Corruption scandal rocks Turkish government. PM fires investigators.

[KRonn]

Both Twitter and Facebook were widely used by anti-government protesters to spread information during demonstrations last year.   

Obviously this is the reason for the heavy handed internet restrictions. Can't descend into a type of authoritarian government control and have those pesky free ideas being bandied about!

[Syt]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26336354

Turkey PM Erdogan says 'tapped' phone call to son 'fabricated'

Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has angrily condemned as fabricated an audio recording that appears to show him talking to his son about hiding large sums of money.

He said the recording, allegedly tapped and then posted on social media, was a "treacherous attack".

It appears to reveal Mr Erdogan asking his son Bilal to dispose of millions of euros in cash from a house.

Anti-government protests erupted in Istanbul following the disclosures.

Turkey's main opposition party, Republican People's Party (CHP), has denounced the recordings and demanded the prime minister's resignation.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Istanbul's Kadikoy district on Tuesday chanting "Tayyip Erdogan the thief". They were later dispersed by riot police using tear gas and water cannon.

The BBC's James Reynolds says householders in anti-government neighbourhoods were heard banging pots and pans as they did during the Gezi Park protests of May and June last year.

The recordings, which could not be independently verified, were said to be of four conversations dating back to 17 December, when the sons of three ministers and business allies of the prime minister were detained in a high-level corruption investigation.

Correspondents say that the inquiry has presented a major challenge to Mr Erdogan's 11 years in power ahead of key local elections in March.

Cagil Kasapoglu from BBC Turkish says that, interestingly, neither the prime minister nor his party's spokespeople have denied that the voices on the recording belong to Erdogan and his son.

Their statement so far is that their voices were "montaged" to implicate them, our correspondent says.

During the conversation, a voice can be heard discussing how to reduce the funds to "zero" by distributing them among several businessmen.

At one point, the second voice says some 30 million euros ($40m/£24m) remains to be disposed of.

Mr Erdogan's office issued a statement late on Monday night saying the release of the recordings was part of a sustained campaign to unseat him.

"Those who created this dirty conspiracy targeting the prime minister of the Republic of Turkey will be brought to account within the law," it said.

Mr Erdogan had a late-night meeting with the head of intelligence and then spoke out publicly on Tuesday, telling MPs from his AK Party the recording was a "shameless montage" and an attack on him personally.

"We will bring legal action against these [wire-tapping] activities. If we let it go on, there will be no privacy for families, nor for the state in this country," he said.

By late Tuesday morning, the recording had received more than 1.5 million hits on YouTube in less than 24 hours.

The previous day, Turkish government officials said thousands of people, including senior politicians and other leading figures, had had their telephones illegally tapped over three years with the aim to blackmail and fabricate criminal cases.

Two pro-government newspapers, Yeni Safak and Star, alleged that the taps were ordered by prosecutors said to be loyal to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The prosecutors have denied the accusations.

Mr Erdogan has accused Mr Gulen, his former ally, of orchestrating December's corruption investigation against key AKP figures and of trying to form "a parallel state" in Turkey.

One of the prosecutors named in the stories, Adem Ozcan, denied the allegations.

"There was definitely no monitoring or phone-tapping of thousands of politicians, writers, NGO representatives and businessmen in the framework of this dossier in the way that the newspaper stories say," he said in a statement.

A spokesman for the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) said Turkey could not continue on its path "with this dirt" and said the prime minister should step down.

Nationalist party leader Devlet Bahceli said the recordings were ``mind-blowing''.

In addition to protests in the capital, hundreds of people, mainly students, protested in Ankara on Tuesday, calling on the government to resign.



ANALYSIS

In the recording, the voice claimed to be Mr Erdogan's sounds whispering and hesitant, whereas the younger voice comes across as stronger, clearer and louder.

Bilal Erdogan's voice has allegedly been heard in previous recordings related to the corruption case. The tone in the latest recording seems similar.

But the voice labelled as belonging to the prime minister is surprisingly low, cautious and doubtful. This will strike many, who are used to Mr Erdogan shouting and adopting a higher tone, as someone careful and selective in his words.

During the last conversation on 17 December, the younger voice says that there are still around 30 million euros to be removed.

The following day, the voice alleged to be Mr Erdogan's warns that his son may have been wire-tapped and asks him not to give too many details on the phone.

At the end, the voice alleged to be his son's expresses concern over possible visual surveillance as well.

Interestingly, neither the prime minister nor his party's spokespeople have denied the voices belong to Mr Erdogan and his son but say the voices were "montaged" to implicate them.

[Admiral Yi]

Woops

[The Minsky Moment]

Can't help feeling Schadenfreude as Erdogan's clique and the Gulenists turn their dirty tricks against each other.

[Tamas]

Can't help feeling Schadenfreude as Erdogan's clique and the Gulenists turn their dirty tricks against each other.

indeed

[Queequeg]

Link.  People should really give up top political positions after a decade.

Full transcript of voice recording purportedly of Erdoğan and his son

As a voice recording allegedly featuring the voice of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ordering his son, Bilal, to dispose of vast amounts of cash -- as much as $1 billion, according to claims -- amid a corruption operation in mid-December of last year continues to shake Turkey, Today's Zaman is publishing an English version of the full transcript of the audio.
The recordings allegedly date back to Dec. 17, 2013, the day the major corruption operation was made public. On the voice recordings, a voice alleged to be Erdoğan's is heard telling his son -- during five wiretapped phone conversations -- to dispose of large sums of money hidden in several relatives' homes on the day police raided a number of locations as part of the operation. The operation implicated the sons of three former ministers, businessmen and the general manager of a state-owned bank. 

The prime minister, at the beginning of the recorded conversations, allegedly conducted over an encrypted line, briefs his son, Bilal, about the operation and asks him to "zero" the money by distributing it among several businessmen. An introductory note at the beginning of the recording says the plan involves at least $1 billion in cash stashed in five houses.

The authenticity of the recordings has not been verified. Towards the end of the recordings, Bilal Erdoğan tells his father that he and others have "finished the tasks you gave us," implying that the whole sum was "zeroed."

For those who may be unfamiliar: Reza Zarrab and Ali Ağaoğlu are two leading businessmen in Turkey who were detained as part of the corruption probe on Dec. 17 of last year. While Ağaoğlu was released pending trial, Zarrab was put under arrest. Erdoğan Bayraktari Zafer Çağlayan and Muammer Güler are three former ministers whose sons were detained as part the probe. All of them resigned roughly one week after the corruption operation. Sümeyye is Erdoğan's daughter. Faruk Kalyoncu and Mehmet Gür are also businessmen who are known to have close ties to the prime minister.

Here is the recording dubbed in English:



and here is the original voice recording in Turkish

Dec. 17, 2013, 08:02 a.m.

RTE: Are you at home, son?

Bilal E (son): Yes, Dad.

RTE: Now, this morning [they] carried out an operation. Ali Ağaoğlu, Reza Zerrab, Erdoğan's [Bayraktar, ex-minister] son, Zafer's [Çağlayan, ex-minister] son, Muammer's [Güler, ex-minister] son, etc -- all their homes are being searched now.

BE: Tell again, Dad. [What are you saying, Dad?]

RTE: I'm saying that Muammer's son, Zafer's son, Erdoğan's son, Ali Ağaoğlu, Reza Zerrab, etc -- they are searching the houses of 18 people under a big corruption operation thing.

BE: Right.

RTE: OK? Now, what I [have to] say is, you [must] take everything you have in the house out. OK?

BE: What can I have on me, Dad? [I have no money of my own.] There is your money in the safe.

RTE: That's what I am saying. Now, I am sending your sister [to you]. OK?

BE: You are sending who?

RTE: Your sister, I'm saying.

BE: Eh? OK.

RTE: Then... She has that information, OK. Talk with your older brother.

BE: Yes.

RTE: Let's do... Talk with your uncle, too. He should also take out... Also talk to your [maternal] uncle, he should also...

BE: What should we do with this [money], Dad? Where should we put it?

RTE: In specific places, in some specific places... Do it.

(A woman's voice is heard in the background saying, "Berat.")

BE: Berat also has some-

RTE: That's what I am saying. Now, get together, go get your uncle. I don't know if Uncle Ziya has some? Also immediately [tell] your brother Burak, too.

NE: OK, Dad. You mean, Sümeyye, I mean take out, Sümeyye will tell me where to take it [money]?

RTE: Yes, fine. Come on, do [it], think about yours [your money] with your uncle.

BE: About what to do?

RTE: Yes, yes, let's contact soon, by 10 [o'clock]. Because the issue is...

BE: OK, Dad.

RTE: OK? Keep in touch.

BE: OK, Dad.

2nd call, 11.17

BE: Dad, we got together with Hasan [brother], etc. Berat [brother], my uncle, we are together  thinking about it [what to do.] Berat has another idea. He says let's give some of it to Faruk [Kalyoncu] for the other "business/thing" so he can process it like the previous stuff. Shall we do it? We can dissolve a big amount with this.

RTE: That may be so.

BE: OK. For the other part, because we started a business partnership with Mehmet Gür, we thought of giving it to him, saying, "Keep it, as the projects come, you can use that [cash]. This way, we will be able to dissolve and move the rest somewhere else.

RTE: OK, fine, as long as you do...

BE: OK.

RTE: Did Sümeyye arrive?

BE: She arrived home, she will now come here. OK, Dad, we will sort this out today, inshallah [with God's will]. Anything else?

RTE: It would be good if you do ... if you can dissolve it [all the cash].

BE: Yes, we will dissolve it [all the cash], inshallah.

3rd call, 15:39

RTE: Did you do the other tasks I gave you?

BE: We'll finish them in the evening. We sorted some out. We sorted out the Berat part, now we will first handle the part with Mehmet Gür and the rest we will do when it gets dark.

RTE:....

BE: Inshallah.

RTE: What did Sümeyye do?

BE: She took it [money] out, we talked, etc.

RTE: Did she sort out both things?

BE: I think so, Dad. She said she emptied both.

RTE: Both things?

BE: Yes, she said both of them, but you mean this by saying both things, right?

RTE: Whatever. OK, fine.

BE: What time will you arrive?

RTE: About 12.

BE: Have a safe journey.

RTE: Do not talk on the phone.

4th call, 23.15

BE: Hi, Dad. I am calling to... We did [it] mostly. Hmm, did you call me, Dad?

RTE: No I didn't. You called me.

BE: I was called from a secret number.

RTE: By saying mostly, did you fully dissolve it?

BE: We have not zeroed it yet, Dad. Let me explain. We still have 30 million euros that we could not dissolve yet. Berat thought of something. There was an additional $25 million that Ahmet Çalık should receive. They say let's give this [to him] there. When the money comes, we do [something], they say. And with the remaining money we can buy a flat in Şehrizar, he says. What do you say, Dad?

RTE: ....

(Background sound: Ayyy.)

BE: Dad?

RTE: Is Sümeyye with you?

BE: Yes, she's with me. Should I call her?

RTE: No, there was another sound, that's why I asked.

BE: Um, I mean, he can transfer $35 million to Çalık and buy a flat in Şehrizar with the remaining [cash].

RTE: Whatever. We'll sort it out.

BE: Should we do it like this?

RTE: OK, do it.

BE: Do you want it [all the cash] dissolved father, or do you want some money for yourself?

RTE: No, it cannot stay, son. You could transfer that to the other [place], with Mehmet you could transfer it there...

BE: Yes, we gave it to them. We gave 20 to them.

RTE: For God's sake. First, you should've transferred [it]. You could then do...

BE: We were able to give this much for now, it is already hard, it takes too much space. We are putting some of it in another place. We gave part of it to Tunç, and then...

RTE: Did you transfer all to Tunç?

BE: (Sümeyye, can you come?) Where, father?

RTE: To Tunç, I said, did you transfer all to Tunç?

BE: They asked, I guess, he said that he could take 10 million euros.

RTE: Whatever. Do not talk this like this about it.

BE: OK, then, we'll sort it out as such.

RTE: OK, do it. I'm not able to come tonight, I will stay in Ankara.

BE: OK, we're sorting it out. Don't worry.

5th call, Dec. 18, 10.58

RTE. I wondered if everything's fine, so I called.

BE: No, nothing [no problems]. We finished the tasks you gave us, with God's help.

RTE: Is it all zeroed?

BE: Fully, I mean, saying zeroed, how can I put it? I had Samandıra and Maltepe's money [money in his villas in Samandıra and Maltepe], $730,000 USD and TL 300.000. I'll handle this, too. We owe TL 1 million to Faruk Işık [AK Party deputy]; I'll give this to him and tell him to transfer the rest to the academy [unclear.]

RTE: Do not talk openly.

BE: Shouldn't I talk?

RTE: Do not talk, OK?

BE: OK, Dad.

RTE: I mean, do not keep anything on you, whatever it is, Samandıra or whatever... Send it to where it needs to be. Where do you keep it?

BE: OK, Dad, but I think we are currently under surveillance.

RTE: What have I been telling you from the very beginning!

BE: But is it the bodyguard team? Who is following us, Dad?

RTE: Son, you are being tapped.

BE: But they are also monitoring visually, they say.

RTE: That may be true. Now, we did some things [meaning reassignments of police officers] in İstanbul security.

[Sheilbh]

This scandal is now so bad for Erdogan he's apparently flying to Kiev to 'address the Black Sea crisis'

[Syt]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/03/07/uk-turkey-erdogan-idUKBREA2609E20140307

Erdogan says Turkey could ban Facebook and YouTube

(Reuters) - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey could ban Facebook and YouTube after local elections on March 30, saying they have been abused by his political enemies.

Erdogan is locked in a power struggle with U.S.-based Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former ally who he says is behind a stream of "fabricated" audio recordings posted on the Internet purportedly revealing graft in his inner circle.

"We are determined on this subject. We will not leave this nation at the mercy of YouTube and Facebook," Erdogan said in an

interview late on Thursday with the Turkish broadcaster ATV.

"We will take the necessary steps in the strongest way."

Asked if the possible barring of these sites was included in planned measures, he said: "Included."

Erdogan says the release of his purported conversations is part of a campaign to discredit him and wreck his government, which has presided over more than a decade of strong economic growth and rising living standards in NATO member Turkey.

Gulen denies any involvement in the recordings and rejects allegations that he is using a network of proteges to try to influence politics in Turkey.

Five more recordings have appeared on YouTube this week, part of what Erdogan sees as a campaign to sully his ruling centre-right AK Party before the March 30 municipal elections and a presidential poll due later this year.

In the latest recording, released on YouTube late on Thursday, Erdogan is purportedly heard suggesting the proprietor of Milliyet newspaper sack two journalists responsible for a front page story about Kurdish peace talk efforts.

Erdogan has signalled that a criminal investigation could be launched against Gulen's Hizmet movement.

Asked on Thursday night whether Turkey could seek an Interpol red notice for the extradition of Gulen from the United States, Erdogan said: "why not?"

[Tamas]

So he IS determined to set his country on fire instead of giving up? Sad.

Still, as long as he is in power doing his autocratic schenangians, I can continue telling Languish "I told you so!"

[Viking]

So he IS determined to set his country on fire instead of giving up? Sad.

Still, as long as he is in power doing his autocratic schenangians, I can continue telling Languish "I told you so!"

And that is what is most important. 

[Syt]

During last year's tear-gas-palooza, a then 14 year old boy was hit in the head with a gas canister and has been in a coma since then. He died last week, after 9 months, sparking protests (which, of course, were cracked down on).

Erdogan's measured, statesmanlike response: "He was a terrorist, anyways."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26594922

Berkin Elvan: Turkish PM accuses dead boy of terror links

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said a 15-year-old boy who died on Tuesday from injuries sustained in last year's anti-government protests had links to terrorism.

Berkin Elvan spent nine months in a coma after being hit by a tear gas canister as he went to buy bread.

His death triggered more clashes with the police in over 30 towns and cities.

Mr Erdogan's comments could further inflame political tensions, correspondents say.

In a campaign speech ahead of local elections on 30 March, Mr Erdogan said the teenager was connected to "terrorist organisations".

"This kid with steel marbles in his pockets, with a slingshot in his hand, his face covered with a scarf, who had been taken up into terror organisations, was unfortunately subjected to pepper gas," he said in the speech broadcast on state TV.

Berkin Elvan's funeral took place in Istanbul on Wednesday, providing a focus for further expressions of discontent with Mr Erdogan.

Police fired water cannon and tear gas at protesters near Taksim Square, while his coffin was carried through the city's streets.

Tens of thousands of mourners chanted anti-government slogans and his mother accused Mr Erdogan of killing her son.

No tolerance

Berkin Elvan's death brought to at least eight the toll from last year's unrest, including one policeman.

The protests began over plans to develop Istanbul's Gezi Park into a new mosque and shopping centre, but escalated into national demonstrations against what opponents see as Mr Erdogan's growing authoritarianism.

Speaking to supporters on Saturday, Mr Erdogan said violence would no longer be tolerated.

"We will never let the streets become battlegrounds," he said, accusing opponents of causing disruption ahead of local elections.

Mr Erdogan has promised to step down if the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) does badly in the elections.

However, the AKP, in power since 2002, is expected to do better than its rivals in the polls.

[Queequeg]

Turkey just banned Twitter 10 days before an election that the Republican opposition CHP is up by 5 points in.


This is not looking good. 

[Queequeg]

Fuck.  I have friends there.  Friends who will be on the barricades.   

[Ed Anger]

Ban twitter?

My hero.

[Neil]

Fuck.  I have friends there.  Friends who will be on the barricades.   

Chill out dude.  Things might work out.  And even if they don't, at least we'll be able to tell Sheilbh that we told him so.