Turkey - Internal Political Affairs

[Federate]

Re: Turkey - Internal Political Affairs

This is as complex as politics gets. Wikileaks has made things more transparent.
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WikiLeaks: Turkey provided al-Qaida with supplies to build bombs
November 26, 2010 - 17:46 AMT 13:46 GMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Wikileaks is planning to release files that show Turkey has helped al-Qaida in Iraq, according to London-based daily Al-Hayat. The newspaper also reported that the US helped the PKK, a Kurdish rebel organization.

One of the documents, a US military report, reportedly charges Turkey with failing to control its borders, because Iraqi citizens residing in Turkey provided al-Qaida with supplies to build bombs, guns and ammunition.

Other documents show that the US has supported the PKK, which has been waging a separatist war against Turkey since 1984 and has been classified by the State Department as a terrorist organization since 1979. The US military documents call the PKK "warriors for freedom and Turkish citizens", and say that the US set free arrested PKK members in Iraq. The documents also point out that US forces in Iraq have given weapons to the PKK and ignored the organization's operations inside Turkey, Jerusalem Post reported.

http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/world/news/57446/

[Federate]

Re: Turkey - Internal Political Affairs

Wikileaks vs. corrupt Turkish politicians

November 29, 2010 | 16:15

The s Wikileaks-published secret documents accuse Turkish Premier Recep Erdogan, as well as a number of Turkish ministers, of bribery.

According to the document of December 30, 2004, the Turkish Premier has accounts at eight Swiss banks, Aksam reports.

The document contains charges against the former Interior Minister Abdülkadir Aksu, Kürşad Tüzmen, Minister of State of Turkey responsible for foreign trade, Mehmet Muezzinoglu, Head of the Istanbul chapter of Justice and Development Party.

http://news.am/eng/news/39745.html

[KanadaHye]

Re: Turkey - Internal Political Affairs

About 200 retired and active Turkish officers go on trial over coup charges


ANKARA, Turkey - About 200 active and retired Turkish military officers, including former chiefs of the air force as well as dozens of generals and admirals, went on trial Thursday on charges of plotting to overthrow the Islamic-rooted government in 2003.

The trial is held at a special court house in the town of Silivri, near Istanbul, and marks the government's increasing confidence in confronting a military that once held sway over Turkish political life. All 196 suspects, who are free pending trial, face between 15 and 20 years in prison if convicted on charges of "attempting to topple the government by force," according to the indictment, the state-run Anatolia news agency said.

Prosecutors have not made public any evidence or details of the accusations, but the Taraf newspaper has published what it calls leaked copies of documents pertaining to an alleged conspiracy dubbed "Sledgehammer."

The allegations include plans to blow up at least two major mosques during Friday prayers; assassinate some Christian and xxxish leaders; and shoot down a Turkish warplane and blame it on Greece, the country's historic rival.

Taraf said the conspirators hoped the chaos would lead to calls for a military takeover, and planned to turn stadiums into open-air prisons capable of holding tens of thousands of detainees. The paper says it has provided the documents to prosecutors, who are using them in their case.

The military, which has overthrown three governments since 1960 and pressured an Islamic-led government to step down in 1997, has denied such a plot, saying documents used as evidence were from a military training seminar during which officers simulated a scenario of internal strife.

One of the key suspects, retired Gen. Cetin Dogan, former commander of Turkey's first army who chaired the seminar, said there was nothing illegal in the seized documents and his remarks at the seminar have been manipulated.

"I am not a man of coups, I am a man of legal platforms," the state-run Anatolia news agency quoted Dogan as saying outside the court house on Thursday.

HaberTurk television said the suspects arrived at the court in buses from a military guest house. They quickly entered the giant court house, which was specially designed to hold the large number of suspects.

Dozens of television crews stood far away from the entrance of the compound and only a small group of reporters were allowed to cover the trial. A small group of protesters shouted slogans outside the court house, demanding the punishment of the suspects.

Irem Cicek, the daughter and lawyer of one of the suspects, Navy Col. Dursun Cicek, said the accusations against her father were based on a printed document that had no signature on it.

"He is accused of preparing a list of navy officers who would assist the alleged plan. The accusation is based on a Word document with no signature. It can be prepared by anyone," she told HaberTurk television. "It is so sad to see so many valuable people who have worked for this country as defendants in there."

Unable to independently assess the evidence, Turks remain divided on the authenticity of the plot and the threat it may have posed. What is clear, however, is that the balance of power in Turkey has tipped significantly in favour of civilian authorities, whose arrests of high-ranking military officers would have once been unimaginable.

In late November, the government suspended three high-ranking officers — two major generals and a rear admiral — from duty pending the outcome of the trial, which could take at least a few years.

Also among the suspects is the former head of the country's National Security Council, once a powerful group of top military officials that exerted strong pressure on the government to follow a strictly secular line, including conducting close surveillance of radical Islamic movements. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government has dramatically curbed its powers since coming to power in 2002 and turned it into a merely advisory body on security affairs.

A panel of three judges headed by newly appointed Omer Diken began asking every suspect to identify himself during the opening hearing, HaberTurk said. Diken was appointed on Tuesday when the previous presiding judge was removed in an unanimous vote by a state judiciary board because of an ongoing disciplinary probe related to other cases.

More than 400 people — including academics, journalists, politicians and soldiers — are already on trial on separate charges of plotting to bring down the government. That case focuses on a conspiracy by an alleged gang of extremist secular nationalists called "Ergenekon," the name of a legendary valley in Central Asia believed to be the ancestral homeland of the Turkish people.

Critics say the cases are built on flimsy evidence and illegal wiretaps, and are designed to silence Erdogan's pro-secular opponents. The government denies the cases are politically motivated and says it is just trying to work to improve democracy.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has insisted that "no one is above the law, no one is untouchable, no one is privileged."

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/i78472.html

[hipeter924]

Re: Turkey - Internal Political Affairs

"Critics say the cases are built on flimsy evidence and illegal wiretaps, and are designed to silence Erdogan's pro-secular opponents. The government denies the cases are politically motivated and says it is just trying to work to improve democracy."

Erdogan is just clearing the house, to give himself more power within Turkey, I expect this to humiliate Obama and the UK governments delusion and PR campaign that Turkey is a 'democracy'.

[Federate]

Re: Turkey - Internal Political Affairs

Deadly attack follows Erdogan rally

Policeman killed in northern city of Kastamonu after campaign visit earlier in the day by Turkish prime minister.



Erdogan addressed AKP supporters in Kastamonu earlier Wednesday [Reuters]

A policeman has been killed and two more wounded in an attack in a northern Turkish city, shortly after prime minister Recep Tayyip Edrogan held an election rally.

Erdogan had already left Kastamonu on Wednesday when the ambush occurred on a country road winding through thickly forested hillsides south of the city.

Attackers threw an explosive device and opened fire on a bus carrying police, Turkish network NTV said. The vehicle was accompanying a campaign bus for Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Addressing thousands of supporters at a rally later in Amasya, Erdogan appeared to blame separatist fighters for the attack.

"Those dark minds, these terrorists, these separatists are only able to do this, those who understand there is nothing they can do through the ballot box," Erdogan said.

Kurdish separatist fighters belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have waged a decades-long campaign for Kurdish independence, mostly from the southeast of the country.

PKK fighters attacked a police vehicle in the Black Sea province of Sinop last month, injuring three police officers, but Kastamonu province had not previously been known as a scene of guerrilla violence.

Wednesday's attack came after thousands of Kurds gathered in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir for a funeral of PKK guerrillas killed in a clash with security forces in the province of Tunceli last week.

Turkey goes to the polls in parliamentary elections on June 12.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/05/20115415393188390.html

[Artsakh]

PKK leader threatens Turkey with 'great war'

PKK leader threatens Turkey with 'great war'

Kurdish separatists have claimed responsibility for an ambush on a police convoy in northern Turkey, and warned the country's government it faces a "great war" if it fails to enter "meaningful negotiations" after next month's elections.

Wednesday's attack in the northern province of Kastamonu left one policeman dead and another wounded.

"A retaliation attack was carried out by our militants on a police car that was part of a convoy...the attack only targeted police. It is not an attack on civilians or the prime minister," said a Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) statement on the Firat news agency website.

The group's jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan told Firat that "all hell would break loose" unless Ankara opened talks with Kurdish groups within six weeks, and within days of the country's June 12 parliamentary elections.

"June 15 is the deadline. Either a meaningful negotiation process will begin after June 15 or a great war will start and all hell will break loose," Ocalan said via his lawyers, Firat reported.

Earlier on Friday Turkish police arrested up to eight people over Wednesday's ambush in which gunmen opened fire on a police car escorting a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) campaign bus from an election rally by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Edrogan in Kastamonu.

Erdogan had left the rally by helicopter before the attack occured. TRT news said eight people had been detained during police raids in Ankara, suspected of planning another attack.

Speaking to reporters after visiting the wounded officer on Friday, Erdogan said the attack bore the hallmarks of the PKK and accused the group of targeting his party, which is expected to win a third consecutive term in next month's vote.

"We knew that the separatist terrorist organisation would use these undemocratic methods ahead of the elections," he said.

The PKK ended a six-month ceasefire in February and there have been fears of rising violence before the election.

"This attack is a message to the AKP to withdraw its police who suppress Kurdish people. As all know, the police have carried out very harsh interventions on Kurdish people recently," the PKK statement said.

More than 40,000 people have been killed in a separatist conflict in southeastern Turkey since the PKK took up arms against the state in 1984.

PKK operations are generally focused on the mainly Kurdish southeast, but there had been prior warning of possible attacks in the Black Sea region.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/05/201156134841944951.html

[Artsakh]

Re: Turkey - Internal Political Affairs

Two policemen killed in attack

Thursday, May 12, 2011
ISTANBUL – Daily News with wires
Two police officers killed by suspected members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in an attack on a police station in southeast Turkey were laid to rest Thursday.

Gökmen Şimşek and Muharrem ünlü, who were killed Wednesday, were laid to rest in their hometowns Edirne and Çorum, respectively.

Interior Minster Osman Güneş said the perpetrators of the attack would soon be caught.

A group of militants fired machine guns at police outside a station in Silopi, near the border with Iraq, on Wednesday, killing one officer and critically wounding another, a security official said.

The wounded officer was rushed to a hospital in Diyarbakır, before succumbing to his injuries early on Thursday, a hospital source said.

“We have launched operations to find the attackers,” Güneş told reporters in Ankara. “I am ashamed to call these traitors human, those who hope for help from violence are creatures that only look human. Turkey is a strong country, we will continue to fight against them just like we have dome so far.”

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=two-policemen-killed-in-attack-2011-05-12

[hipeter924]

Re: Turkey - Internal Political Affairs

“We have launched operations to find the attackers,” Güneş told reporters in Ankara. “I am ashamed to call these traitors human, those who hope for help from violence are creatures that only look human. Turkey is a strong country, we will continue to fight against them just like we have dome so far.”

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.p...ack-2011-05-12

Yeah, that will really pacify the Kurds, not.

[Federate]

Re: Turkey - Internal Political Affairs

Turkish politicians quit over sex tapes



Six Turkish opposition politicians have resigned over a sex tape scandal that could have far-reaching consequences for the country's parliamentary elections on June 12.

The six, all leading members of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), quit on Saturday after a website broadcast secretly filmed videos, purportedly showing senior figures having sex in a house used by party members for extramarital affairs.

Four senior members of the hardline group had already resigned earlier this month over similar videos, throwing the party's electoral prospects into doubt.

The state-run Anatolian news agency said deputy chairmen Osman Cakir, Umit Safak and Mehmet Ekici, along with general secretary Cihan Pacaci and his deputy Mehmet Taytak had resigned their party membership and candidacies to be members of parliament.

Deniz Bolukbasi, another deputy chairman who also resigned, alleged he was the victim of a politically motivated trap.

"I am resigning to spare my party the damage such allegations might cause," he said.

A group calling itself "Different Nationalists" claims to have released the videos, sparking accusations from the MHP that supporters of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, were trying to undermine the party.

Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) has denied the allegation and Turkish authorities have moved to block access to the videos.

"It is up to the party to deal with its internal affairs," Ahmet Davutoglu, the foreign minister, said on NTV television.

"As unethical as they may be, I do not believe releasing those videos is correct behaviour, judging from a humanitarian perspective."

Different Nationalists had threatened to broadcast further compromising video recordings if Devlet Bahceli, the MHP leader, did not resign by a deadline of May 18. He has not resigned.

Surveys show the party is hovering around a 10 per cent support threshold designed to exclude smaller parties from parliament.

Turkey analyst Birol Baskan told Al Jazeera that the latest resignations would make it difficult for the MHP to get into parliament.

"The party is extremely demoralised and has lost its focus on the real issues that the voters want to hear about," Baskan said.

Bahceli had committed a tactical mistake by accusing a religious leader, Fethullah Gulen, of conspiring against the MHP, alienating conservative voters, Baskan added.

If the MHP fails to pass the 10 per cent barrier, its votes would be redistributed among parties represented in parliament, handing even more power to Erdogan's ruling party.

The ruling party appears to be easily heading towards a third term in office, but it is aiming for an overwhelming majority that would allow it to rewrite Turkey's constitution.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/05/2011521132012679960.html

[Alexandros]

Re: Turkey - Internal Political Affairs

Federate: Did you really have to post that big Turkish flag?