gulen, the US based leader of a Turkish socio-religious movement, of plotting the December 17 "conspiracy" and fabricating phone conversations aiming to smear the ruling party.

Erdogan delivered the remarks during a speech before his supporters in Denizli city on Saturday.
Erdogan added that "the December 17 coup d'état would have gained the support of the CHP, which planned to undertake tasks that would destabilise Turkey."

"Those hatching conspiracies - the parallel entity - will fail because they didn't hatch them skilfully," Erdogan told supporters.

He noted that all schools established by the Gulen movement saw the light thanks to his government.
Erdogan challenged Gulen to return to Turkey and lead a political party if he wishes to have a political role.
"We never bowed in front of these blows and will never do," he said. "We will continue our path towards development, justice, peace, brotherhood, and welfare."

Erdogan pointed out that his government aims at reaching $2 trillion national income by 2023, and for per capita income to reach $25,000, and for exports to reach $500 billion.
The government is moving confidently towards its goal to become among the 10 most powerful countries in the world, Erdogan said, adding that the "parallel entity" aimed at "destroying Turkish institutions and national values", but that "their conspiracy backfired."

Link: www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/europe/10051-fethullah-gulen-and-chp-co-plotted-a-coup-in-turkey-says-erdogan.

Twitter suspends accounts in response to Turkish government complaints

23 March 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor

Twitter approved Sunday a complaint filed by the Turkish telecommunications authority against accounts that publicised fabricated recordings aimed at smearing officials from the ruling AK Party.

Twitter's decision came as a reaction to court rulings issued recently by the Turkish Constitutional Court.
On Thursday, the Turkish government blocked the social networking website Twitter hours after warnings by Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan to "eradicate" the website because of its failure to uphold Turkish court decisions.

The crisis started when a Turkish citizen publicised fabricated recordings allegedly belonging to government officials. Accordingly, the Constitutional Court issued a verdict to remove the fabricated content from the website and the telecommunications authority submitted a copy of the decision to Twitter in order to implement it, in accordance with Twitter's policy. However, officials complained that the website ignored their request, which led Erdogan to publicly slam Twitter and vow to block it, irrespective of the international community's reactions.

Link:  https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/europe/10463-twitter-suspends-accounts-in-response-to-turkish-government-complaints.

PM ERDOĞAN'S OFFICE CLARIFIES REASONS FOR BLOCKING TWITTER

22.03.2014
Source: Daily Sabah

Prime Minister Erdoğan's office clarified the key reasons for blocking Twitter in Turkey and pointed out it wasn't an action taken by the government

ANKARA — Access to the popular social media website Twitter was blocked by Turkey's Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) on Thursday. The decision to block access to Twitter in Turkey came after Twitter neglected countless verdicts made by Turkish courts and numerous applications for the removal of harmful content.

The Turkish Prime Ministry has issued a statement clarifying the 16 reasons for the ban, pointing to similar cases in other countries.

The statement by the Turkish Prime Ministry Public Diplomacy Coordinatorship is as follows:

– The decision to apply a precautionary measure was made due to Twitter officials neglecting hundreds of court decisions issued since January.

– Prior to the decision to take a precautionary measure, the Presidency of Telecommunication requested the removal of content which infringed on personal rights and individual privacy based on court decisions made by Turkey.

– To avoid irreparable unjust treatment, access to Twitter has been blocked as a precautionary measure starting from the above mentioned date.

It has become a means for gangs

– Twitter has become a way for gangs to post illegally obtained montages and voice recordings of individuals, which leads way to character assassination.

– Court rulings cannot be overlooked and the violation of individual rights was the main reason for the pre-cautionary measure.

There is no toleration for illegal sharing throughout the world

– Different countries all over the world, at various times, have taken similar measures. To ensure the rights of individuals and maintain national security, countries have blocked content deemed illegal on internet feeds shared by social media.

– Twitter and other social media websites must be in compliance with this policy, "What's illegal in reality is illegal in virtual reality."

– We find it difficult to understand why Twitter took such a one-sided and bias stance.

– This prejudice has damaged the commercial brand name of Twitter and opened a door for a wrong and unjust impression of our country.

– Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, from the first day he stepped into office up until today, has given grave importance to the internet and the opportunities it provides. The pluralistic society and civilians alike see the internet as a valuable platform for the progress of democracy. Our government is extremely proud to bring the Internet as far as remote villages and has always supported the development of the Internet.

We are not against the internet, we are against crime

– Our government is not against the internet; we are against illegal internet data that could compromise national security and detract a citizen's reputation with information posted on Twitter or similar social media websites.

Worldwide examples of blocked access

– The Transparency Report issued by Twitter for July 1 to December 31, 2013, revealed a significant increase in requests by governments and copyright owners for information requests, removal requests and copyright notices.

– At 59 percent, the U.S. is ranked in first place for information requests. While Japan is at 15 percent for overall information requests by governments throughout the world, France and the United Kingdom follows at four percent. Among the requests sent in by Turkey, a total of 1,410 cases made up just less than 10 per cent of total requests.

For example, in Germany, October 2013, Twitter blocked user accounts associated with neo-Nazis upon requests of the German government. And in France: On October 19, 2012, Twitter removed posts containing anti-Semitic and racist content under hashtags #UnBon-Juif (#AGoodJew).

Turkey files the least requests for removal content

– Removal requests on the grounds of illegal content by Governments and other authorities has increased almost five-fold compared to the previous period. In the second half of 2013, out of a total of 365 requests, 305 requests of which were made by France, Russia follows with 14 percent of requests, while the total number of requests from Turkey made up just two percent.

– With the increase of Twitter users and retweets, copyright notices from companies have also been increased, according to report findings. Removal of content requests increased by 16 percent compared to the previous period, with a total of 12 thousand 243 accounts being affected as a consequence. In return, around 26 thousands tweets have been deleted and over 5.5 thousand media content has been removed from Twitter.

Most frequent request made by US

– According to the report, most frequently, demands for the removal of content are made by the United States, while less than 10 cases of removal requests were made by other countries. The U.S. issued requests regarding 679 accounts, of which interestingly enough, almost 80 percent were for user removals. Out of this 80 percent of the total 679 requests made, 75 percent of said requests were fulfilled by Twitter.

Link:  http://www.dailysabah.com/nation/2014/03/22/pms-office-clarifies-reasons-for-blocking-twitter.

Turkish PM denounces pro-Gulen channel's designation of Palestinian resistance as terrorists

16 March 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced a pro-Gulen channel for framing the Palestinian resistance in Gaza as "terrorists".

In a speech before his supporters in the southern Turkish city of Antalia, Erdogan said he was not surprised at the fact that the Gulen group would label Palestinian resistance as terrorism, since they did so before when their media outlets dismissed the Mavi Marmara's Gaza Freedom Flotilla humanitarian activists as terrorists.

"The results of municipal elections of March 30 will dash the hopes of this group," Erdogan said.

Erdogan slammed the recent phone taping attempts as a crime, vowing to prosecute all those involved, hinting at the "parallel entity" which the government accuses of carrying out these operations.

On Saturday, the Gulen-owned STV channel broadcast a news story which read: "The Israeli Air Defense forces bombed 7 terrorist sites in Gaza."

Link: /www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/europe/10326-turkish-pm-denounces-pro-gulen-channels-designation-of-palestinian-resistance-as-terrorists.

Turkey passes law to shut schools run by Erdogan arch-rival

March 1, 2014 
By Fulya Ozerkan
Source: Yahoo News

Ankara (AFP) - Turkey's parliament has passed a bill to close down thousands of private schools, many of which are run by an influential Muslim cleric locked in a bitter feud with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The move will strike a blow to Erdogan's ally-turned-rival Fethullah Gulen, for whom the schools are a major source of income, as he stands accused of seeking to topple the government with a damaging corruption scandal.

The bill, which was approved late on Friday, sets September 1, 2015, as the deadline to close down the network of schools.

"Withdraw your kids from their schools," Erdogan told a boisterous crowd of his party's supporters at an election rally in Turkey's southwest city of Denizli on Saturday.

"State schools are enough for you," he said. 

There are around 4,000 private schools in Turkey, including an unknown number of preparatory schools run by the movement of now US-based Gulen.

Tensions have long simmered between Erdogan and Gulen, who once worked hand-in-hand as Turkey's conservative pro-business middle class rose at the expense of the military and former secular elite.

But the friction reached breaking point in November when Erdogan's Islamic-rooted government first floated the idea of shutting down the schools, which aim to help students prepare for high school and university.

Erdogan said at the time he wanted to abolish an unfair education system.

"Those who benefit from these courses are the kids of rich families in big cities," said the premier, who himself hails from humble roots and has tried to cultivate an image as a man of the people during his time in office.

Eyup Kilci, deputy principal of the Gulen-affiliated Guvender school network in Ankara, condemned the new legislation, telling AFP it gives Turkey the unenviable distinction of being "the only country which bans education activities".

Erdogan's feud with Gulen escalated in mid-December, when dozens of the premier's political and business allies were detained in police raids on allegations of bribery in construction projects, gold smuggling and illicit dealings with Iran.

Erdogan accused so-called Gulenists implanted in Turkey's police and judiciary of instigating the corruption probe in a bid to undermine his government ahead of local elections on March 30 and presidential elections in August.

He retaliated by sacking hundreds of police and prosecutors believed to be linked to Gulen.

The scandal, which brought down four ministers and prompted a cabinet reshuffle, has evolved into the most serious challenge yet to Erdogan since his Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002.

This week, the graft controversy widened to directly implicate Erdogan himself, after recordings were leaked online in which the premier can allegedly be heard discussing hiding large sums of cash and conspiring to extort a bribe from a business associate.

The incriminating tapes have prompted the opposition to call for Erdogan's resignation, while angry residents have staged protests against government corruption.

In a fresh rally on Saturday, some 600 protesters took to the streets in Ankara, shouting "They are thieves" and "Government, resign!". 

Some demonstrators were seen handing out fake euros in a mocking reference to the leaked audio tapes, which the government insists were fabricated and have not been independently verified.

At another election rally in the northwestern city of Kirklareli, Erdogan accused Gulen loyalists of "espionage" that threatened national security and warned that they would pay a "heavy price".

"They wiretapped Turkey's very confidential and very strategic conversations, and disclosed them to other (enemies)," he said. "Can there be such treachery and lowness?"

Observers say Gulen's Hizmet (Service) movement risks losing millions of dollars in revenue once its Turkish educational institutions are closed down under the new legislation.

In other attempts to contain the political crisis, Erdogan's government has recently also pushed through legislation tightening state control over the Internet and the judiciary, raising questions at home and abroad about the state of democracy in Turkey.

Gulen, who has been living in the United States since 1999 to escape charges of plotting against the secular state by the then-government, has denied any involvement in the corruption probe.

The Hizmet movement also runs an estimated number of 500 private schools around the world.

Erdogan Gains Upper Hand as Purge Defangs Islamist Rivals

Feb 25, 2014
By Selcan Hacaoglu
Source: Bloomberg News

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is gaining the upper hand in Turkey’s political feud by purging a police force and judiciary that helped him become the country’s most powerful leader in decades, analysts and police experts say.

Prosecutors driving the corruption probe that shook the government when it was made public in December have been shunted off the case, and thousands of police officers reassigned. Erdogan accuses them of taking orders from his former ally, U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whose influence he has vowed to root out.
By dislodging the army as the dominant force, the alliance between Erdogan and Gulen reshaped Turkey. Now, the scale of the premier’s mobilization against the preacher threatens to do the same.

In addition to the firings, Erdogan has strengthened its grip on courts and slapped controls on the Internet, where investigation details and tapes of alleged wrongdoing have surfaced. A recording of what sounds like Erdogan and his son Bilal discussing ways to conceal funds was posted on YouTube yesterday. The tape is an “unethical” fake, Erdogan said today, vowing legal action. It amounts to an attempted coup, he said.
The European Union and Turkish business groups are among those warning of the risks.

‘Unanticipated Erosion’

“Erdogan is aiming to pack the state with loyalists,” said Anthony Skinner, head of analysis at Maplecroft, a research company based in Bath, England. While he’s ahead in the fight against Gulen, the “ongoing drive to flush out dissent will continue to have serious repercussions for the rule of law.”

The EU has urged Erdogan to ease curbs on free speech and let judges operate independently, to revive Turkey’s membership bid. Standard & Poor’s cited “an unanticipated erosion of institutional checks and balances and governance standards,” in cutting its outlook on Turkey’s credit rating on Feb. 7 to negative from stable.

Turkey’s currency, bonds and stocks were among the world’s worst performers in the month after the corruption allegations surfaced with the detention of businessmen, officials and the sons of three cabinet members on Dec. 17.

Erdogan responded by removing ministers who were implicated in the probe, and launching a counter-offensive. A second wave of arrests was foiled when officers loyal to the government refused to carry out orders from the prosecutors, who were subsequently taken off the case.

Coup Response

“We will expose the parallel organization,” Erdogan told lawmakers in parliament today. “This coup attempt will not go unanswered,” he said of the latest leak.

The police have been subjected to the biggest overhaul. The government is seeking to diminish Gulen’s influence in key units, including intelligence, organized crime and anti-terrorism, according to a former senior official in those units. He spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information.

Interior Minister Efkan Ala told Kanal 7 television on Feb. 21 that 5,000 policemen have been reassigned, saying only 1,000 were related to the graft probe. He said two senior police officials involved in bugging Erdogan’s office had fled to an unspecified country, and Turkey would seek their extradition.

Interior Ministry officials declined to respond to questions about the dismissals and the extent of Gulen’s influence within the police, saying they can’t discuss administrative decisions.

‘Upper Hand’

“This country’s police, prosecutors and judges are receiving orders from somewhere else,” Erdogan said Feb. 15. “Wherever they are hiding in, we will find, expose and hold this parallel structure accountable in front of the nation.”

The head of the country’s biggest business group warned last month that the power struggle will undermine the economy. The government’s efforts to strengthen its grip on key institutions of the state are “disturbing,” Muharrem Yilmaz said. “It’s not possible to attract foreign investment to a country where the rule of law is ignored” and “the judicial mechanism is not working in line with EU norms.”

Erdogan responded by accusing Yilmaz of betraying his country.

An independent adviser to the police, who also asked not to be identified, said thousands more officers in the 260,000-strong police force are likely to be reassigned by the end of the summer. He tapped his mobile phone to show a list of alleged Gulenist officers, and said he had shared that information with pro-government police inspectors.

The police purge has “inhibited the ability of Gulenists to engage in corruption probes and arrests,” Skinner said. “Erdogan has the upper hand at the moment.”

Exam Questions

Erdogan has expanded the battle to the Internet. On Feb. 11 he accused parts of the police and judiciary of undermining his government with illegal wiretapping records leaked on the Internet. Vowing to end online “bullying,” he has pushed through legislation that allows authorities to block content deemed to be violating personal privacy without a court order.

Gulen’s followers increased their sway in the police after Erdogan’s party came to power in 2002. Students in Gulen-linked schools would be given advance knowledge of the questions in police college exams, according to the senior police official. Some cadets were sent to universities in the U.S. to help them advance, while others kept a low profile until they were appointed to key posts, he said.

The affiliations of officers are widely known, especially in small units, and secular and nationalist officers previously pushed aside by Gulenists are now making a comeback, he said.

Fist Fight

Erdogan also replaced some members of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors, which makes judicial appointments. Lawmakers on Feb. 14 voted to hand control of the board to Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, ignoring objections by the opposition Republican People’s Party, which escalated into a fist fight on the floor of the chamber.

A month earlier, when the purge was in its early stages, the EU expressed reservations. “These developments could weaken investigations in progress and the capacity of the legal system and the police to conduct independent investigations,” European Commission spokesman Olivier Bailly said on Jan. 8, calling on Turkey to respect EU entry criteria including the rule of law.

‘Seriously Collapsed’

The comments reflect the shift in EU concerns about Turkey since it was officially accepted as a membership candidate in 1999. High on the EU’s to-do list at that time was reducing the political influence of the army and placing it under civilian control. Erdogan, with an assist from Gulen, has achieved that - - only to face questions from Brussels about whether his government now dominates too many areas of Turkish life.

“The police and judiciary mechanisms have seriously collapsed,” said Gokhan Bacik, a political scientist at Ipek University in Ankara. Erdogan’s crackdown brings into question “not only the legitimacy of such dismissals but also the supremacy of the rule of law in the country.”

Erdogan said on Jan. 29 that he also plans to prevent prosecutors from issuing arrest orders without approval of government-appointed governors.

“The government has moved to put the police and judiciary under its control” to block the graft probe, said Hasan Oren, a lawmaker from the Republican People’s Party.

Erdogan, who faces three elections in the next two years, has accused the Gulen movement of seeking to weaken his Justice and Development Party before those votes. The first test of that will be during local elections on March 30.

“If the people make us the number one party, it means this government is honest,” Erdogan said on Feb. 4.

Link:  
 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-24/erdogan-gains-upper-hand-as-police-purge-defangs-islamist-rival.html?cmpid=yhoo.
 

Halkbank Profit Beats Estimates After Former CEO’s Arrest

Feb 18, 2014 
By Isobel Finkel
Source: Bloomberg News

Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS (HALKB) reported full-year profit that beat estimates, two months after the Turkish lender’s chief executive officer was arrested amid a corruption probe.
Net income rose to 2.75 billion liras ($1.3 billion) from 2.6 billion liras in 2012, the Istanbul-based lender said in a stock exchange filing today. That beat the 2.7 billion-lira estimate of 22 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Halkbank stock has dropped 24 percent in Istanbul trading since former CEO Suleyman Aslan was arrested on Dec. 17 after police found $4.5 million in shoe boxes at his home. His lawyer has said the money was charitable donations Aslan had gathered to build Islamic schools in Turkey and Macedonia. Aslan is awaiting trial.

Ali Fuat Taskesenlioglu, who was named CEO earlier this month, made no mention of his predecessor in yesterday’s statement. Instead, he commented on how Halkbank will work toward Turkey’s “2023 vision” by supporting the import and export activities of small and medium-sized Turkish companies. The year 2023 is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic and is a symbolic date for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development party.

Shares Unchanged

Halkbank fell 0.4 percent to 11.95 liras as of 3:16 p.m. in Istanbul trading.

“While earnings exceeded our forecast, the quality was weak,” Duygun Kutucu, an analyst at Burgan Yatirim Menkul Degerler AS, said in an e-mailed report. “The decline in the loan-deposit spread and the below-sector fee growth signify a mediocre operating performance.”

Halkbank’s cost of deposits in the fourth quarter increased 50 basis points to 4.8 percent from the third quarter, its earnings presentation showed. The yield it receives on loans remained at 9.4 percent, down from 11.3 percent in the year-earlier period. The lender’s loan-to-deposit ratio was 84 percent, which Elvan Oztabak, head of investor relations, described as a “comfortable level” compared with the industry average of 111 percent.

Deputy General Manager Mehmet Hakan Atilla said on a conference call with reporters the bank hired three external auditors to review its transactions and compliance procedures. “None of them submitted any negative findings or notices,” he said.

Halkbank’s fourth-quarter net income was 741 million liras, little changed from a year-earlier and beating the 682 million-lira mean estimate of 17 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Earnings have been better than analysts’ estimates for at least the past eight quarters.

Link:   http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-17/halkbank-profit-beats-estimates-following-former-ceo-s-arrest.html?cmpid=yhoo.

Turkish PM reportedly sued for for libel by former ally

February 4, 2014
Source: Yahoo News

Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ally-turned-rival Fethullah Gulen is suing him in the wake of a deeply damaging corruption scandal, a newspaper close to Gulen's movement reported Tuesday.

Gulen, an Islamic preacher living in self-imposed exile in the United States, is claiming 100,000 lira (32,700 euros, $44,200) in damages from Erdogan for allegedly denigrating and insulting remarks, the Zaman daily said.

Erdogan, 59, Turkey's strongman premier since 2003, has blamed a "parallel" state of Gulen's associates within the judiciary and police for a major graft probe that opened in December implicating members of Erdogan's inner circle and their families.

Erdogan has sacked or reassigned hundreds of police and prosecutors, portraying the allegations of shady dealings as part of a plot to weaken his government ahead of local elections on March 30 and a presidential poll in August.

The purges, coupled with a heavy-handed police crackdown on protests last June, moves to exert more control on the judiciary and mooted Internet legislation have raised deep concern at home and abroad about mainly Muslim Turkey.

Gulen's Hizmet movement does indeed wield considerable influence in the judiciary and police but he has denied being behind the corruption probe.

His organisation issued a statement last month saying the government "seems to be poisoned with power".
The Journalists and Writers Foundation, a group linked to Gulen, listed on Tuesday a string of recent "deeply worrying developments" that risk making Turkey "lose its character as a state governed by the rule of law".
These included limits on the freedom of expression, unlawful wiretaps, "purging" civil servants, pressure on the media, the use of "hate-centred language", accusations of "treason" and efforts to place the judiciary under government control, it said.

EU voices concern over Turkey as graft scandal deepens

January 8, 2014
By Burak Akinci
Source: Yahoo News

Ankara (AFP) - The European Union voiced its concern Wednesday over the political turmoil convulsing Turkey as the government conducted a new mass purge of senior police officers.

In its strongest comments yet on the widening corruption scandal engulfing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the EU called for Turkish authorities to ensure they acted impartially. 

The turmoil has rocked Erdogan's government to its very core just weeks before crucial local elections in March and has sent Turkish financial markets tumbling.

In the latest development, 16 police chiefs in several major cities including Ankara, Izmir, Antalya and Diyarbakir as well as the deputy head of national security, were fired Wednesday under a decree signed by Interior Minister Efkan Ala.

 

The latest purge came just a day after the government fired 350 police officers in the capital Ankara -- bringing the total number sacked to over 700 since mid-December when the graft scandal broke, according to local media tallies.

News reports said Tuesday that another 25 people had been detained on suspicion of bribery and fraud in the widening corruption probe that has targeted several key Erdogan allies.

One of the main prosecutors in the probe, Zekeriya Oz, has also been reassigned following media reports of a Dubai holiday paid for by a Turkish construction company.

"If allegations (of wrongdoing) are proven, I will resign. But if they are proven to be baseless, I expect this honourable act from those who make these accusations against me," Oz said in a statement.

Oz also said he met with two legal officials sent by the prime minister who urged him to end the corruption probe.

"They told me that the prime minister is very angry at me. They asked me to halt the probe and to write a letter to apologise to the prime minister," Oz said about the meeting in a hotel in the western province of Bursa

Erdogan, currently in Japan on an official visit, denied Oz's allegation.

"The statements made by Zekeriya Oz are lies and slander. It is out of the question that I sent him members of the high judiciary," Erdogan said in a written statement.

Mehmet Tezkan, a columnist with the liberal Milliyet newspaper, wrote that Turkey was going through "one of the deepest crisis in its history. If the allegations are true, it means that the government is rotten to the core."

The EU -- which Turkey has long aspired to join -- said the crisis was a "cause of concern".

EU urges transparent probes.

"We urge Turkey, as a candidate country committed to the political criteria of accession, including the application of the rule of law, to take all the necessary measures to ensure that allegations of wrongdoing are addressed without discrimination or preference in a transparent and impartial manner," the bloc said in a statement.

The government vowed to overcome the crisis.

"The government is in charge. We will never let the political and economic stability of Turkey be disturbed," Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said.

Battling to contain the biggest threat to his 11 years in power, Erdogan has branded the investigation a "dirty" plot to try to topple his Islamic-rooted government.

He and his allies have blamed supporters of a powerful Muslim cleric who lives in exile in the United States but wields considerable influence in Turkey's judiciary and police.

The crisis erupted in December when dozens of leading businessmen and political figures -- including the sons of three ministers -- were detained.

Erdogan was forced into a major cabinet reshuffle after the three ministers concerned resigned and the government has since gone on the offensive to root out foes in the police and judiciary.

Erdogan's critics accuse him of desperately trying to protect cronies caught up in the investigation which has focused on alleged bribery in construction projects and illicit money transfers by a state-owned bank to sanctions-hit Iran.

Media reports have said Erdogan's son was also set to be rounded up last month but the prosecutor involved was subsequently removed.

"There are some allegations about the sons of ministers. The court is dealing with this. If there are unlawful actions, corruption or bribery, this will eventually be revealed. But we cannot take allegations as fact," Huseyin Celik, spokesman for the ruling AKP party, told reporters.

In a new twist to the increasingly complex powerplay, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) -- Turkey's top judicial body -- said Tuesday it would investigate allegations that the new Istanbul police chief was blocking prosecutors from carrying out further arrests, as well as alleged misconduct by prosecutors.

Turkey's financial markets remain jittery, with the Istanbul stock market down slightly while the dollar rebounded fractionally from an all-time low hit on Monday.

Turkey purges regulators, state TV in graft probe backlash

January 18, 2014
By Humeyra Pamuk
Source:Yahoo News

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey has extended a purge of official bodies to the banking and telecoms regulators and state TV, firing dozens of executives in moves that appear to broaden Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's backlash against a corruption investigation.

The authorities have already reassigned thousands of police officers and about 20 prosecutors, and fired some state television officials in response to the corruption investigation, the biggest challenge to Erdogan's 11-year rule.

Investigators are believed to have been looking into allegations of corruption and bribery involving trade in gold with Iran and big real estate projects, although full details of their charges have not been made public.

The combative prime minister says the investigations, which began a month ago with arrests of high profile figures including the sons of three of his cabinet ministers, are part of an attempted "judicial coup".

His opponents say they fear a purge of official bodies will destroy the independence of the judiciary, police and media.

"It's like reformatting a computer. They are changing the whole system and people in various positions to protect the government," said Akin Unver, assistant professor of International Relations in Istanbul-based Kadir Has University.

Among dozens of officials dismissed in the latest sackings, Turkish media reported on Saturday that the deputy head of the banking watchdog BDDK and two department heads had been removed.

Five department chiefs were fired at the Telecommunications Directorate (TIB), a body that carries out electronic surveillance as well as serving as telecoms regulator, and a dozen people were fired at Turkey's state channel TRT, including department heads and senior news editors.

A government official said the firings were carried out for "the benefit of the public" and more could come: "Right now we are working on this issue and if we identify cases problematic to the public's benefit, more dismissals could be considered."

Pictures of money-counting machines and reports of cash stacked in the homes of people linked to the graft probe have caused uproar among the Turkish public.

Unver said the aim of the purge at the telecommunications watchdog could be to prevent further videos and pictures being published on the Internet.

"They are seeking a monolithic structure over the Internet," he said.

Several thousand people took to the streets in Turkey's biggest three cities on Saturday demonstrating against a government-led draft bill to increase controls over the Internet.

The bill would give the courts the power to rule on removing online material that "violates individual rights", an article that opponents say is murky and could lead to the arbitrary closure of websites.

In Istanbul's Taksim Square, where police fired teargas and water cannon to disperse the crowd, protesters called for the government to resign. Some chanted: "There are thieves around," referring to the corruption allegations.

SEIZURE OF ASSETS

Erdogan has suggested the graft inquiry, which has led to the resignation of three cabinet ministers and detention of businessmen close to the government, is an attempt to undermine his rule by Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based cleric with influence among the police and judiciary.

Earlier in the week the government reassigned twenty high-profile prosecutors, stepping up the purge of the judiciary.

Many of the people who have been fired are believed to be associated with the cleric's Hizmet movement, which claims more than a million followers and runs schools and charities throughout Turkey.

Gulen's lawyer says the cleric has nothing to do with the graft investigations, and his followers say they are victims of a witch hunt.

In a separate move denounced by the opposition as an attempt to target it, Turkish authorities have seized the assets of Mustafa Sarigul, the main opposition CHP party's mayoral candidate for Istanbul.

The state Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) said it seized Sarigul's assets after he and his business partners failed to repay a loan dating back to 1998.

Sarigul denied he had an outstanding debt, describing the move as "a provocation".

"I have not received one single letter from TMSF in 16 years... Those who have lost the trust of the people and carried out this political attack on me will get the answer at the ballot box on March 30," he said, referring to local elections.

Erdogan, who has presided over an extended economic boom that has transformed Turkey and lifted millions of people from poverty, remains the country's most popular politician.

He and his moderate Islamist AK Party have long battled for influence against the secularist military establishment that dominated Turkey over the past century. Conflicts with the judiciary, police and Gulen followers add to his list of enemies.

It is still not clear what effect the crisis will have on Erdogan's political fortunes ahead of local elections approaching in March.

Last year saw mass street demonstrations among Turks who accuse the prime minister of authoritarianism, but those protests did little to undermine Erdogan's support among his conservative base of followers.

 (Additional reporting by Orhan Coskun and Mert Ozkan in Ankara, Ayla Jean Yackley in Istanbul, Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Peter Graff and Andrew Heavens)

Erdogan's son ready to testify over graft probe

January 24, 2014
Source: Yahoo News

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday hit back at critics who have alleged that he has been stalling a corruption investigation reaching his family, while a lawyer says the leader's son was ready to give testimony to prosecutors.

Erdogan last month dismissed four government ministers implicated in a vast corruption and bribery scandal surrounding alleged illicit money transfers to Iran and bribery for construction projects. He then quickly moved to replace police officials involved in the investigation, an action which news reports said thwarted a second corruption probe that sought to question his son, Bilal Erdogan, among others. Police allegedly refused to bring Erdogan's son for questioning on prosecutors' orders.

Erdogan insists the corruption investigation targeting people close to him has been orchestrated by an Islamic movement led by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. Erdogan says Gulen's followers have risen to key positions in Turkey's judiciary and police, and that they want to harm the government ahead of local elections in March.

Gulen has denied any involvement in the probe but hundreds of police officials, prosecutors and judges — either directly involved in the investigations or believed to sympathize with the religious movement — have been removed from posts and reassigned to other positions.
 
"If you are honest and honorable, you'll come and show the evidence," Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara on Friday, responding to opposition party accusations that the government was trying to cover up a corruption inquiry focusing on his son.

He then threatened to reveal a corruption file on the opposition party's strong candidate for the mayor of Istanbul in the March local elections, unless the opposition party releases the file by Sunday.

In a more conciliatory gesture, Erdogan said that some articles of much-criticized draft legislation — which critics say aims to tighten government control over the judiciary — could be put on hold. Opposition parties say the measure would allow the government to block corruption investigations, and the European Union expressed concerns, calling on Turkey to respect the principles of rule of law and the separation of powers.

The state-run Anadolu Agency quoted lawyer Ahmet Ozel as saying late Thursday that 33-year old Bilal Erdogan was prepared to give testimony but he had not received any papers summoning him to testify.

"My client is ready to go and testify to prosecutors upon reception of an official notification," Anadolu quoted Ozel as saying.

The statement came following a brawl in parliament where opposition legislators accused the prime minister of obstructing the investigation and of "harboring" a man wanted for questioning. An opposition deputy was briefly hospitalized after being punched by a legislator from Erdogan's party.

Erdogan on Friday refused to apologize to the opposition legislator who was hurt in the scuffles in Parliament, saying opposition deputies had provoked the fight by insulting him and his family.

"Whoever insulted me and my family to such an extent should apologize first," Erdogan said.

Turkish newspapers last month published details of an allegedly leaked prosecutors' summons calling Bilal Erdogan to give testimony as a "suspect" in an investigation into an alleged organized crime syndicate. 

Newspaper reports said the investigation allegedly surrounds irregularities in the operations of an educational foundation whose board members include Bilal Erdogan.

The prosecutor who issued the summons complained that police officers had not carried out his orders for arrests and accused the Istanbul chief prosecutor and police of hampering the probe. He was later removed from the case.

The corruption scandal and Erdogan's response has eroded investor confidence, causing the Turkish lira to plummet to almost daily record lows. Turkey's central bank announced Thursday that it was intervening in the foreign exchange markets but failed to stop the lira's slide.

Erdogan threatens to unveil graft accusations against rival

January 24, 2014
Source: Yahoo News

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan threatened on Friday to t divulge a file of corruption allegations against the main opposition candidate for Istanbul mayor, raising the stakes in a political battle after a graft investigation implicating his own government.

The opposition accused Erdogan of bullying and defied him to make public any accusations he cared to level.

Erdogan, speaking to party members in the capital Ankara, also accused a key business leader of "treason" for saying the government's efforts to reform the judiciary might unnerve investors and deter foreign capital from coming to Turkey.

Erdogan called on Kemal Kilicdaroglu, chairman of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), to disclose what he called corruption allegations in a party file against Mustafa Sarigul, the CHP's candidate for Istanbul mayor in March municipal elections.

"I'm giving you until Sunday. If you don't disclose the corruption file on the Istanbul municipal candidate, I will," Erdogan said in comments aired live on television.

 

He did not make clear what such a file would contain.

CHP Deputy Chairman Haluk Koc, responding to Erdogan, said:

"No one is holding you back. The security forces, judiciary and police are yours. The CHP is here, Sarigul is here, disclose whatever you know.

"Bring it on. Does extortion suit a prime minister? CHP has never bowed down to bullies. It won't take a step back."

Erdogan also accused Kilicdaroglu himself of involvement in the leak of a 2010 sex tape that forced the resignation of his predecessor at the CHP, Deniz Baykal. Erdogan did not elaborate.

 

Turkey's popular leader sees a police investigation into corruption and bribery charges that came to light last month and included the arrest of family members of cabinet ministers and businessmen close to the government as a "coup plot" against the ruling AK Party, in power since 2002.

 

He has responded by removing thousands of police officers and about 120 prosecutors from their posts and reassigned them and by pushing through legal changes that tighten his control over the judiciary.

 

On Thursday, Muharrem Yilmaz, chairman of the business group Tusiad, said such legal changes may not comply with European Union norms and could raise concerns about the rule of law.

 

Erdogan lashed out at Yilmaz, saying such a warning amounted to a threat against the government.

"You can't say, 'International capital won't come.' If you do, it's treason against this country.

"They are threatening their own government by saying foreign investment won't come ... We will take a stance against those who take a stance against the AK Party," Erdogan said.

 

The political turmoil has weighed on Turkish financial markets, with the lira plumbing record lows.

But capital outflows have been relatively limited, with Thursday's successful sale of a $2.5 billion eurobond issue seen as a vote of confidence from foreign investors.

(Reporting by Ayla Jean Yackley; editing by Ralph Boulton)

US envoy: We believe in Turkey’s future with the EU

January/18/2014
Source: Hurriyet Daily News

Francis Ricciardone, the United States Ambassador to Turkey has pledged Washington’s belief in Turkey’s future with the European Union during a courtesy visit to the new EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. Ricciardone congratulated the new minister and wished for success in his new position.

“We believe in Turkey’s future with the EU,” Ricciardone told reporters before the meeting with Çavuşoğlu on Jan. 17. Expressing Washington’s optimism with regard to Turkey’s EU membership, Ricciardone recalled that the U.S. has long been supporting Turkey’s bid to join Brussels and that it will continue.

Çavuşoğlu, for his part, said the meeting had no specific agenda and was merely a courtesy visit, but recalled that Washington was not only Ankara’s important ally and partner, but also an advocate of Turkish accession to the EU. “We want to thank to the U.S. and our friends in the U.S. on behalf of the ambassador. We have no doubt that the U.S. will continue to support to Turkey and Turkey’s integration with Europe,” he said.

The new minister said the EU and U.S. were in talks for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and cooperation between Turkey and the U.S. on this issue was also underway.

Link:  http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-envoy-we-believe-in-turkeys-future-with-the-eu.aspx?PageID=238&NID=61224&NewsCatID=338.