Donme secularists vs Islamofascists

[Gavur]

Bombers of Cumhuriyet Daily Captured

By Cihan News Agency
Published: Friday, May 19, 2006
zaman.com


The assailants of the bomb attack against leftist Cumhuriyet daily, were captured, police said on Friday.

Istanbul police Chief Celalettin Cerrah told reporters on Friday that the perpetrators of the bombing against Cumhuriyet daily building were captured.

"The incident has been resolved. Istanbul and Ankara security authorities are jointly investigating the attacks against Cumhuriyet daily and the State Council," Cerrah said.

Istanbul governor Muammer Guler also confirmed the bombers were arrested.

A suspected lawyer, who raided the State Council court and killed a top judge on Wednesday, was among the bombers who hurled hand grenades to the Cumhuriyet daily building.

The premises of the Cumhuriyet daily in the Sisli quarter of Istanbul was attacked three times within the last week by unidentified assailants hurling hand grenades at the building.

Cumhuriyet daily is very well known for its staunchly secularist stance.


For further information please visit http://www.cihannews.com

[Gavur]

According to Milliyet he suspect was spotted in videos that wee taken of couple of demonstrations in Istanbul where he resided ,one of which was about buildin a mosque and the other against Armenian Genocide of schoars at Bilgi University throwing egs and tomatoes to scholars as they left.


Gav-Its possible he held a grudge against the judicial system for allowing te conference which he took revenge for.Hmmm...
I smell Kerincsiz.

[Gavur]

Veiled threats to democracy

Leader
Saturday May 20, 2006
The Guardian


Turks got a nasty jolt this week when an Islamist gunman shot at five judges in Ankara, killing one of them. The motive was apparently that they had upheld a judgment banning the headscarf for women. Such is the raw emotive power of this issue in the world's first Muslim democracy that the attack has been billed in the Turkish media as the country's equivalent of 9/11 - a brutal assault on the secular and democratic foundations of the republic. Tens of thousands protested in defence of those values, many marching to Ataturk's mausoleum to underline what was at stake.

Tensions between religious and secular Turks are getting worse. The ban on headscarves (and robes and beards) in universities, government offices and public places is an article of faith for secularists. But the decision by the country's administrative court (denying promotion to a school headmistress who wore the scarf outside work) angered religious conservatives disappointed by the failure of the ruling Justice and Development party to champion their cause. The prime minister and party leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, once served a prison sentence for reading an anti-secular poem. His wife wears the headscarf and is not invited to state functions. He would like the ban overturned but has done little about it (though he has tried to restrict alcohol consumption and ease restrictions on religious education) because it would be opposed by the military. Turkey's last Islamist government was deposed by the generals in 1997. Mr Erdogan made matters worse by absenting himself from the funeral of the dead judge.

The headscarf ban is not without problems; one is the way it excludes women from higher education at home, forcing the few who can afford it to study abroad. Another issue familiar from France's debate about the subject is that it can contribute to the radicalisation of Islamists of both sexes: that is a matter for the democratically elected Turkish government.

Turkey's official secular identity is one of the reasons it is a candidate for EU membership, though other important freedoms will need to be bolstered if it is to eventually join the club. Europeans will have to overcome their prejudices too. Turkey's combination of Muslim faith and pluralist democracy should be a beacon to neighbouring regimes such as Iran, Iraq and Syria. Mr Erdogan needs to ensure it carries on working well. At the moment there are worrying signs of a country that is ill at ease with itself and with the European club to which it has so long sought admission.

[Gavur]

Turkish Pm Criticised Over Funeral

By Vincent Boland in Ankara

FT
May 19 2006 03:00

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, faced fierce criticism
yesterday for failing to attend the funeral of a judge murdered by
a suspected Islamist militant, as a political and public outcry over
the incident gathered force.

Senior ministers from the Erdogan government, which has its roots
in political Islam, attended the funeral, as did the leaders of the
main opposition parties, senior military figures, and thousands of
Turks angered by what is widely seen as an attack on the country's
secular foundations.

Separately, thousands of people marched to the mausoleum in Ankara of
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the republic, to show support
for the secular system he bequeathed when Turkey was created in
1923 from the ruins of the Ottoman empire. Led by the judiciary, the
general staff, the president, and university rectors, they shouted:
"Turkey is secular and will remain secular."

But Mr Erdogan, who has criticised judges for ruling against easing
legal restrictions on wearing the Muslim headscarf, kept an appointment
in Antalya.

The judge's colleagues had snubbed him when he visited the scene of
the murder on Wednesday to pay his respects.

Mr Erdogan has strongly condemned the attack and has slammed as "ugly"
suggestions that his criticism of the judges may have fuelled the
atmosphere in which it could take place.

Observers said his absence from the funeral could undermine his
standing in the eyes of secular Turks and add to a rift between the
government and the secular establishment ahead of a general election
that must be held within 18 months.

"This is very worrisome," said Cengiz Aktar, director of European
studies at Bahcesehir University in Istanbul. "This [murder] is a
matter for the republic, and he should have been at the funeral."

Sumru Cortoglu, president of the council of state, the top
administrative court where the attack happened, told mausoleum
demonstrators: "Irresponsible declarations, provocations and attitudes
against judicial decisions from politicians and media were a strong
influence" behind the incident.

The judge, Mustafa Ozbilgin, was shot inside the council of state
building and four of his colleagues were injured on Wednesday by
a gunman shouting religious slogans. Police said the assailant had
admitted that the attack was in retaliation for the council's ruling
earlier this year that a woman teacher should not be promoted because
she wore the headscarf outside work.

Two more people were arrested yesterday in connection with the attack.

Newspapers covered the incident in almost apocalyptic terms. The
editor-in-chief of Hurriyet, Ertugrul Ozkok, described it as "Turkey's
9/11" in his column.

Turkey is 98 per cent Muslim but is officially secular. Laws ban the
wearing of the headscarf in state buildings.

[imported_RUDO]

Top Secret Documents Found in Key Suspect's House

Top Secret Documents Found in Key Suspect's House
By Melik Duvakli, Istanbul
Published: Monday, May 22, 2006
zaman.com


Reportedly the Top Secret National Security Policies Document was found in the house of the key suspect behind the attacks against the State Council and Cumhuriyet (Republic) newspaper, Muzaffer Tekin. The top-secret document, also known as the Red Book in Turkey, was previously found in Sauna Gang’s leader.

Former Army Officer Muzaffer Tekin, who was detained for soliciting the attack against the State Council, was sent to Ankara for interrogation.

Some interesting documents were found in the house of Tekin, who was undergoing treatment in Ataturk Hospital. One copy of the Top Secret National Security Policies Document, which was prepared even secretly from the parliament, was found in Muzaffer Tekin’s house.

One of the interesting documents discovered in the search was a membership card belonging to the assailant, Alparslan Aslan.

A National Security Policy Document (MGSB) was previously found in a safe belonging to Sauna Gang leader Kasim Zengin, too.

Parliamentary Speaker Bulent Arinc had complained of the initial setting up of the MGSB, which has become hugely influential on the country’s domestic and foreign politics, without the information and control of parliament.

The documents found in the apartment in Kadikoy belonging to the former military man expelled from the Turkish Armed Forces were mainly composed of nationalist publications: Booklet of No to the Annan Plan, the magazine, Ileri, the newspaper, Turk Solu, National Union Movement booklet, Patriotic Forces’ Union Movement Regulation, magazine Turkeli. A copy of the intelligence and guerilla hand book found in Aslan’s house was also found in Tekin’s house.

A group of retired military men were seen at the villa in Beykoz where Tekin was hiding.

The house’s owner, retired Sergeant Major Mahmut Ozturk, retired Major Zekeriya Ozturk and retired Noncommissioned Officer Musa Cakmak, who were at the villa at the time Tekin was injured, were arrested and appeared at the Beykoz Court yesterday.

Osman Yildirim, who appeared before the court charged with assisting Alparlan Aslan in the attack, it is discovered, grew up with the other suspects, Saim Ozden and Nusret Aras. The suspects are also reported to have worked as peddler at a street markets.

Meanwhile, some important documents belonging to the Sauna Gang, aside from the Red Book, has been found. Nuri xxxkir, a Special Forces captain, is known to have leaked 68 CDs containing secret military information about the activities in space.

General Staff Military Public Prosecutor sought a five to ten year sentence for xxxkir based on the 329th article of the Turkish Criminal Code (TCK) charging him with the crime of “revealing data related to the security and political benefits of the state.”

The CDs xxxkir leaked to the Gang reportedly contained information about ministers and deputies whose files are held by police, irregular war techniques, and sketches of bridges, tunnels and the blue prints of shopping centers in Ankara.

Tekin, the key figure in the attack against the judges in Ankara, was discharged from the hospital Sunday evening. He was undergoing treatment under police supervision, and was later taken to Ankara also under tight security.

Tekin was taken to the Sabiha Gokcen Airport in an ambulance cordoned off by police and special security forces, frustrating reporters that were trying to take photographs of the ambulance.

Another group of security forces took tight security measures as Tekin was carried off on a stretcher to an air plane of the Turkish Air Lines, THY, scheduled to depart to Ankara at 6.30 pm on Sunday.

[imported_RUDO]

Key Suspect Left near Hospital Wounded

Key Suspect Left near Hospital Wounded
By Sedat Gunec, Melik Duvakli, Ankara, Istanbul
Published: Sunday, May 21, 2006
zaman.com


Muzaffer Tekin, who plays a key role in the investigation about the State Council shooting attack in Turkey, was left near a hospital injured.

The security offices deepened the investigation and began to investigate the connections of ex-army officer Tekin, who is claimed to be at the center of a series of dark relations.

Muzaffer Tekin, wanted in relation to his role in the organization of the shooting attack on the State Council, was left wounded near a hospital in Istanbul on Saturday. This event was revealed after hospital authorities called police after the two people who brought Tekin in for treatment left the hospital without explanation. Reportedly Muzaffer Tekin was stabbed just below the heart but is in a stable condition. Former Captain Tekin, who was dismissed from the army, reportedly left his home with his wife on the day that the attack took place and did not return again. Tekin’s neighbors in the Bahar apartment building, where he has been living for 14 years, gave police interesting details about him. Tekin’s relatives were surprised by the claims of his involvement in the attack related to the headscarf decision taken by the State Council, adding that his wife and daughter do not wear headscarves. The administrator of the apartment building, Ilyas Hacihaliloglu said: “We know him as an adherent of Ataturk’s policies. He did not have any reactions about the headscarf issue.”

Meanwhile, Alparslan Arslan, whose interrogation continues at Ankara Police Department, began hunger strike.

Aggressor Promised vast Amounts of Money

As Osman Y. confessed to have taken part in the attack against the judges in Ankara in return for money, a police search of Arslan’s car uncovered 20 checks, worth approximately YTL 3,000 each.

Police are investigating the origin of the checks to find out who drew them and for what reasons, and how they came into Arslan’s possession.

“The entire amount was to be handed over to the attackers after the assault was completed. The assailants were also promised millions of dollars,” said a senior police official overseeing the investigation.

Arslan, currently being held by police in Ankara where he is expected to give his testimony, has gone on a hunger strike.

After his arrest, Arslan had refused to make any statements about the attack to police, and has since started to refuse any food, reporters said.

Idris Arslan, the assailant’s father, has been regularly visiting the police station where his son is being held for interrogation.

Arslan also spoke with his mother on Saturday.


In his deposition, Osman Y., who is accused of jointly planning the attack with Alparslan Arslan, told that they decided to attack Cumhuriyet Newspaper in a night club. Osman Y. defended that he was involved in the attacks on Cumhuriyet Newspaper and the State Council after Arslan promised,” You will earn a great deal of money”. Osman Y. told: “Arslan did not give me the $5,000 that he promised to give at the start. I sold his automobile for 15,000 New Turkish Liras (YTL) because of the lack of money. I lost YTL10,000 of it gambling. The YTL 4,000 which was on me at the time of my arrest was the remainder of that money.” Police officials informed that the 20 checks found in Arslan’s car prove that the armed attack was being undertaken for money. A senior police official also informed that the checks were concealed in the secret compartments in the car.

Osman Y. confessed that they parked the lawyer’s car in Necatibey Street behind the State Council with Arslan and two other people, they had initially planned to go in and undertake the attack; however, they gave up on this notion after they feared they may not pass the security check. Explaining that they became panicked and fled from the site after ambulances and police cars began to arrive at the State Council, Osman Y. said that he took a bus to his sister’s home in Nevsehir and his two accomplices went to Istanbul.

The investigation has revealed that some of the suspects are claimed to be Shamans.

He confessed to knowing the assailant

Istanbul Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah went to Acibadem Hospital and interviewed Muzaffer Tekin. Tekin, who reportedly attempted to commit suicide, confessed that he knows Alparslan Arslan, however, he denied the accusation of any involvement in the shooting attack.

[Gavur]

Turkey: Feeding the Military-AKP Tensions

May 23, 2006 20 38 GMT



Summary

The collision of Greek and Turkish jets over the Aegean Sea on May 23 will not trigger deterioration in Greco-Turkish relations. Instead it will be used by the Turkish military as a way to discredit the Turkish government.

Analysis

Greek and Turkish F-16 jets crashed after hitting each other's wing-tips while flying over the disputed southern Aegean Sea, Greek government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros said May 23. The collision occurred in international space approximately 35 miles south of the Greek island of Rhodes, near the island of Karpathos. The Turkish pilot ejected safely and was rescued by a cargo ship, but the Greek pilot reportedly was killed. Both Greek and Turkish media are saying that the Greek jet had attempted to intercept the Turkish jet on a routine training flight.

http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=266598

First, the good news: It is extremely unlikely that this incident will blow up into any altercation, much less a war scare. The Turkish and Greek governments and militaries, out of their own interests, have already been in robust contact with each other. Any slugfests between two NATO allies would be messy any way one slices it, and with Ankara attempting to get into the European Union and Athens enjoying its best relations with its neighbors in 2,500 years, now is not the time to stir the pot.

But that does not mean that no one will take advantage of the situation, with the Turkish military being the most likely candidate.

The Turkish military is currently in a bit of a pickle. EU reforms require it to relinquish its hold over the political process, but as the self-appointed guardian of the legacy of Ataturk the military is extremely uncomfortable with that. Moreover, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is a mildly Islamic movement, and the military also considers itself the guardian of the country's official secular nature. It is hard enough for the military to let go, but to let go to the AKP is particularly galling.

As such, things right now are a bit tense in Turkey, particularly since the May 17 assassination of the pro-secular Mustafa Yucel Ozbilgin, a leading judge in Turkey's Council of State. The dominant theory currently buzzing around Turkey is that the military sent the assassin to shoot one of its ideological allies with intent of triggering a public outcry against the AKP government. As the theory goes, the AKP is in the process of consolidating its hold on the Turkish political system -- a development that makes the military very uneasy -- and so the military wants to take some wind out of the AKP's sails before elections in 2007. And now there is a situation -- the jet collision -- that will reflexively inflame nationalist sentiment. We expect such sentiment of military complicity in the crash to quickly permeate the Turkish press.

As the ruling party, the AKP wants to downplay the situation, but the military now can undermine the AKP's efforts with word and deed. What is likely making Turkey's neighbors -- Greece included -- wince is that Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, chief of the Turkish military's general staff, has called for more or less permanent protests in favor of the secular nature of the Turkish Republic. It is rarely a good sign when the military -- the bastion of order in Turkey -- rattles its sabers and calls for protests.

The idea that the military would assassinate one of its own and then order one of its jets to intentionally crash seems a bit too far-fetched to be much more than a conspiracy theory. After all, the favorite Turkish conspiracy is that the military is behind everything and capable of everything. But before one discounts the assertions, bear in mind that the Turkish military does tend to have its fingers in everything, and it has removed Islamic governments from power on four separate occasions. The rumors, now under official government investigation, have just the right ring of unbelievability to be just a little bit believable. Weirder things have happened in more stable places than Turkey.

If there is a big loser from this, however, it is not really the AKP. Though the party has had a rocky road of late, it remains the most popular party in Turkey, and with good reason. The AKP took command in the aftermath of a financial crisis just as the 2003 Iraq war was gearing up. With a mix of grit and skill the AKP succeeded in navigating both crises while rectifying Turkish finances, shoring up the banking sector, avoiding any Iraqi entanglements and -- so far -- not pushing the military into launching a coup.

The real loser will be whoever the AKP decides to turn on in order to bolster its own nationalist credentials, and in Turkey that invariably means one thing: the Kurds. As Turkish Prime Minister and AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently noted, now that Iraq has a government and the Iraqi Kurds have secured a bit of autonomy, the time has come for Turkey to ensure that the development does not repeat itself in Turkish Kurdistan -- which means, among other things, subjecting the Kurds to the tender mercies of the Turkish military. Erdogan went on to note that the chief tenet of such a policy on Turkey's Kurds would be to aggressively pursue the Kurdistan Workers' Party -- a militant group on the U.S. terrorism list -- wherever it goes, even if it goes into Iraq.

And on that point, the military and the government wholehearted agree.

[Gavur]

Erdogan: Connections with Susurluk and Sauna Gang

Published: Wednesday, May 24, 2006
zaman.com


With his assessment on the latest developments concerning the attack against the State Council, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, “The dissolution has begun and the links are being uncovered one by one. The ties with Susurluk, maybe the Kure operation and Sauna Gang will be revealed. There are some relationships.”

Erdogan said, as the ruling government, they will not let the issue be shelved.

The prime minister, speaking with journalists during his return flight from Egypt and Algeria, said he is personally following the developments unfolding into the background of the attack against the State Council.

“When I am absent, I will be able keep a close eye on any developments through the deputy prime minister, Abdullah Gul. The images captured by the cameras will have far reaching implications,” Erdogan said.

He also stated that they want to analyze all the issues one by one and submit a complete file on the issue to the judiciary.

Saying that the “obtained documents give signals,” Erdogan answered a question about a possible link with Susurluk case: “As new developments occur, perhaps links to Susurluk, Kure and Sauna will be revealed. Some relations exist. It would be inappropriate to comment on this now. We will inform the public as it is revealed. Intelligence and security forces are dealing with the issue seriously,” he responded.

Prime Minister Erdogan evaluated the developments regarding recent fluctuations in the stock and exchange markets by saying: “I spoke to (State Minister responsible for Economy) Ali Babacan this morning. He was pleased with a visit from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). We should be more careful about saving. We are making preparations for this.”

Emphasizing that he is not particularly worried, Erdogan said: “The markets bottomed out. The Istanbul Stock Exchange decreased to 35,000, though it rose to 37,000 today. Internal and external developments have affected Turkey negatively. Some countries were affected less, some were affected more. We were affected at an above- average level, though I am confident we will catch up with our previous level.”

[Gavur]

PM Calls State Council Shooting Provocative Conspiracy
By Cihan News Agency
Published: Wednesday, May 24, 2006
zaman.com


Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan labeled last week's State Council shooting a "provocative" attack carried out by dark powers in an attempt to upset the stability in Turkey and undermine democracy.

"This bloody conspiracy, behind which stands a gang of traitors, targeted economic and political stability as well as democracy," Erdogan said during his party parliamentary group meeting on Wednesday in Ankara.

Erdogan, whose speech received a standing ovation from the ruling AKP legislators, said that an organized crime gang was behind the attack.

Last Wednesday in a gun attack on the State Council building in Ankara, a lawyer killed a judge and injured four other judges during a court deliberation. The attack, which received condemnation from all political segments, has stoked tension in Turkey.

Criticizing the opposition CHP and other parties for fuelling tension in the country for political gain, Erdogan said that there were certain circles in Turkey who didn't want to see the real face of the killer. "The killer who targeted stability was caught red-handed."

Erdogan also called for calm in the aftermath of the provocative State Council shooting.

Nine suspects, including the lawyer who opened fire on the state council members, appeared before the Ankara Heavy Criminal Court on Sunday. The court arrested four of the nine suspects in connection with the Council of State shooting on charges of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order, of murder and possessing explosives and arms.

"Certain people rushed to benefit from the situation, using provocative rhetoric," said Prime Minister Erdogan; adding that those who had made premature judgments now regretted doing so.

Following the attacks, certain TV stations and newspapers immediately focused on a religious motive for the attack, claiming that the gunman had attacked the administrative court due to its verdicts regarding the headscarf ban. Some TV stations had claimed that the killed had shouted, "I am soldier of Allah" as he opened fire. However, such reports have now been proved premature and mistaken.

After being discharged, a judge who was injured in the attack said that the killer did not shout the above-mentioned words.

No early elections

The Prime Minister implied that the recent attempts to stir up a crisis in Turkey were aimed at forcing early elections. Erdogan underlined that the elections would be held at the scheduled time, keeping the election schedule in line with constitutional procedures.

"Elections in Turkey take place every five years, as dictated by the constitution," Erdogan said amid strong applause from AKP deputies.


For further information please visit http://www.cihannews.com

[Gavur]

A political autopsy report

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

The 'medical' post-mortem for the murdered judge is unambiguous: bullets from a Glock pistol shot by a gunman of hybrid ideology -- an odd blend of Islamism, nationalism, conservatism, etatism, anti-communism and anti-Westernism plus, probably, all sorts of other -isms. The 'political' post-mortem may not be equally unambiguous.

Burak Bekdil
The “medical” post-mortem for the murdered judge is unambiguous: bullets from a Glock pistol shot by a gunman of hybrid ideology -- an odd blend of Islamism, nationalism, conservatism, etatism, anti-communism and anti-Westernism plus, probably, all sorts of other -isms. The “political” post-mortem may not be equally unambiguous.

1. For the first time in Turkish political history crowds of thousands chanted to call the prime minister “a murderer.” The way the collective anger expressed itself may or may not be “chic” but it illustrates that, as a Canadian poet/composer once wrote, “There is a war between the ones who say that there is a war and the ones who say that there isn't.” This is “clash of civilizations” in the Crescent and Star.

2. About a month before the attack on the Council of State judges, Equilibrium prophesized that: "This is where I see danger, ultranationalists becoming Islamists and Islamists becoming ultranationalists. …These usually split groups may in the future get mixed together and comprise a huge anti-Western bloc.” The ideological identity of the murderer -- save for the plenty of conspiracy theories that may or may not be fully or partially true -- proves that the danger was nearer than this column guessed.

3. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists his Justice and Development Party (AKP) “is not a religion-based party.” He must be joking. Nevertheless, “deception and double talk in the name of Allah” are not unfamiliar in the doctrine that made Mr. Erdogan. The prime minister is probably trying to hide a hippopotamus with a handkerchief.

4. Mr. Erdogan, however, did a good thing when he preferred to avoid the funeral in Ankara and instead attended the inauguration of a city intersection on the Mediterranean coast. “Europe's new striker,” as he was announced at the evening celebrations, could have been exposed to a major security risk if he did so. His “relatively moderate Muslim” ministers hardly escaped lynch attempts by angry secularists -- another proof that “there is a war.”

5. Speaking about “the moderates,” how moderate can an Islamist be? Some ideologies, by definition, cannot be “moderate,” and radical Islam as a political ideology is one of them. That's probably where the American bigwigs made an error about the AKP: There cannot be a “moderate Nazi.”

6. The assertion that “Islam and democracy are incompatible” is wrong. The truth is, “Islamism as a political ideology and democracy are incompatible.”

7. Can anything other than “ideology” explain why Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc categorically refused to accept a link between the attack on the judges who had banned the Islamic headscarf and their verdict, although the gunman admits he shot the judges in anger at the headscarf ban?

8. Fine, it is understandable that the “deep state” will be the usual suspect, judging from the principle of “who benefits from the murder?” Jumping to this easy conclusion may be “too ideological.” The murderer may or may not have been used by “dark forces,” but it is certain that he is a devout fighter against the headscarf ban, like Mssrs, Erdogan and Arinc. The only difference is, the bigwigs fight with words and the murderer with his Glock.

9. The murder will probably close the “headscarf dossier” for the foreseeable future. It also narrows the chances of a stereotype AKP figure running for the presidency, most notably Mr. Erdogan.

10. Government-military relations after the murder will be different, although they always come under the EU's magnifier. The murder has symbolic value in “the war between the ones that say there is a war and the ones who say that there isn't.” Military-government tension over ideology is now at its peak despite a personality like Gen. Hilmi Ozkok and “Project EU,” which the men in uniform have invariably supported since Mr. Erdogan came to power. With the a change of the guard in August, a possible deadlock over Cyprus and a rising sentiment of nationalism, Mr. Erdogan may well long for the days he had with Gen. Ozkok.

11. And, by the way, there is, of course, the markets dimension… If Mr. Erdogan is right about the genuinely spectacular economic progress he claims his government has achieved, why have the financial markets been unnerved so drastically just because of a few political speeches over the murder? Can it be due to the fact that the Turkish economy has boomed over “hot money” and may collapse over “hot money,” too?

12. Finally, there is the “broadcasting” dimension of the murder. The AKP-controlled state broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), now run by a former village imam, was the only major TV station that did not air the judge's funeral live. If all mainstream TV stations bothered to broadcast live the funeral except for TRT, then there must be something wrong somewhere. Do all the others have the wrong sense of what's newsworthy, or can it simply be “ideology”?

Things are not going well at the House of AKP. And this is not new. The murder just adds to the troubles Mr. Erdogan has been facing. The only good Mr. Erdogan may see out of the new crisis is that it has masked the publicity over a too visible wave of AKP-orchestrated corruption/nepotism/partisan cases.


© 2005 Dogan Daily News Inc