Erdogan Seeks Informers Archives

Austrian lawmaker from the Austrian Greens Peter Pilz (File photo).

A senior Austrian opposition lawmaker has accused Turkey of running an informer network via its embassy in Vienna aimed at targeting the critics of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and promoting his policies.

On Tuesday, Peter Pilz, from the Austrian Greens party, said at a news conference that he had sent documents regarding the activities of the network, run by the umbrella group ATIB, to the police.

The ATIB is headed by the religion attaché at Turkey’s embassy, Fatih Mehmet Karadas, and oversees the activities of dozens of mosques across Austria.

“The ATIB umbrella group is an instrument of hard, ruthless and, in my view, legally unacceptable Turkish government politics in Austria,” Pilz told a news conference.

Pilz noted that the Turkish government sends imams to work for the ATIB to collect information in particular about followers of exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Erdogan has accused of plotting an attempted coup in Turkey last July.

Gulen denies any involvement in the abortive coup, which claimed the lives of at least 240 people. However, the Turkish government has arrested tens of thousands of people over suspected ties with the US-based cleric.

The umbrella organization also monitors Turkish Kurds, Turkish opposition politicians and journalists in Austria, Pilz added.

Responding to the comments by the Austrian lawmaker, the Turkish government and the ATIB issued separate statements, denying the accusations.

“We absolutely reject these allegations. We urge Austrian officials to act with reason and to refrain from statements that would harm Turkish-Austrian relations and the peace of the Turkish community in Austria,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced in a statement.

In another statement, the ATIB said that as an Austrian body it did not tolerate any foreign interference.

Austria’s Chancellery and Interior Ministry said their experts are examining the matter.

In a similar case last month, Germany’s domestic spy agency launched a probe into possible spying by Turkish clerics following a complaint by a German Green politician.

Last week, the Turkish embassy informed the Austrian Foreign Ministry that its religion attaché would end his activities in Vienna “soon,” without providing a reason.

In a Sunday interview, Karadas told an Austrian newspaper that ATIB does not oversee the people’s private lives, but said it has a duty to ensure that the people of Turkish origin in Austria are not “radicalized” by Gulen.

“That’s why it is legitimate for us to do research and deliver reports in order to protect our fellow citizens and to protect the Austrian people,” Karadas said.

Gulen denies any involvement in last summer’s coup attempt.

Turkey wide-ranging crackdown following the coup has been criticized by Austria and other EU nations.

By: Tulin Daloglu for Al-Monitor Turkey Pulse

Let me draw your attention to two recent developments in an attempt to question the understanding of what democracy means for Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, since both cases are nothing but an encouragement for people to be informers.

As to the first development, Erdogan said on July 19, referring to Gezi Park protesters, “It’s a crime to disturb neighbors. I’m telling you that such acts require punishment. It’s a crime. And I am not the one to tell it, but the laws. Therefore, you will sue those people who clanged pans and pots without any hesitation. Because no one has the right to disturb the peace of this nation.”

As to the second development, the daily Zaman reported on July 28 that the National Police Department has launched a new project where boxes will be installed in various neighborhoods so that people can secretly inform the police about suspicious or potential illegal activities without revealing their identities. “With this system, people will be able to inform [the police] in writing or in audio,” the daily reported. “The tips will certainly be kept confidential. It’s expected that this project will start soon.”

No doubt that the police cannot solve any crimes without the help of the public, and it is wrong to consider the security officials and the people as adversaries. But, it’s impossible to guarantee that authorities won’t ever abuse the power. Therefore, such neighborhood reporting boxes could take away any trust for the security system.

It may be wrong to prejudge as to how this tip box-style secret informant system will work in Turkey, but the concern is real. And it’s simply this: The rule of law in this country has never been the strength of its democracy. There are fewer and fewer checks and balances while Erdogan rules as a one-man show, and it’s becoming difficult to define what could trigger people to inform the police against their neighbors.

Since Erdogan called people to sue their neighbors, no one has yet gone to court. But with these tip boxes, people will be used as informants by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to determine who opposes their policies. This act will likely peel away the trust bond among people, and people will share fewer and fewer conversations about politics or important subjects.

Such informants have been used in Arab countries, making people distrust each other and pushing others into silence. Why is it that Turkey has to adopt this practice?

Tulin Daloglu is a contributor to Al-Monitor’s Turkey Pulse. She has also written extensively for various Turkish and American publications, including The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, The Middle East Times, Foreign Policy, The Daily Star (Lebanon) and the SAIS Turkey Analyst Report.