Erdogan's Archives

Graft, nepotism and illicit gains are all part of Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s thirst for infinite power in today’s Turkey, writes Sayed Abdel-Maguid

Every year, Turkish people eagerly await the New Year’s Eve celebrations and the accompanying festivities. But December 2013 brought a shock that stunned public opinion and dampened the holiday spirit for many in Turkey. That was the month that the graft and corruption scandal broke, reaching into the highest echelons of government, implicating persons who claimed and continue to claim to be devout and pious.

As last month marked the first anniversary of the scandal that send tremors throughout Anatolia, it would be difficult to imagine this time of year passing without a ripple. But wonders never cease, for this year too the front pages of the Turkish dailies, especially those opposed to the ruling Justice and Development Party (JDP), ran more eyebrow-raisers.

It appears that former defence minister Muammer Güler, who entered office in February 2013 with bank assets of YTL1,874,000, rang in the New Year the proud owner of YTL2,224,000. In other words, he managed to increase his fortune by YTL440,000 ($220,000). A trifling sum, according to some. Perhaps.

But then it came to light that his daughter, Burcu Güler, has two flats registered in her name. She works as a legal advisor for Turkish Airlines and earns YTL4,000 a month. Moreover, his son, Baris Güler, has a bank balance of YTL838,000 ($380,000), plus six flats and 26 plots of agricultural land. How did Güler’s children acquire all these assets?

The surprises did not stop there. Zafer Çaglayan, minister of economy and trade in the same JDP government headed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had cash assets of 228,000 Euros in January 2010. These increased very slightly the following year, to 238,000 Euros, and then to 242,000 Euros in January 2012.

Then suddenly, in September that year, his cash assets soared to 1,409,000 Euros, which is to say that somehow 1,167,000 Euros found their way into his bank account over the course of nine months. According to information revealed by the fact-finding committee, Çaglayan also owns real estate valued at YTL3,100,000 (1,100,000 Euros).

As the JDP takes care of its own, and its network of beneficiaries is considerable, we should probably not be all that surprised by news leaked from banking circles that one of Erdogan’s closest advisors has not paid back a YTL4.5 million loan he obtained from a private bank. Moreover, the bank has not seized the adviser’s assets for fear of incurring his wrath and that if his powerful backer.

But this December packed another heavy-calibre surprise. As revealed by the Republican People’s Party (RPP) vice-president, Haluk Koç, 10,000 people, all connected to JDP members, received civil service appointments without having to take the trouble of passing the required entry exam.

According to RPP parliamentary representative Ali Serindag, the figure Koç cited was only the tip of the mountain of JDP nepotism. “Words cannot describe the situation,” he said. “There was little one could say when the facts stared one so boldly in the face. Millions of people enrol in educational establishments and study hard in order to qualify for a civil servant job or post. But these are filled with relatives of JDP officials without having to exert any effort or even pass the qualifying exam.”

The concept of justice, a component of the ruling party’s name, has become entirely warped under that party. Columnist Bülent Korucu points to further evidence of flagrant JDP nepotism. Elif Ala, sister of Interior Minister Afkam Ala, was appointed chief of cabinet in the governor’s office in Sirnak without sitting an exam. Then, without having to wait, she was transferred to the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Ankara.

Is this not an attack against the rights of three million people who have to prepare for and sit the civil service exam, abbreviated as KPSS in Turkey? Surely this is proof that Turkish jobseekers have been split into two categories: the privileged who have their way paved by dint of their kin connections, and all others who have only their skills and talents to rely on. Once again the JDP has shown its determination to take the steps necessary to lead the country backwards.

The deputy head of the RPP parliamentary bloc, Akif Hamzaçebi, asked: “When everyone who controls some powers of government office uses them for his personal benefit, who are those poor people who are unable to find the right job to put their faith in? Do they have to be connected to the prime minister to get a job? A minister, a high level official? What is the point of the KPSS as long as connections are all that count?”

The government’s wheels of repression quickly moved into action against those determined to defy corruption. A noteworthy example is the investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against the Birgün newspaper in December after it ran a banner headline reading “Hırsız” — “Thief” — in Ottoman script. The headline was the title of a satirical article commenting on Erdogan’s insistence on introducing the Ottoman language into the school curriculum, “whether people like it or not,” as Erdogan himself said.

The daily wrote that if the JDP government insists on teaching the Ottoman alphabet in schools by force, then the first word that should be introduced in the first lesson is “Hırsız”. Naturally, there was no doubt as to whom this referred to, for which reason the newspaper was charged with insulting the person of the president.

Two weeks ago a 16-year-old student was arrested and jailed for the same reason, although he was eventually released following an outpouring of international censure. Even former members of the ruling party have not been spared harassment and brutality.

Former JDP MP Feyzi Isbasaran was arrested and charged with insulting the president several weeks ago. Via his Twitter account, Isbasaran lashed out at Erdogan’s thirst for power and determination to monopolise control over all government agencies, to the extent of presiding over the cabinet from his new presidential palace.

Omar Sindi, Washington — Special to Ekurd.net

The misadventures’ vision by Turkish Authorities could get spiraled out of control of multi-dimensional wars among many regional states’ actors for the regional regimes, currently are in precarious political survivors status, mired Middle East power struggle. Already Iranian regime has raised its objection, Syrian Alawites regime in Damascus along with their proxy Lebanon’s Hezbollah, will consider buffer zone is as an invasion; it should come with no surprise, if Shia’s lead government in Baghdad vehemently opposite the Turkish miscalculations, and Turkish government should not under estimate the ability of over 4 million Kurds who historically living in this land. President Erdogan should think twice, for this illusive vision of buffer zone inside (Rojava) Syrian Kurdistan.

If the proposed project on Kurdish land inside Syria of buffer zone wins support by the Western governments particularly the US; the Kurds will consider this buffer zone quid pro quo of nothing less than the betrayal of the Treaty of Lausanne, Switzerland that materialized on July 1924,where Kurdish people’s right revoked as nation‘s states to exist

Erdogan, whose discernment has darkened his fixation worry of seeing another multi – political parties- Kurds autonomous region created; certainly, Turkey has benefited from autonomous Kurds region in Southern Kurdistan-Iraq cross border trading commodities.

President Erdogan should have no “fear but fear itself”; most likely, he (Mr. Erdogan) wants to reinstitute the domination of Sunnah Arabs on the Kurdish land, just like the racist – Arabization policy in this Area by then Sunnah led Syrian government in early 1950’s through early 1960’s the top architect of this ruction project was Mohammed Talib Hilal then the minister of Post & Telegraph,www.Ekurd.net

the implementation of Arab domination in this area “ethnic cleansing”; however afterward the Baathist regime in Damascus didn’t soothe the darker mood any better. Turkish policy makers out to reassess furthermore unrevealed perilous project, this buffer zone inside Syria, will not be like the Cypress’ invasion in 1974, protecting Turkish minority in that Island.

Over four million Syrian Kurds will consider this buffer zone nothing less than the suppression, and invasion, they will resist like what they are fighting these days in Kobani area. Additionally, international reactions, most likely will be negative feedback to the buffer zone project inside Syria on the Kurdish territory. Turkish Media out let, should tune down its nationalist rhetoric the proposed project of realpolitik -buffer zone inside Syria, most likely will not benefit Turkey, it will destabilize region to further – uncharted territory of multi –dimensional wars. All the people of this region do not deserve reckless vision; just like Zia Goklap, and his associates trapped Ottoman Empire into unwinnable World War I, for the sake of wrong ambitious of Pan-Turanism.

It appears that the Turkish government more worries on the Kurdish issues then the nihilism terrorist states in Iraq/Syria ISIS/ISIL which indiscriminately killing anyone who disagree their brand of Islamism. The catalogs of the plan have still remained ill-defined and sketchy, but reports argue Turkey wants to obligate of a buffer zone several miles into Syria, mainly the Kurdish areas, in addition of backed up by a no fly zone; including disarming the Kurdish fighting forces in Syria, who are daily confronting terroristic state ISIS/ISIL. People contemplating creating a buffer zone inside Syria should think twice, because it will not be a “cake walk”.
Benjamin Franklin: “In those wretched Countries where a man cannot call tongue his own, he can scarcely call anything his own.”

Omar Sindi – Washington, United States, a senior writer, analyst, and columnist for Ekurd.net

http://gagrule.net/video-shame-masoud-barzani-pumping-billions-turkey-erdogan-killing-kurds/