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this bengali pussy cat is ruining the name of bengalis and is anti bangladesh and anti Muslim
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Turkish stock market falling like mad.
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Akgun: 'Erdogan's days are numbered'
Turkey's corruption scandal has put the prime minister's party under severe pressure. Lale Akgun, a German Social Democrat (SPD) politician with Turkish roots, says Erdogan fatally underestimated the Gulen movement.
Lale Akgün
DW: What effect are the latest developments having on Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan?
Lale Akgun: He's never been as insecure as he is right now. In the past few months, Erdogan thought that, little by little, he would be able to extend his power - that he was invulnerable. I think that after the riots in Gezi Park and with the corruption accusations that have now come to light, he's more than just vulnerable: His days are numbered.
How closely does the corruption scandal touch him personally?
Very closely indeed. His son Bilal has been summoned to appear before the public prosecutor on January 2 - not as a witness, but as a suspect, on charges of corruption and money-laundering. It's a ticking time-bomb in Erdogan's house.
Two ministers have already had to step down because their sons appear to have been involved in the corruption scandal. What does this mean, then, for Erdogan?
The analogy would be that Erdogan would also have to step down. But he's already talking about how, once again, it's all on account of these evil forces from abroad, who are now targeting his son in order to get at him. This means that Erdogan is going to try to cling to power for a while yet. But increasingly the judiciary is defying him because he's also trying to undermine the separation of powers. Erdogan said a week ago that, if it weren't for them, he could govern as he sees fit. On top of all this, more and more people are abandoning the sinking ship of the AKP.
The fact that the judiciary is now investigating the allegations of corruption in Turkish government circles - does that really come down to the followers of the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen?
Yes, I think so. But Gulen's followers didn't invent the corruption cases. People in Turkey have been saying for years that Erdogan and his immediate circle have made themselves phenomenally rich. It's an open secret. Like most observers, I believe that Gulen's followers have gone on the offensive now because they're aggrieved that the movement's schools have been closed down.
It used to be said that Erdogan's AKP was like a bus with lots of very different people sitting in it. To begin with, there were intellectuals and leftists in there - people who believed the party would bring more democracy to Turkey. Now, though, more and more people are leaving the bus. The only ones still on board are the Milli Gorus people, and the followers of Fethullah Gulen. Erdogan thought: 'I'll chuck the Gulen lot off the bus myself.' But he underestimated the power of these people. Some of them occupy key positions - and were appointed with Erdogan's blessing.
We're seeing a new wave of anti-Erdogan demonstrations now. The Gulen movement isn't behind those. How strong is this sector of society, which belongs to neither of the two conservative camps?
The third force in Turkey - as in, civil society - which genuinely does want more democracy and openness, really needs to form an organization now. But in the summer, I heard for myself how young people were saying that they didn't see themselves as a political force: 'We don't want to form a party; we just want to be 'anti.'' But that's not enough. This force - which has a lot of sympathizers - must be politically organized. If there were elections in Turkey, it would easily pass the 10-percent hurdle.
The Gezi movement is named after a park in Istanbul where citizens gathered last summer to protest against the government's controversial construction plans. We saw at the time that all kinds of people, very different people, had taken to the streets, just as they have again over the past few days: young and old, women and men, a whole cross-section of society. Are they sufficiently in agreement to be able to found a party?
No - they're only actually agreed on one thing: Erdogan has to go! That's like the common denominator. And this will hold them together until Erdogan goes. My fear is that then Fethulah Gulen will present himself as a knight in shining armor and be celebrated by everyone because people think he's the lesser evil.
Akgun believes the EU and Germany need to support Turkish civil society
The European Union has been negotiating with Turkey over EU entry for decades. How should it respond to the current situation?
The EU could be very helpful right now, in particular by supporting civil society with projects and programs, helping these people to organize so that they can become a force in politics.
Is there something the new German foreign minister, the SPD's Frank Walter Steinmeier, could, or should, be doing?
He should - diplomatically, as befits a foreign minister - express his opinion. Because it's not acceptable that we, as a democratic state, should just look on while the prime minister of another country - albeit, admittedly, an elected prime minister - is behaving increasingly like an autocrat.
Social Democrat Lale Akgün served as a member of the German parliament from 2002 to 2009. She was born in Istanbul.
Interview by Arnd Riekmann / cc
Akgun: 'Erdogan's days are numbered' | World | DW.DE | 28.12.2013
[MENTION=5349]Hallo[/MENTION] , I agree with what most of what Akgun says but she doesn't answer the question who will replace Erdogan.
I believe Turkey will return to what it was before. A normal country struggling with economic problems and concerned about itself rather than a new Ottoman Empire trying to boss other countries across the globe. This neo-Ottoman period of the AKP will be seen as an aberration in the future, a temporary departure from the norm.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Comment
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Edited*Last edited by Bengal_Tiger; 01-06-2014, 12:53 PM.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Comment
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Turkish FM calls on Gülen Movement for dialogue to find way out political crisis
ANKARA
‘I am calling on friends from Cemaat, or as we say service movement for internal accountability,’ Davutoğlu said.
Delivering constructive messages to move away from political crisis over the graft probe, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has invited the Fetullah Gülen movement to engage in “dialogue and a strategic look toward the horizon.”
“We should build dialogue, instead of physical barriers,” Davutoğlu said on Dec. 29 in a televised interview, “There is a way out of this crisis, let’s have dialogue... That is why Erdoğan invited Gülen to Turkey.”
“It is obvious how much the civil society, which was oppressed during the Feb. 28 [events], including the Hizmet Movement, has developed during our term,” the minister added.
Civil society could influence politics, but it should do so in open ways, the minister said, noting that if this was not the case then the civil society would suffer most. The state would act as a state, civil society would act as civil society, said Davutoğlu.
“Look from where we came to in 10 years’ time. I am calling on friends from Cemaat, or as we say service movement for internal accountability,” he said. If internal accountability is present, then the right steps would be taken, and 10 years of accumulation would not be wasted, he added.
An image as if there was double authority would harm the state, but would harm all congregational and civil society structures more, Davutoğlu argued.
Davutoğlu assured that his government was determined to be a strict follower of allegations of corruption and bribery.
“The issue has turned into something other than corruption and has taken a dimension of revenge as I see on the face of the prosecutor that was delivering the statement,” the minister noted referring to the prosecutors of a recent graft probe, who are said to be close to the Gülen Movement.
“Reading a statement does not suit a prosecutor,” he said, adding that the judicial system should be purified from all sorts of feelings of revenge.
Gov't opens embassies 'to serve Gülen's interests'
The minister recalled earlier claims against his government that Turkey was opening new embassies all around the world in order to serve Gülen Movement.
“Are we the obstacles that are in front of the services?” he asked.
The recent political crisis between the government and Gülen movement has reached a point which would “please those who are uncomfortable with Turkey,” the minister said.
Elaborating on the “foreign powers” to which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan often referred in relation to the graft probe, Minister Davutoğlu addressed those “who were uncomfortable in 2003 because it was standing on its own legs, were again leery of Turkey today.”
In the international arena, some circles conducted “psychological operations” during the last two years, which were more intense over the past year, against him with “demonizing” tactics launched to smear the government.
Those circles tried to paint him as a warmonger, because the government was against an “oppressor” in Syria, Davutoğlu said.
A smear campaign was launched against Hakan Fidan, chief of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), as the body’s “influence was in rise.”
Some circles in the international arena preferred Turkey’s “static” foreign policy of the 90’s, which was “merely involved in nearby crises” such as Cyprus, he said, noting that now the country had advanced its influence in the world.
Davutoğlu mentioned Turkey’s efforts and influence in Somalia in this regard.
POLITICS - Turkish FM calls on Gülen Movement for dialogue to find way out political crisis
1. Davutoglu is the AKP's foreign minister. Erdogan has a tough man image to maintain so cannot be seen to be weak and call for dialogue with Gulen. Davutoglu can.
2. Erdogan's regime is very much shaken and nervous hence this call for dialogue by Davutoglu.
Either
a: Gulenists will come to an agreement with Erdogan where they both stay away from attacking each other e.g. Erdogan doesn't close down Gulenist prep schools, Gulen leaves the AKP alone.
b: Gulenists will go all out for the removal of Erdogan. If they do, then they are too strong for Erdogan to defeat and he will be out.
One thing is clear though, if Erdogan/Gul/Davutoglu/Bozdag or any one else in the AKP mafia dare think of raising a hand against, or speaking against Bangladeshi assets and interests, they and their American masters will see all sorts of consequences.
Necdet Ozel, the head of the Turkish military. The Turkish army has not chosen to remain quiet on the crisis and issue a "no comment" message but has instead issued a statement on the tension in Turkey. The very fact they have opted to issue a declaration (they merely said the law must be respected) is not a good sign for the Erdogan regime.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Comment
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Turkey Is Biggest Loser in Stocks as Erdogan Crisis Persists (1)
By Ye Xie and Katia Porzecanski December 30, 2013
The Turkish national flag sits atop of a traders work station as he monitors financial information while working on the floor of the Borsa Istanbul, the stock exchange in Istanbul.
The mounting power struggle between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the judiciary is turning the stock market into the world’s worst performer and driving the currency to unprecedented lows.
The Borsa Istanbul 100 Index (XU100) has slumped 21 percent in dollar terms this month, extending this year’s slide to 32 percent, as a corruption probe embroiled Erdogan’s cabinet and led to three ministerial resignations. The declines were the worst among more than 90 benchmark gauges tracked by Bloomberg. Turkey’s lira has sunk 6.3 percent this month, the most among emerging-market currencies, and traded at a record low of 2.1764 per dollar last week.
The crisis threatens to undo the economic gains Erdogan made in orchestrating a decade of almost uninterrupted growth that earned Turkey its first investment-grade credit ratings since the early 1990s. The investigation, which Erdogan labeled a coup attempt, is deepening the conflict between the government and followers of U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who are influential in the judiciary and police force.
“This is going to make Turkey stick out like a sore thumb,” Arnab Das, founder of London-based consultancy Das Capital, said in a telephone interview on Dec. 26. “The risks in Turkey are becoming more manifest.”
Ihlas Holding (IHLAS) AS, an Istanbul-based holding company of construction, health care and education businesses, fell 71 percent this year, the worst performer among the 100 members in the Borsa index. Anel Elektrik Proje Taahhut ve Ticaret AS, which offers electromechanical contracting services, tumbled 55 percent, the second-biggest loss on the gauge.
Bond Selloff
Investors are also dumping Turkish bonds at the fastest pace in two years, sending yields on benchmark two-year notes to a 23-month high of 10.17 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Foreigners sold a net $1.9 billion in the two weeks through Dec. 20, cutting holdings to a three-month low of $54 billion, from $72 billion in May, central bank data show.
“If interest rates were to remain elevated for a long period and if the currency were to continue weakening, then it definitely would start to impinge on economic performance,” Julian Rimmer, a broker at London-based CF Global Trading U.K. Ltd., said in a telephone interview on Dec. 27.
The investigation has become the battleground in a struggle for control of the majority Muslim country between Erdogan and Gulen. The cleric broke with the prime minister this year, ending a partnership that had helped sustain the single-party government since 2002.
BlackRock Buys
For some investors, the turmoil has been an opportunity to purchase shares cheaply. BlackRock Inc., the world’s biggest money manager, said Dec. 23 it added to its Turkish holdings, especially financial stocks, in a bet that the worst of the crisis may have passed.
The crisis began Dec. 17 with arrest of the sons of three cabinet ministers as well as the chief executive officer of state-run Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS (HALKB) amid probes into bribery, money laundering, gold smuggling and corruption in government tenders. Erdogan said in a Dec. 27 televised speech that it was an attempt to derail the government. Earlier that day, a top judicial body blocked his order requiring the government to be notified of investigations, a ruling he called unconstitutional.
“What started as a local power struggle within the ruling religious political elite would appear to have become an issue broad enough to not only destabilize Turkey’s financial markets but potentially spill over into the wider arena of emerging market fixed-income and currency markets,” Michael Shaoul, chief executive officer of Marketfield Asset Management LLC, wrote in a note to clients on Dec. 27.
Share Gains
Until this year, Turkey, the Middle East’s only member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was an investor favorite as Erdogan fought off pressure from secularist generals, reined in government spending and sold state-owned companies.
The benchmark stock index jumped 505 percent in dollar terms between March 2003, when Erdogan took office, and the end of 2012, compared with the 275 percent gain in the MSCI Emerging Market Index. Dollar-denominated bonds returned 207 percent, outpacing the 173 percent increase in JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s EMBIG Diversified index for emerging markets.
Investors started to pull back in May when the Federal Reserve signaled it was preparing to withdraw the U.S. monetary stimulus that had helped fuel demand for developing-nation assets over the past five years. That month, anti-government protests over a planned development in Istanbul spread across the country in the worst unrest during Erdogan’s reign.
“The underlying issue is that Erdogan is becoming more authoritarian and less focused on the institutions in Turkey,” Das said. “That’s ultimately got to be a bad thing.”
Current Account
The probe is compounding the challenges Erdogan faces before elections next year because the country relies on foreign investment to finance the current-account gap, the largest in the Middle East. The deficit will widen to 7.1 percent of gross domestic product this year from 6.1 percent last year, according to government projections.
“When you’re thinking about these stories like Turkey in the coming year, the consensus right now is extremely bearish,” Robert Abad, who helps oversee $53 billion including Turkish dollar bonds at Western Asset Management Co., said in a telephone interview from Pasadena, California, on Dec. 27.
To prop up the lira, the central bank said Dec. 24 it will sell at least $6 billion in auctions through the end of January and make it more costly for lenders to park foreign currencies in the bank’s coffers. It sold $450 million on Dec. 27 after receiving bids for almost double that amount.
Such efforts may not be enough to stem the selloff, according to Walter Todd, who oversees about $950 million as chief investment officer of Greenwood Capital Associates LLC.
“Anytime there’s instability in an emerging market like that, it’s never a good thing,” Todd said in a telephone interview from Greenwood, South Carolina. “It’ll probably get worse before there’s some type of turnaround resolution to any of this.”
Turkey Is Biggest Loser in Stocks as Erdogan Crisis Persists (1) - Businessweek* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Comment
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Fenerbahçe turns league game into anti-gov’t rally
ISTANBUL
Fenerbahçe fans chanted slogans against the Turkish prime minister and commemorated a killed protester in turning their last Spor Toto Super League game of the year into an anti-government rally on Dec. 29.
The Yellow Canaries beat Kayserispor 5-1 to end the year on top of the league, but the game will be remembered for its slogans, rather than its goals.
Fenerbahçe fans chanted “Hırsız [thief] Tayyip Erdoğan” during the game in a reference to the ongoing corruption investigation, which has rocked the Turkish political scene. Two ministers’ sons and a state-bank owner are among the high-profile arrests. Erdoğan has repeatedly rejected the corruption claims, saying the investigation is a dark plot to oust him from power.
The fans also chanted a song devoted to Ali İsmail Korkmaz, a protester who died after being beaten by a group of plainclothes officers and civilians during the Gezi Park protests in Eskişehir.
“Just at 19, a free world in his dreams, the striped jersey that he kissed will live on in his memory,” said the chant for Korkmaz, who was a Fenerbahçe fan. “Ali İsmail Korkmaz, Fenerbahçe will not be destroyed.”
Anti-government protests have been regular this season, with especially Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş and Galatasaray fans, who unusually joined forces during the summer’s street rallies as “Istanbul United,” chanting “Everywhere is Taksim, everywhere is resistance” during football matches. The chant was frequently used in the Gezi Park protests, which turned into nationwide anti-government rallies following a heavy-handed police crackdown on a peaceful sit-in against a central park renovation plan. Fans have been singing the chant in the 34th minute of their home games.
The slogan was adapted to “Everywhere is bribery, everywhere is corruption” after the corruption probe was made public with police raids on Dec. 17.
Apart from the anti-government protests, it was a festive night for Fenerbahçe, which ended the year with a victory and a comfortable eight-point margin ahead of second-place Galatasaray.
Goals from Cristian Baroni, Emmanuel Emenike, Mehmet Topal, Moussa Sow and Caner Erkin clinched the win for Fenerbahçe, which took its points tally to 41.
Defending champion Galatasaray is on 33 points, third-placed Kasımpaşa has 31 points while Beşiktaş and Sivasspor are on 29 points.
The second half of the Spor Toto Super League will start when Kasımpaşa hosts Kardemir Karabükspor on Jan. 24, 2014.
TURKEY - Fenerbahçe turns league game into anti-gov
A video of the anti-Erdogan (often called by his first name, Tayyip, a Turkish corruption of "Tayyib" which is good in Arabic) protests in the Fenerbahce stadium.
Kadıköy ''Hırsız Tayyip Erdoğan '' sloganı Fenerbahce 5-1 Kayseri - YouTube
Erdogan himself is ironically a Fenerbache fan.
Ali Ismail Korkmaz, the young man killed in clashes with police during anti-Erdogan riots. Fenerbache fans sang sons to commemorate his death.
Korkmaz.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Comment
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Woman detained for protesting Turkish PM with shoebox
MANİSA - Cihan News Agency
Nurhan Gül has been released pending trial after she was taken to the police station and questioned for two hours.
Turkish police detained a woman in the western province of Manisa on Dec. 29 after she protested against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with a shoebox, in a reference to money found in shoeboxes during a major corruption operation.
Police seized $4.5 million in cash in shoeboxes during the bribery raid in the house of Süleyman Aslan on Dec. 18, the general manager of the state-run lender Halkbank.
The woman, identified as Nurhan Gül, reportedly showed a shoebox from her balcony while Erdoğan was addressing his supporters during a rally in Manisa’s Akhisar district. Shortly after Gül’s protest, police and bodyguards of the prime minister came and detained the woman.
Gül has been released pending trial after she was taken to the police station and questioned for two hours.
“I waved the empty shoebox and sat at my balcony. I did not use any word or verbal expression. Bodyguards and police came to my house after one or two minutes. They asked who waved that box. I was detained after saying it was me,” Gül said in her testimony.
Gül added that she wanted to protest her 690-lira retirement salary because she thought the reason of her low salary was due to investigations into the police and prosecutors instead of defrauder and thieves.
Halkbank manager Aslan was arrested Dec. 21 by a court on duty in Istanbul on charges of taking bribes, while businessman Reza Zarrab was charged with forming a ring that bribed officials to help disguise illegal gold sales to Iran via Halkbank.
LOCAL - Woman detained for protesting Turkish PM with shoebox* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Comment
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Turkey's President Abdullah Gul Calls Erdogan's Twitter Ban Unacceptable
Reuters
Posted: 03/21/2014 6:42 am EDT Updated: 03/21/2014 3:59 pm EDT Print
By Orhan Coskun
ISTANBUL, March 21 (Reuters) - Turkish President Abdullah Gul set himself publicly at odds with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Friday, saying that it was unacceptable to impose complete bans on social media platforms such as Twitter.
Turkey's courts blocked access to Twitter following Erdogan's vow, on the campaign trail ahead of key March 30 local elections, to "wipe out" the service. In a defiant stand, Erdogan said he did not care what the international community had to say about it.
The prime minister, who has been in power for 11 years, is battling a corruption scandal that has been fed by social media awash with alleged evidence of government wrongdoing.
Gul, however, took to Twitter himself to say complete bans on social media platforms were unacceptable and to voice his hope that the block would be short-lived.
Turkey's main opposition party said it would challenge the ban and file a criminal complaint against Erdogan on the grounds of violating personal freedoms. The country's bar association filed a separate court challenge.
"One cannot approve of the complete closure of social media platforms," Gul tweeted. He said only individual Internet pages should be blocked if there is a court order on the grounds that a person's privacy is being violated.
Gul co-founded the ruling Islamist-rooted AK Party with Erdogan and has remained a close ally. But he is viewed as a more conciliatory figure than the combative prime minister and their relations have at times appeared strained.
In the run up to the elections, the president has been hesitant to openly criticise Erdogan, despite the brewing scandal and the latter's increasing claims of a conspiracy against his government
Erdogan's ruling AK Party has already tightened Internet controls, handed government more influence over the courts, and reassigned thousands of police and hundreds of prosecutors and judges as it fights a corruption scandal he has cast as a plot by political enemies to oust him.
EU CONCERN
Telecoms watchdog BTK said the social media platform had been blocked by the courts after complaints were made by citizens that it was breaching privacy. It said Twitter had ignored previous requests to remove content.
"Because there was no other choice, access to Twitter was blocked in line with court decisions to avoid the possible future victimization of citizens," it said.
Twitter users in Turkey began reporting widespread outages in direct connections overnight. Some users trying to open the Twitter.com website were taken to a statement apparently from another regulator citing four court orders as the basis for the ban.
European Union Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said he was "gravely concerned" by the move.
"Being free to communicate and freely choose the means to do it is (a)fundamental EU value," Fuele wrote on his Twitter account.
Turkey's financial markets were also unsettled, with the lira weakening to 2.24 against the dollar, shares falling 0.7 percent and the benchmark 10-year bond rising to 11.24 percent from 11.12.
San Francisco-based Twitter said it was looking into the matter but had not issued a formal statement. The company did publish a tweet addressed to Turkish users instructing them on how to continue tweeting via SMS text message.
Erdogan was scathing about the social media service on Thursday
"Twitter, mwitter!," he told thousands of supporters at a rally, in a phrase translating roughly as "Twitter, schmitter!".
"We will wipe out all of these," Erdogan said. "The international community can say this, can say that. I don't care at all. Everyone will see how powerful the Republic of Turkey is," he said in a characteristically unyielding tone. (Writing by Daren Butler Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
1. Erdogan's corruption (financial scandals) is being exposed on social media so the Turkish strongman wants to ban facebook and twitter in Turkey!
2. Erdogan looks likely to win the local elections in 7 days time.
However even if he does, how long can this maglomaniac run the country when the urban professional classes that run the country (not the rural conservative majority) despise him?
3. Erdogan is cunning and decided to support a terrorist offensive against Syria launched from Turkish territory.
This lead the Syrian airforce to carry out action near the Turkish border, precisely what Erdogan wanted. Then once near the Turkish border the Turkish air force shot the Syrian planes down.
Erdogan has since issued a very strident statement on this.
The purpose of this is to:
a - Deflect the Turkish people's attention from his corruption.
b - Divert attention from his ridiculous threats of banning facebook and twitter.
c - Unite all Turks behind him in a nationalist frenzy.
The Turkish left and social democrats know precisely what this maglomaniac and thug's agenda is and can see through it.
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Opposition: Erdogan may invade Syria as electoral challenge looms
Special to WorldTribune.com
ANKARA — The opposition, on the eve of elections, has warned of a Turkish invasion of Syria.
The opposition has charged that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has already banned Twitter, could order military operations in Syria on the eve of municipal elections on March 30.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. /AFP/Adem Altan
Opposition leaders said an invasion could mark a last-minute attempt by Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party to stave off defeat.
“He [Erdogan] could decide to move the army into Syria before the elections,” opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said.
In a television interview on March 19, Kilicdaroglu pointed to Turkish
media reports that the military was on alert for an operation in northern
Syria. The reports, which quoted those close to Erdogan, said Ankara was
concerned over the prospect of an attack on a tomb in the Aleppo province 30 kilometers from the Turkish border.
“We have receive unconfirmed information,” Kilicdaroglu said. “Everyone
should be very careful.”
On March 20, Turkey’s state-owned media reported an attack on security
forces in which two officers were killed in the Nigde province. The Anadolu
News Agency said the attackers were believed to have been fighters from the
Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
“This is very serious,” Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said.
“They might be trying to heat up the election atmosphere.”
Turkish sources said Erdogan, who over the last two years gained
exclusive control over the military, has ordered the Turkish Air Force to
monitor the shrine of Suleiman Shah, claimed as Turkish territory. They
said the air force assigned two U.S.-origin F-16 multi-role fighters to
patrol the tomb and repel any attack by Al Qaida or the Syrian government.
“I’d like to address the chief of staff: Don’t send Turkey on an
adventure, especially when there is a shady prime minister in charge, who
also jailed the previous chief of staff as a terrorist,” Kilicdaroglu said.
My message to Turks:
We are with you, we are with you against the Erdogan regime. We support your struggle. We are your historical allies and supported you during the war of independence.
Erdogan must go and insha'Allah he will go.
My message to the Turkish Armed Forces and their leader, Necdet Ozel:
We supported Turkey during your heroic war of independence, we supported you over Northern Cyprus when the Arabs did not. The Turkish Armed Forces are protectors of the Turkish nation and motherland.
- Millet
- Vatan
The Turkish nation and motherland supercede a single politician or official. We urge the Turkish Armed Forces who are made up of the sons and daughters of the Turkish nation, born and raised in the motherland, please do not follow any instructions to launch an invasion against a sovereign member of the United Nations.
The costs will be horrific. People will die.
If needs be we urge the Armed Forces of the Republic of Turkey to do their duty, to protect the Turkish nation and motherland from whose who seek to damage it by involving it in a bloodthirsty and brutal conflict.
Necdet Ozel, the head of the Turkish Armed Forces.
Turkey we are with you.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Comment
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For those who do not want to spend time reading the transcript of the dialogue below just read my text in blue here and further below to understand the situation.
The leaked transcripts now on Youtube expose a conversation between Turkey's foreign minister and the head of their intelligence services, Hakan Fidan, on creating a false attack (false flag) in Syria against a Turkish-protected grave of an Ottoman ruler and then blaming it on the Syrians and using it as an excuse for a war between Turkey and Syria.
It is being claimed that this is the reason why the Erdogan regime has now banned Youtube in Turkey.
Turkey YouTube Ban: Full Transcript of Leaked Syria 'War' Conversation
Between Erdogan Officials
By Jack Moore March 27, 2014 16:57 GMT
Turkey's courts have blocked access to Twitter a little over a week before elections as Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan battles a corruption scandalReuters
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ban of YouTube occurred after a leaked conversation between Head of Turkish Intelligence Hakan Fidan and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu that he wanted removed from the video-sharing website.
The leaked call details Erdogan's thoughts that an attack on Syria "must be seen as an opportunity for us [Turkey]".
In the conversation, intelligence chief Fidan says that he will send four men from Syria to attack Turkey to "make up a cause of war".
Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Yaşar Güler replies that Fidan's projected actions are "a direct cause of war...what you're going to do is a direct cause of war".
Turkey's foreign ministry said the leaked recording of top officials discussing the Syria operation was "partially manipulated" and is a "wretched attack" on national security.
In the leaked video, Fidan is discussing with Davutoğlu, Güler and other officials a possible operation within Syria to secure the tomb of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman empire.
Full transcript (translated by @castizbey):
Ahmet Davutoğlu:
"Prime Minister said that in current conjuncture, this attack (on Suleiman Shah Tomb) must be seen as an opportunity for us."
Hakan Fidan:
"I'll send 4 men from Syria, if that's what it takes. I'll make up a cause of war by ordering a missile attack on Turkey; we can also prepare an attack on Suleiman Shah Tomb if necessary."
Feridun Sinirlioğlu:
"Our national security has become a common, cheap domestic policy outfit."
Yaşar Güler:
"It's a direct cause of war. I mean, what're going to do is a direct cause of war."
--------
FIRST SCREEN:
Ahmet Davutoğlu: I couldn't entirely understand the other thing; what exactly does our foreign ministry supposed to do? No, I'm not talking about the thing. There are other things we're supposed to do. If we decide on this, we are to notify the United Nations, the Istanbul Consulate of the Syrian regime, right?
Feridun Sinirlioğlu: But if we decide on an operation in there, it should create a shocking effect. I mean, if we are going to do so. I don't know what we're going to do, but regardless of what we decide, I don't think it'd be appropriate to notify anyone beforehand.
Ahmet Davutoğlu: OK, but we're gonna have to prepare somehow. To avoid any shorts on regarding international law. I just realised when I was talking to the president (Abdullah Gül), if the Turkish tanks go in there, it means we're in there in any case, right?
Yaşar Güler: It means we're in, yes.
Ahmet Davutoğlu: Yeah, but there's a difference between going in with aircraft and going in with tanks...
SECOND SCREEN:
Yaşar Güler: Maybe we can tell the Syrian consulate general that, ISIL is currently working alongside the regime, and that place is Turkish land. We should definitely...
Ahmet Davutoğlu: But we have already said that, sent them several diplomatic notes.
Yaşar Güler: To Syria...
Feridun Sinirlioğlu: That's right.
Ahmet Davutoğlu: Yes, we've sent them countless times. Therefore, I'd like to know what our Chief of Staff's expects from our ministry.
Yaşar Güler: Maybe his intent was to say that, I don't really know, he met with Mr. Fidan.
Hakan Fidan: Well, he did mention that part but we didn't go into any further details.
Yaşar Güler: Maybe that was what he meant... A diplomatic note to Syria?
Hakan Fidan: Maybe the Foreign Ministry is assigned with coordination...
THIRD SCREEN:
Ahmet Davutoğlu: I mean, I could coordinate the diplomacy but civil war, the military...
Feridun Sinirlioğlu: That's what I told back there. For one thing, the situation is different. An operation on ISIL has solid ground on international law. We're going to portray this is Al-Qaeda, there's no distress there if it's a matter regarding Al-Qaeda. And if it comes to defending Suleiman Shah Tomb, that's a matter of protecting our land.
Yaşar Güler: We don't have any problems with that.
Hakan Fidan: Second after it happens, it'll cause a great internal commotion (several bombing events is bound to happen within). The border is not under control...
Feridun Sinirlioğlu:I mean, yes, the bombings are of course going to happen. But I remember our talk from 3 years ago...
Yaşar Güler: Mr. Fidan should urgently receive back-up and we need to help him supply guns and ammo to rebels. We need to speak with the minister. Our Interior Minister, our Defense Minister. We need to talk about this and reach a resolution sir.
Ahmet Davutoğlu: How did we get special forces into action when there was a threat in Northern Iraq? We should have done so in there, too. We should have trained those men. We should have sent men. Anyway, we can't do that, we can only do what diplomacy...
Feridun Sinirlioğlu: I told you back then, for God's sake, General, you know how we managed to get those tanks in, you were there.
Yaşar Güler: What, you mean our stuff?
Feridun Sinirlioğlu: Yes, how do you think we've managed to rally our tanks into Iraq? How? How did we manage to get special forces, the battalions in? I was involved in that. Let me be clear, there was no government decision on that, we have managed that just with a single order.
FOURTH SCREEN:
Yaşar Güler: Well, I agree with you. For one thing, we're not even discussing that. But there are different things that Syria can do right now.
Ahmet Davutoğlu: General, the reason we're saying no to this operation is because we know about the capacity of those men.
Yaşar Güler: Look, sir, isn't MKE (Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation) at minister's bidding? Sir, I mean, Qatar is looking for ammo to buy in cash. Ready cash. So, why don't they just get it done? It's at Mr. Minister's command.
Ahmet Davutoğlu: But there's the spot we can't act integratedly, we can't coordinate.
Yaşar Güler: Then, our Prime Minister can summon both Mr. Defence Minister and Mr. Minister at the same time. Then he can directly talk to them.
Ahmet Davutoğlu: We, Mr. Siniroğlu and I, have literally begged Mr. Prime Minster for a private meeting, we said that things were not looking so bright.
FIFTH SCREEN:
Yaşar Güler: Also, it doesn't have to be a crowded meeting. Yourself, Mr. Defence Minister, Mr. Interior Minister and our Chief of Staff, the four of you are enough. There's no need for a crowd. Because, sir, the main need there is guns and ammo. Not even guns, mainly ammo. We've just talked about this, sir. Let's say we're building an army down there, 1000 strong. If we get them into that war without previously storing a minimum of 6-months' worth of ammo, these men will return to us after two months.
Ahmet Davutoğlu: They're back already.
Yaşar Güler: They'll return to us, sir.
Ahmet Davutoğlu: They've came back from... What was it? Çobanbey.
Yaşar Güler: Yes, indeed, sir. This matter can't be just a burden on Mr. Fidan's shoulders as it is now. It's unacceptable. I mean, we can't understand this. Why?
SIXTH SCREEN:
Ahmet Davutoğlu: That evening we'd reached a resolution. And I thought that things were taking a turn for the good. Our...
Feridun Sinirlioğlu: We issued the MGK (National Security Council) resolution the day after. Then we talked with the general...
Ahmet Davutoğlu: And the other forces really do a good follow up on this weakness of ours. You say that you're going to capture this place, and that men being there constitutes a risk factor. You pull them back. You capture the place. You reinforce it and send in your troops again.
Yaşar Güler: Exactly, sir. You're absolutely right.
Ahmet Davutoğlu: Right? That's how I interpret it. But after the evacuation, this is not a military necessity. It's a whole other thing.
SEVENTH SCREEN
Feridun Siniroğlu: There are some serious shifts in global and regional geopolitics. It now can spread to other places. You said it yourself today, and others agreed... We're headed to a different game now. We should be able to see those. That ISIL and all that jazz, all those organisations are extremely open to manipulation. Having a region made up of organisations of similar nature will constitute a vital security risk for us. And when we first went into Northern Iraq, there was always the risk of PKK blowing up the place. If we thoroughly consider the risks and substantiate... As the general just said...
Yaşar Güler: Sir, when you were inside a moment ago, we were discussing just that. Openly. I mean, armed forces are a "tool" necessary for you in every turn.
Ahmet Davutoğlu: Of course. I always tell the Prime Minister, in your absence, the same thing in academic jargon, you can't stay in those lands without hard power. Without hard power, there can be no soft power.
EIGTH SCREEN
Yaşar Güler: Sir.
Feridun Sinirlioğlu: The national security has been politicised. I don't remember anything like this in Turkish political history. It has become a matter of domestic policy. All talks we've done on defending our lands, our border security, our sovereign lands in there, they've all become a common, cheap domestic policy outfit.
Yaşar Güler: Exactly.
Feridun Siniroğlu: That has never happened before. Unfortunately but...
Yaşar Güler: I mean, do even one of the opposition parties support you in such a high point of national security? Sir, is this a justifiable sense of national security?
Feridun Sinirlioğlu: I don't even remember such a period.
NINTH SCREEN:
Yaşar Güler: In what matter can we be unified, if not a matter of national security of such importance? None.
Ahmet Davutoğlu: The year 2012, we didn't do it 2011. If only we'd took serious action back then, even in the summer of 2012.
Feridun Sinirlioğlu: They were at their lowest back in 2012.
Ahmet Davutoğlu: Internally, they were just like Libya. Who comes in and goes from power is not of any importance to us. But some things...
Yaşar Güler: Sir, to avoid any confusion, our need in 2011 was guns and ammo. In 2012, 2013 and today also. We're in the exact same point. We absolutely need to find this and secure that place.
Ahmet Davutoğlu: Guns and ammo are not a big need for that place. Because we couldn't get the human factor in order...
*Hitler invaded Poland on the pretext of a Polish attack on Germans, which his regime actually staged.
The really interesting part of this whole scandal is people are speculating who taped this conversation, who got hold of it and who leaked it. Some are speculating that there is Iranian intelligence involvement.
A key element of warfare is surprise, another is moral legitimacy. With this exposure the Erdogan regime has been deprived of both making any possible Erdogan attempt to start a war against Syria far weaker.
Even if Erdogan was stupid enough to start a war on Syria, then Turkey - who is not even able to defeat the PKK -would be sucked in a ferocious war which they cannot win. Also:
- The 20 million or so Alevis in Turkey can be mobilized against the Erdogan regime. It could lead to possible civil war or chaos as in the virtual Alevi-Sunni civil war of the 1970s in Turkey.
- The Turkish economy would suffer heavily due to war they cannot win.
Erdogan is an idiot.
Erdogan thought to be behind a planned Turkey v Syria war.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Comment
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1. Turkey has local elections today. Erdogan and his AKP are winning massively.
AKP areas in yellow:
2. Erdogan will not need to start a war with Syria now as Turks have voted for him in big numbers.
These elections are seen as a referendum on him and his party (more him than his party) amongst the background of the Gezi riots of the summer (it is said every single major town in Turkey, around 78 saw demonstrations back then) and allegations of scandals.
3. Will Erdogan resume his previous goal of becoming a highly powerful executive president i.e. his "Hedef 2023" (goal 2023, to be leader of Turkey until 2023 which would make him leader of Turkey for 21 years by then)?
4. Will his American masters try to restore neo-Ottomanism and his supposed role as de facto leader of the Muslim world which includes supporting "Islamist" war criminals and terrorists in Bangladesh?
I don't think so.
If the Americans try such a thing it will backfire heavily on them. They have lost in Syria and Ukraine.
Bernard Lewis pictured on the bottom right corner of the map above. Lewis is widely suspected of being the real mastermind of US policy on Turkey and promoting Turkey as the "leader of the Muslim world".
Though Erdogan has won this battle, he has to be careful as even his former supporters now regard his foreign policy, particularly in regard to the middle east, as a complete disaster.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Comment
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Strong Turkish vote result seen emboldening scandal-hit Erdogan
BY DAREN BUTLER AND HUMEYRA PAMUK
ISTANBUL/ANKARA Sun Mar 30, 2014 5:22pm EDT
7 COMMENTS
(Reuters) - Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AKP party appeared on Sunday to be heading for a clear victory in local polls that have become a referendum on a prime minister facing corruption scandals and security leaks he blames on "traitors" embedded in state bodies.
With about half of votes counted, results cited on Turkish television put his Islamist-rooted AK Party ahead with 44-46 percent, the main opposition CHP on 23-28 percent. If that result were borne out, Erdogan might claim at least for now to have ridden out the biggest challenges to his 12-year rule.
Erdogan said the election results would reaffirm his legitimacy after a turbulent election campaign which has seen his government tighten its grip on the courts, purge thousands of police, and block access to Twitter and YouTube as it tried to stem a flow of graft allegations.
"Once the ballot boxes are opened, the rest is only footnotes to history," Erdogan said as he voted in Istanbul. "Today it is what the people say which matters rather than what was said in the city squares."
The races were close in the two biggest cities of Istanbul and Ankara, but the ruling party appeared to have the edge, with AKP supporters honking their car horns in celebration in the capital. Two buses of riot police meanwhile stood ready in Istanbul's plush Nisantasi neighborhood, one of several districts rocked by anti-government protests last summer.
The AKP has set itself a goal of exceeding its 2009 result of 38.8 percent, an outcome likely to see Erdogan assert his authority even more strongly in a power struggle certain to continue after the polls.
A strong showing could embolden Erdogan to run for the presidency in an August election. Some fear it could also feed authoritarian trendencies and herald a period of harsh reckoning with opponents in politics and state bodies.
"TRAITORS"
Erdogan has purged thousands of police and hundreds of judges and prosecutors since anti-graft raids in December targeting businessmen close to him and sons of ministers. He blames the raids on U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, an ex-ally who he says is using supporters in the police to try to topple the government.
"They are all traitors," Erdogan said of his opponents at a rally in Istanbul on the eve of the vote. "Let them do what they want. Go to the ballot box tomorrow and teach all of them a lesson ... Let's give them an Ottoman slap."
Voting passed off peacefully in most parts of the country, although clashes over local council positions killed eight in two separate shoot-outs in villages in the southeastern provinces of Hatay and Sanliurfa near the Syrian border.
Erdogan crisscrossed the nation of 77 million during weeks of hectic campaigning to rally his conservative core voters, in a measure of how seriously he takes his party's first test at the ballot box since last summer's protests across the country and the eruption of the corruption scandal in December.
"These were supposed to be local elections but in the last few weeks they've sort of become general elections," said Efe Yamac Yarbasi, a teaching assistant voting in Ankara.
Erdogan formed AK in 2001, attracting nationalists and centre-right economic reformers as well as religious conservatives who form his base. Since his 2011 poll victory he has in his statements moved more towards these core supporters.
The graft scandal, also involving anonymous Internet postings of tapped state communications implicating Erdogan in corrupt actions he denies, was all but eclipsed in recent days by the leaking of a recording of a top-level security meeting.
In the recording, the intelligence chief, foreign minister and military commanders discuss possible armed intervention in neighboring Syria's civil war. A senior government official described the leak as one of the biggest crises in modern Turkey's history, threatening further sensitive disclosures.
Officials suggest Gulen's Hizmet network released the recording, giving an alarming sense in Ankara that government has only tentative control of state bodies and part of the security apparatus while power struggles play out.
Hizmet denies orchestrating the leak scandal and manoeuvring to control the state apparatus, but those close to the network say they fear a heavy crackdown after the elections.
1. Erdogan has increased his party's share of the votes from the 2009 local elections by a considerable amount.
This is an impressive achievement because in most countries the incumbent government always loses popularity after a while due to problems any country will inevitably face. Instead Erdogan has gained votes in relation to the 2009 local elections.
2. Erdogan's position is now beyond dispute and he will most likely crush his opponents including Fethullah Gulen and his Nurcu movement (or Hizmet as it's called by some).
The Gulen movement will be damaged heavily.
3. I doubt Erdogan will bother trying to ally with the traditionally militantly secular Turkish army and release generals in prison as he did recently. So the Kemalist generals will stay in jail and the military will continue to be subservient.
4. The Gezi movement and others can say very little to Erdogan now as he is the democratically endorsed leader of Turkey.
5. Will Erdogan reactivate his policies of trying to be the de facto Caliph of the Muslim world (as entrusted to him by his American masters)?
This is highly unlikely.
Saudis
The Saudis are prepared to carry out blockades of fellow Arab Qatar and bankroll the Egyptian military regime, they won't accept a powerful Erdogan bossing the middle east around and supporting the "Muslim" Brotherhood.
Iranians
Iranians are too strong for the Turks and it seems have essentially won in Syria and defeated Turkish backed forces. Also the Americans have compromised with them.
Indonesians
Indonesia is the biggest Muslim country, biggest Muslim economy and highly nationalistic. Indonesia keeps it distance from the middle east but won't accept being dictated to by the Arabs, Turks or Iranians.
Egyptians
Egyptians hate Erdogan and hate him with passion.
The biggest country in the Arab world.
Iraqis
Iraqis are part of an Iran-Iraq-Syria axis and with Turkey's humiliation in Syria they are more than ready to confront the Turks, whom they are not happy with anyway partly due to disputes over oil supplies in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Malaysia.
Malaysia is economically and politically too strong to be bullied around by Turkey and Malaysia is a richer country e.g. the average Malaysian has a far superior quality of life than the average Turk.
Central Asia.
The Central Asian states regard Turkey's attempts to woo them on the basis of Turkish "brotherhood", with a mixture of bemusement and irritation and know full well that this brotherhood means domination by "Big brother" Turkey. They are not interested in such nonsense and care more about developing their economies.
Algeria
Algerians (their military and regime) are strong supporters of the Assad regime and are a fiercely nationalistic country that will not accept Turkish bullying.
Bangladesh
3rd biggest Muslim country, generally perceived as a weak country. However even the Bangladeshis have taken diplomatic action against Turkey including summoning the Turkish ambassador and telling him off, and also revoking travel privileges for Turks. Bangladesh does not need Turkey for anything e.g. for oil, cotton, arms. Therefore Turkey cannot bully Bangladesh though Bangladesh's "Jamaat e Islami" terrorist organization would love for this to happen.
However being perceived as weak has its disadvantages as we can see in the Erdogan regime's "allowance" (if not active involvement) in attacking the Bangladeshi embassy, something which would never happen to the American, Canadian, Israeli or Saudi embassies.
Bangladesh seriously needs to consider downgrading relations with Turkey and definitely not awarding any major construction contracts to Turks.
Dhaka, Bangladesh is aiming to be another Asian Tiger economy like Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan. The Erdogan regime's support for radical "Islamists" in Bangladesh will not go down well in Bangladesh and will have probably cost the Turks billions of dollars in lost construction projects, military deals etc.
A multi-billion dollar mistake by Erdogan.
Last edited by Bengal_Tiger; 03-30-2014, 07:43 PM.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Comment
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Turkish Protests Over Mining Disaster Turn Violent, Forcing Erdoğan To Flee
By Victor Kotsev and Jabeen Bhatti
on May 14 2014 6:26 PM
ISTANBUL -- Tears turned to rage here on Wednesday as Turkey absorbed the grim spectacle of a coal mining disaster that took the lives of at least 200 people. Enraged protesters flooded the streets of Istanbul; the capital, Ankara, and other cities to demand explanations and accuse the government of failing to protect miners.
The disaster revived the political turmoil that began last spring amid accusations that the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has engaged in corrupt dealing while employing brutality to silence its critics.
As police on Wednesday cracked down on demonstrations prompted by the mining accident, their presence generated another wave of incendiary photographs and social media posts, furthering the narrative of a nation in which the popular voice is being muzzled by the tactics of a police state.
“The people want to shout," one protester, Elif Cingil, hollered at police massed at a demonstration on a major Istanbul shopping street. "Do you know how many people died today? The people want to mourn their death but the police aren’t letting us. They are killing us. It’s unbelievable … this is too much.”
Erdoğan's visit to the scene of the tragedy in the town of Soma, some 300 miles southwest of Istanbul, provoked furious denunciations of his leadership. Enraged protesters called him a murderer and demanded that he step down. So intense was the popular fury and the brutal response of the police with tear gas and water cannons that Erdoğan was forced to take refuge in a supermarket.
The prime minister's words amplified public anger as he appeared to distance his government from responsibility, suggesting that mining accidents "happen all the time."
“The government is guilty in this tragedy," said Alper Hocaoglu, who lives in a town near the mine, and who lost two relatives in the explosion. "The prime minister says this is normal, but it’s not true — if it happens once, as in 1992, it shouldn’t happen again. Now they are trying to help the miners trapped but it’s too late. They should have done things before this happened.”
Riot police detain a protester at a demonstration in Ankara on Wednesday.
In Istanbul, hundreds of mourners and protesters convened at the Energy Ministry, at the main shopping street, Istiklal, and at Taksim Square – the epicenter of anti-government demonstrations for a year – as police roughly tried to disperse them with tear gas and water canons. Some played dead at a nearby subway station.
Mourners and protesters laid the blame for the mine disaster squarely on Erdoğan's government. Hundreds of miners were rescued, but dozens remained missing Wednesday night.
The mining accident presented another blow to Erdoğan, who has faced protesters for a year and seen his fellow Justice and Development Party ministers undergo criminal probes for alleged corruption. On Wednesday, he lashed out at his opponents, saying the mine accident will be used against him by "partisans," while telling grieving family members of the miners that such accidents were normal.
“I went back in British history, and about 204 people died when a mine collapsed in 1838, 361 in 1866 and 290 in 1894," he said, as reported by Turkish daily Hurriyet. "Even in America with all of its technology, 361 miners died in 1907. These are usual things.”
But questions have arisen on the government's handling of safety issues at the mine even as Erdoğan told relatives that the Soma mine was "one of the safest in Turkey."
Turkish officials said the mine had undergone five inspections since 2012, the last one in March, and that no problems had been reported. SOMA Komur Isletmeleri A.S., which owns the mine, also said it had taken the "highest safety measures."
Still, the mine owners had recently drastically cut production costs from $130 to $24 a ton by using domestically produced electric transformers and non-unionized subcontractors, according to Hurriyet.
"The Soma mining facility's operating company adopted low standards of safety to make a profit,” said Hamid Akin Unver, assistant professor of international relations at Kadir Has University in Istanbul. “Coal mining is an unforgiving job, and unless you adopt the highest mining safety standards, accidents happen.”
Adding to that, lawmakers of Erdoğan's ruling AKP blocked an opposition motion for a parliamentary investigation into the safety of the Soma mine just last month, calling it safe.
Analysts say the incident is another blow to the image of country that once was the economic, social and political model for the post-revolution nations of the Arab Spring, in particular Tunisia and Egypt. "This is a serious setback for Turkey," said Dimitar Bechev, a Sofia, Bulgaria-based analyst who specializes on Turkish affairs at the European Council on Foreign Relations. "For a long time Turkey was building an image of a developed country with a modern economy, and all of a sudden this demonstrates that there are many sectors of the economy where regulations are poor. This makes is look like a developing country."
In particular, analysts say that Erdoğan, who was credited with modernizing and transforming the Turkish economy, is sometimes his own worst enemy. In the past year, he has lashed out at a range of "enemies" responsible for the protests including "foreigners" and Twitter, the social networking operator, with some of his claims seen as ludicrous.
"Such incidents on such a scale have practically been forgotten in the West," Bechev said. "This is why Erdoğan pointed to some examples from 19th-century Britain to justify his claims that [such incidents] are common. This shows how much hasn't changed in Turkey."
1. Two weeks earlier the opposition CHP party had called for action to be taken in these mines. The AKP regime refused, then this action happened.
2. The mines are said to be owned by pro-AKP businessmen.
The suited man kicking the protestor is an AKP minister, Yusuf Yerkel.
3. Erdogan himself would have got beaten up in his visit to Soma if it was not for the dozens and dozens of policemen protecting him (I even read it was 200 but I am not sure about that but it as at least dozens of policemen).
Erdogan's car.
Turks attack AKP building in Soma, the town where the miners died.
There have been protests in Ankara and Istanbul against the Erdogan regime.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Comment
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Erdogan had to seek refuge in a supermarket to avoid the Turks in the town of Soma who were furious with him.
Başbakan Erdoğan'a Soma'da protesto bir markete sığınarak kurtuldu - YouTube
Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was forced to take refuge in a shop in Soma, the small town where 238 miners died after an underground explosion, as furious relatives besieged him.
A video that emerged online showed Erdogan being booed, whistled and heckled by an angry mob before he was escorted to a shop by his security team to escape them.
According to some reports, some people kicked his official car and while a crowd smashed up the local headquarters of the ruling AK Party
The destroyed AKP building in Soma.
AKP attack the Bangladeshi embassy in Ankara.....few months later the AKP office in Soma is destroyed. The law of karma at work.
May Allah have mercy on the dead miners and their families.
Ameen.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Comment
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