4 February 2014 /TODAYSZAMAN.COM, İSTANBUL
Leader of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahçeli has said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will either face prosecution or flee the country as he is struggling to cover up a recent corruption scandal that has shaken the nation for more than a month.
“If things continue at this pace, there will be only two options facing the prime minister in the short run: He will either face prosecution in the courts, or he will leave for [a country that is] beyond the ocean,” Bahçeli said. “Beyond the Ocean” is an oft-cited phrase used by officials to refer to the US, where Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen resides.
“The Turkish nation is being robbed directly the prime minister,” Bahçeli said, adding that the state’s treasury is under the control of “thieves.”
He said the reason why the prime minister is rushing to change the structure of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) and his “war against the judiciary” is because corruption allegations directed at him are included in an ongoing corruption investigation. He said it is impossible not to be “shocked” when listening to phone conversations of businessmen allegedly involved in corruption and bribery.
He slammed those businessmen close to the prime minister who are “stealing the hard-won money of the nation.” “Are these the plot of the parallel structure, conspiracy of foreign forces, slander of pro-coup forces?” Bahçeli asked rhetorically, referring to Erdoğan’s similar frequent accusations.