Operation against whom?

Lale Kemal
Lale Kemal


Date posted: January 6, 2014

LALE KEMAL

Rumors that the government will widen its operation against those whom it believes are behind a so-called conspiracy to prepare the ground for its downfall through the disclosure of a high-profile corruption and bribery scandal have created an atmosphere of fear within society. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had earlier said that journalists as well as members of the police and the judiciary are close collaborators in a campaign which he says is being waged by international groups — or “dark circles” — bent on smearing his government with allegations of corruption.

In the words of both Erdoğan and some of his Cabinet ministers, these so-called conspirators include US Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone, the faith-based Hizmet movement headed by respected Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, hardcore secular-minded business groups, the judiciary, the police as well as those who organized the Gezi Park protests this past summer that turned into anti-government protests. Thus the audience of the alleged massive operation to be staged against by the government is extremely wide.

Erdoğan had earlier said that the Dec. 17 graft investigation was in essence targeting him and his family. Recently, during a press conference in İstanbul on Jan. 5 with pro-government media, he said these circles were allegedly engaged in sabotaging the Kurdish peace process as well as undermining the country’s economic and democratic gains.

Professor Fuat Keyman, who was at the meeting and who recently quit as a columnist at the Milliyet daily, shared his impressions on Erdoğan’s closed-door meeting with the media, saying Erdoğan felt that the operation discourse had surpassed the corruption allegations, that the fight against the plot against the government through state-owned Halkbank would continue and that the government will be more active in its fight against those behind the operation.

The public became aware of the contents of Erdoğan’s meeting with some members of the media when the latter wrote about them.

Erdoğan and his government are of the opinion that a parallel state exists within the state (pointing his fingers at Hizmet) — supported by international circles — seeking to undermine his government. Economy Minister Ali Babacan last week claimed that with the Dec. 17 graft investigation, a mini coup was being staged against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

Yet Erdoğan has not assured the public that the graft investigation will not be covered up.

On the contrary, the government has taken every step to cover up the Dec. 17 graft investigation when it removed over 700 police officers from their posts. Prosecutors were pressured against carrying out the investigations as a prosecutor in charge of another corruption operation that was halted by the government was replaced.

As a matter of fact, in line with Erdoğan’s claims about those who were engaged in complicity to undermine his government, judicial measures were enforced to smear some pro-Gülen companies. A gold mining facility of Koza Altın, which also owns the Bugün daily and a TV channel, has been closed down on the grounds that it did not comply with an environmental regulation. Koza Altın denied those claims and is taking the matter to court.

Hence, the public now has a clear idea about the possible targets of the government operations in the private sector which might be followed by others. But the public is not clear about who else mainly employed by the state will be purged in addition to those police officers who have already been replaced.

Does anyone, in the meantime, believe that all these 700 or so policemen who were removed from their posts or those business groups who are now facing sanctions through judicial measures are part of a so-called parallel state?

A claim made this past weekend by Hüseyin Gülerce, a senior columnist for the Zaman daily, affiliated with the Gülen (Hizmet) movement, increased tensions in Ankara when he suggested that a major operation will be carried out by the government against the Gülen movement, which it believes to be behind the graft investigation.

“A big hurricane is on its way. We will experience an operation that Turkey had never witnessed before. It may start either on Monday or upon Erdoğan’s return from his tour to the Far East,” Gülerce claimed during a TV program over the weekend.

Prime Minister Erdoğan held a press conference before leaving for Japan and ruled out an operation against the Gülen movement. But he confirmed that an operation against what he termed dark circles that intend to undermine his government will take place.

Turkey faces for the first time in its republican history a fierce battle taking place among Muslim conservatives, i.e., the AK Party and the Gülen movement, with the former perhaps seeking to finish off the latter, whereas previous power struggles mainly took place between hard-line secularists led by the once politically powerful military and liberals, conservatives and Turkish Kurds.

In addition, we are now witnessing a shift in alliances as the government has ironically been allying with the military, which is widely perceived as cooperating against those conservative and liberal circles who helped to preserve the AK Party’s power which has paved the way, among other things, for reforms curbing the military’s power in politics — a step necessary for the installation of a democratic state.

Source: Today's Zaman , January 6, 2014


Related News

Almost 1,000 officers removed from post in İzmir, Ankara

Around 700 police officers, including four deputy chiefs and 70 high-ranking officials, were removed from their posts at the İzmir Police Department and reassigned to different positions on Thursday morning and removals continued later in the afternoon with 207 more officers

American academic: Hizmet Movement serves for entire humanity

Speaking at a cenference in the southern province of Antalya, Soltes shared his observations about the Hizmet Movement. “I saw this on every people I met: I see that everybody, who is inspired by Gülen’s thoughts, help people with no thought of personal gain,” said Soltes adding that Hizmet Movement serves for entire humanity in the world.

PM Erdoğan increases intensity of hate speech against Hizmet movement

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has increased the intensity of his hate speech against the Hizmet movement, which is inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, calling on people not to attend the movement’s schools or exam preparatory courses and not to buy newspapers close to the movement.

Turkey- the state versus the people

Using the failed military coup attempt on July 15 as a pretext, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan orchestrated a huge purge of more than 100,000 people from the civil service without bothering to implement administrative or judicial investigations.

Gov’t lifts confidentiality of MGK docs for publishing in partisan press

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government, which accused the Taraf daily of being a “traitor” for publishing secret state documents last month that include a covert plot against Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen and the profiling of citizens, has lifted the confidentiality of some National Security Council (MGK) documents to be released by its partisan media outlets.

3 detained Turkish educators and their families handed over to Turkey by Gabon

Three Turkish educators and their families who were arbitrarily detained in Libreville, the capital city of Gabon, were handed over to Turkish officials and taken to İstanbul on Sunday morning.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Kimse Yok Mu provides meal for 250 Syrians each day in southeastern Turkey

Gursel Tekin: Gulen’s remarks on the third bridge are valuable

A Turkish couple spent their wedding day feeding 4,000 Syrian refugees

Crimes Against Humanity in Erdogan’s Turkey

Turkey’s post-coup purge and persecution makes no exception for children

Kimse Yok Mu, the prominent outlet for international aid

Erdogan – Turkey’s desperate president

Copyright 2024 Insightful Neighbor