Turkish Opposition Leader Says More Erdogan Evidence To Come, Urges Prime Minister To "Flee The Country"
As we predicted, the scandal surrounding yesterday's leaked recording of Turkish PM Erdogan urging his son to hide massive amounts of money, is about to get worse. Because not only was the government caught lying, again, after the authenticity of the tape has been confirmed, but now it appears that even more evidence is forthcoming. So much so, that the main opposition leader is urging Erdogan to get on a helicopter and "flee."
The headline soundbites:
- KILICDAROGLU TO PLAY ERDOGAN TAPE RECORDINGS IN PARLIAMENT
- HABERTURK, NTV CUT BROADCAST OF OPPOSITION LEADER PLAYING TAPES
- KILICDAROGLU SAYS AUDIO ENGINEERS CONFIRM AUTHENCITY OF TAPES
- KILICDAROGLU: WE ARE FACING A PM WHO IS ROBBING HIS NATION
- KILICDAROGLU SAYS ERDOGAN'S THEFT IS NO LONGER A `STATE SECRET'
- KILICDAROGLU: LEGITIMACY OF GOVT IS OVER, THIEVE CAN'T BE PM
On Twitter:
Main opposition CHParty leader Kilicdaroglu: we confirmed that these recordings are as solid/accurate as Ararat Mountain..
#Wow!
CHP leader Kilicdaroglu: there will be other evidences come forward..so my advice to Erdogan, take a helicopter & flee the country!!
And in Ankara:
- TURKEY POLICE FIRE TEAR GAS AT STUDENT PROTESTERS IN ANKARA
Looks like the EM crisis is creeping back. Keep an eye on the Turkish Lira - the Turkish central bank may have its hands full keeping a bid in there.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-02-24/turkish-lira-sinks-after-new-alleged-recording-reveals-more-erdogan-corruption-oppos
Turkish Lira Sinks After New Alleged Recording Reveals More Erdogan Corruption; Opposition Calls For Resignation
Update: a tweet by Abdüllatif Sener, Former Finance Minister and Deputy PM of Erdogan, confirm the authenticity of the recording:
Dinlediğim Başbakanın sesidir, gırtlağına kadar ailece yolsuzluğa batmıştır, artık meşru bir Başbakan değildir.
* * *
It is almost remarkable that it was a few short weeks ago when the Turkish Lira was crashing to new daily record lows against all reserve currencies, and when Erdogan, embroiled in a bitter political corruption scandal, was firing judges and police officers left and right. Since then, things have quieted down, on the back of the return to surface calm across the broader Emerging Markets (even if nothing has actually been resolved fundamentally in the post-Taper era), however the Turkish graft scandal refuses to go away. As a result, today the Turkish Lira soared by over 200 pips following the release of a new recording which is allegedly a leaked telephone conversation in which the premier discusses plans how to hide at least $1 billion in cash (an amount which would buy about 20 Yanukovich-style presidential palaces) in the period when the Police was raiding various affiliated venues as part of a corruption investigation.
From Today's Zaman:
In the new voice recording, Erdogan and his son Bilal allegedly discuss during five wiretapped phone conversations on plans how to hide huge sums of cash on the day when police raided a number of venues as part of a corruption investigation that has implicated sons of three Turkish ministers, businessmen and chief of the state bank.Today’s Zaman couldn’t immediately verify the authenticity of the voice recording. It was not clear if the sound that is similar to Erdo?an's voice is real.Prime Ministry released a forceful statement late on Monday, claiming that the voice recording is a "product of montage" and it is "completely false." The Prime Ministry vowed in the statement to sue those who orchestrated this "dirty plot."The voice recording is the latest in a series of leaked phone conversations of embattled Erdo?an, who has portrayed the graft investigation as a plot to overthrow his government. In the voice recording, published on YouTube late on Monday, Erdo?an seems to be warning his son Bilal about cash money stashed in several houses. It was not possible to decipher from conversations how much money is involved and in how many houses this amount of money is stocked, but an introductory note at the beginning of the video says the plan involves at least $1 billion cash stashed in five houses.The conversation allegedly took place on Dec. 17, when prosecutors ordered police to raid dozens of addresses to collect evidence. Dozens of suspects were arrested, including an Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab and chief of state bank Halkbank, Süleyman Aslan. Some of the suspects were later released.At the beginning of the phone conversation, the prime minister briefs his son Bilal about the raid and asks him to “zero” the amount stashed at houses of several people.In the second phone conversation, Bilal Erdo?an tells his father that they decided to distribute money to several businessmen whom they owe and “melt” significant part of it by paying for different projects. Some of the businessmen mentioned during the phone conversations include Faruk Kalyoncu and Mehmet Gür. Erdo?an approves their plan and reiterates that it is “better if they completely zero the money.”
Those interested can listen to the recording below:
Naturally, the government promptly condemned the recording as a fake, and the Prime Minister's office released a forceful statement late on Monday, claiming that the voice recording is a "product of montage" and it is "completely false." The Prime Ministry vowed in the statement to sue those who orchestrated this "dirty plot." Of course, since Erdogan has already eliminated any judges that are not sympathetic to his regime, the question of how much justice will be revealed is irrelevant. That said, we expect that someone will step up and vouch for the authenticity of the recording, in the process leading to even more political, and TRY, instability.
However, in the meantime, the Turkish main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has said the Turkish government has lost its legitimacy and called on Turkish Prime Minister to resign immediately after Erdo?an's voice recording surfaced online. CHP Deputy Chairman Haluk Koç said in a press conference on Monday that the government has lost its entire legitimacy from "this hour" and that Turkey cannot move forward with this "dirt." The remarks by Koç came during an emergency meeting of the CHP Central Executive Board (MYK), where they discussed a new voice recording published online about a discussion allegedly between the prime minister and his son on their plan to hide $1 billion cash stashed at several houses.
Somehow we doubt that Erdogan will resign, however, this latest confirmation that the graft scandal that is and will continue to dodge the Turkish Prime Minister is not going away, may just be the catalyst that pushes the TRY, and with it some of the other recently pacified EMs, back into volatile mode.
Reports of widespread wiretapping make waves in Ankara
ANKARA
The mass eavesdropping started after a probe launched by a specially authorized prosecutor in 2011 targeting five people, including PM Erdoğan, reports said. DHA Photo
The classified files on the wiretappings were found in the Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office by the new prosecutors who were assigned following mass purges in the judiciary, pro-government dailies Star and Yeni Şafak claimed in separate but similar reports.
Yeni Şafak reported that up to 3,064 people have been wiretapped according to the first documents found by the newly appointed prosecutors, while Star alleged that the real number is likely close to 7,000.
The Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) has launched an investigation into the prosecutors and courts involved in the cases cited by the reports. However, the prosecutor who allegedly launched the probes that led to the mass wiretappings dismissed the claims and said it was impossible to track the phones of so many people at once.
2,280 names were found: Deputy PM
The reports were later confirmed by Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç, who said some 107 folders containing the phone numbers of 2,280 have been found and were under investigation.
“It is understood that [those who were wiretapped] included the 2,280 people whose phone numbers were found in 107 folders. It was discovered that this investigation, which is ongoing for three years, was exclusively followed by the prosecutors in charge who have listened to many people, including scholars, artists, writers and politicians, based on an advice note,” Arınç said following a Cabinet meeting on Feb. 24, adding that the reports had also been on the agenda.
Brushing aside claims that the government could have been aware of the wiretappings, Arınç hinted the Justice Ministry may make public who was wiretapped and why after completing its own investigation. “These are entirely illegal eavesdropping requests and decisions. It is indispensable to express an apology from everyone who has been wiretapped and their relatives,” he said.
The eavesdropping started after a probe launched by a specially authorized prosecutor in 2011 and targeted five people, including Erdoğan. According to the reports, the scope of the wiretappings was initially extended to Erdoğan’s close circle, such as his top political adviser Yalçın Akdoğan, press adviser Lütfullah Göktaş and Efkan Ala, the former Prime Ministry undersecretary who was appointed interior minister following the Dec. 17, 2013 graft scandal.
Another sensitive name in the list is Hakan Fidan, the head of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT).
The list of the wiretapped people was gradually widened, particularly in the wake of the Gezi protests last summer and the graft probes launched in mid-December, the reports claimed.
According to the reports, other wiretapped figures include Energy Minister Taner Yıldız, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Deputy Head Numan Kurtulmuş, People’s Democratic Party’s (HDP) co-chair Sabahat Tuncel, Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) Tunceli (Dersim) MP Hüseyin Aygün, Turkish Airlines CEO Temel Kotil, Humanitarian Relief Foundation (İHH) head Bülent Yıldırım, academic Hüseyin Yayman, and journalists from a wide spectrum of the Turkish media such as Can Dündar, Ertuğrul Özkök, Ali Bayramoğlu, Hakan Çelik, Nihal Bengisu Karaca and İsmail Küçükkaya.
The eavesdropping was justified on the grounds that the figures were members of an alleged “Selam Terror Organization” – “Selam” meaning hello/peace in Turkish – the reports also claimed.
‘None of the names were in the files’
Prosecutor Adnan Çimen, who was reportedly in charge of the case, described the reports as unfounded, adding that none of the names were actually contained in the investigation files.
“I have indeed carried out an investigation against such an organization, but none of the [names] claimed to have been eavesdropped on were included in the case. [The reports] are false,” Çimen told daily Radikal Feb. 24, adding that he had asked inspectors to examine the claims.
“Is it possible to tap 7,000 people? [Making such a claim] lacks dignity. The investigation I have conducted was an ordinary investigation into a criminal organization,” he said, adding that another prosecutor had taken over the case at a certain point.
The allegations come as a number of recorded phone conversations of Erdoğan with media and business representatives were leaked online, prompting the ruling AKP to harden its stance against the movement of the U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, which it accuses of orchestrating the graft probes and releasing the tapes. Erdoğan has repeatedly described the Gülen Movement’s grip on the Police Department and the judiciary as a “parallel state” throughout the political crisis that emerged after the graft scandal.
Gülen lawyer condemns accusations
Meanwhile, lawyers representing Gülen condemned what they described as attempts to accuse the Islamic scholar through the claims, calling for those responsible to be punished if the allegations turn out to be true.
“If it is true that 7,000 people who have no ideological links have been wiretapped as part of a single investigation, then those responsible should be punished,” lawyer Nurullah Albayrak has said in a statement, suggesting that the reports were an attempt to distract attention from the government’s controversial recent bills on the judiciary, the Internet and the national intelligence agency.
Albayrak added that both the HSYK and the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office should investigate the claims.
Erdoğan recently stated that he had been notified that a large number of people, including himself, his family, President Abdullah Gül and Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek, had all been wiretapped. He explicitly referred to what he called members of an “illegal gang within the state” as being responsible for the eavesdropping on senior state and government officials.
February/24/2014
Parliament commission passes bill granting excessive power to Turkey's intel body
ANKARA
AA Photo
MİT will have the authority to access the databases of banks and all kinds of other economy-related institutions, which has raised concerns particularly among business circles that would end business secrecy and privacy. In an effort to pacify some of the anger against the bill, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) said only databases “related to MİT’s duties” would be included in the scope of the proposal.
The spy agency will also have the authority to use the data processing centers of these institutions, as well as their communication infrastructure. The body will be able to collect data related to foreign intelligence, national defense, terrorism, international crimes and cyber security that passes through telecommunication channels. At the same time, it will not be possible to object to any demand for such information from MİT.
In addition, the intelligence body will be able to obtain authorization from a single judge at an Ankara criminal court in order to make urgent wiretappings. The current legislation necessitates that judges agree unanimously on any such order.
The AKP, however, was forced to take a few steps back on controversial parts of the proposal, with the intelligence coordination body set to work exclusively under MİT’s undersecretary, as in the current law; in an earlier draft bill, the body was proposed to work exclusively under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Another proposal was also amended, reducing MİT’s authority to launch operations abroad.
However, since an article that states that “MİT will fulfill all kinds of tasks assigned by the Cabinet, including foreign security, the fight against terrorism and national security,” is still preserved in the bill, such interpretations remain questionable.
Another new motion reduced by three years a maximum 12-year penalty – and three-year minimum penalty – for media bosses, reporters, directors and publishers whose outlets publish intelligence documents, as well as those who disseminate the information.
The bill will also effect an arrangement that would provide a legal framework for ongoing talks between intelligence officers and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The intelligence body will be able to contact all “structures that threaten national security, including terrorist organizations, in the course of its duty.” The law will also produce a legal framework for MİT personnel to meet with prisoners.
A court of serious crimes in Ankara which will be chosen by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) will be authorized to try those charged with personal crimes or with crimes regarding their duties related to their position at MİT.
Erdoğan has indicated that the revelation of the mass wiretapping of thousands of people provides the justification for a bill expanding the powers of the country’s intelligence agency, but the opposition believes the moves could send Turkey down the road to becoming a police state.
February/24/2014
Violence escalating ahead of local elections
ANKARA
DHA Photo
In last few days, attacks have visibly escalated, with arms being used and election offices coming under attack. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) have all been targeted in different corners of the country, within the space of four days. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) was also the victim of an armed attack in late January, in which a press advisor of the party lost his life after being shot.
From Buca and Urla to Kadıköy
On Feb. 23, HDP members were targeted in attacks in the Urla town of the Aegean province of İzmir during the opening of their party’s campaigning office. Some 100 HDP members had gathered in front of the office, after which around 1,000 people marched to the square where the office building is, shouting slogans and declaring that they would not allow the HDP’s presence there.
They also shouted slogans against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Doğan News Agency reported. The HDP is a sister party of the pro-Kurdish BDP, which shares grassroots with the PKK.
As police used tear gas against the crowd, some people from the group marched to the BDP branch office in the town and continued their protest. Some threw plastic chairs at both the HDP and BDP buildings, while others hurled stones at a campaigning bus of the HDP.
“As a result of the attack by a racist and intolerant group of around 1,000 people, seven people, including HDP co-mayor candidate for İzmir Osman Özçelik, were injured,” the BDP’s deputy co-chair in charge of its Human Rights Commission, Meral Danış Beştaş, said in a written statement yesterday.
She added that similar attacks against the HDP had taken place on the same day in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul and the Buca town in İzmir. “The government, the opposition and the democratic public should be determined in regards to move violence away from politics and social life,” Beştaş said, calling for an active struggle against violence on political grounds.
“The ideal of democracy that Turkey needs will be possible only by struggling against this racist understanding that constitutes a barrier in front of civil politics,” she added.
CHP Deputy Chair Sezgin Tanrıkulu also released a written statement yesterday, expressing concern that high tension in politics was being reflected in society.
“Nobody has or can have the right to block the activities of another political party, with which it doesn’t share the same view, via force, violence, pressure and lynch attempts,” Tanrıkulu said.
“Turkey doesn’t need more polarization, but needs an environment in which people can go to ballot boxes with campaigns that are run according to democratic principles,” he added.
From Van and Hakkari to Aydın
In the Eastern Anatolian province of Van, an election vehicle belonging to the AKP’s mayoral candidate for the town of Edremit was stoned on Feb. 23 by dozens of people. No injuries were reported, but the vehicle was badly damaged.
Late on Feb. 23, in the Aegean province of Aydın, the window panes of the election office of Aydın Mayor Özlem Çerçioğlu of the CHP, who is also running for the same post in the upcoming elections, were smashed.
Meanwhile, in the Şemdinli town in the Hakkari province of southeastern Anatolia on Feb. 21, two people were injured in an attack with hunting rifles on AKP members who were out hanging party flags.
February/25/2014
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