News Scan, 28th Jan: Turkish main opposition voices new graft claims

Turkish main opposition voices new graft claims

The main opposition party has voiced new graft claims against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his family with a question on a nearly $100 million transaction to the bank account of a foundation which counts the premier’s son, Bilal Erdoğan, as one of its board members.

“TÜRGEV [Service for Youth and Education Foundation of Turkey] has an account at Vakıfbank: TR 20020001500158048013239675. Now I got questions for the prime minister: First, does TÜRGEV have such an account? And secondly, were 99,999,990 dollars transferred into this account on April 26? Is this money graft? Let’s satisfy our curiosity if you make a statement on these,” Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), said at a parliamentary group meeting yesterday.

The CHP head said Erdoğan had converted the foundation into a “center of graft” and pulled his own son into the graft network via TÜRGEV.

“It’s being run by Bilal Erdoğan. We are not beating the air. You are giving your son an advantage by using your position. You are asking for bribes [from businessmen] in return for pledging tenders. In one of your statements, you said: ‘I have never seen a thief learning how to steal from his son. It descends from father to son,’” Kılıçdaroğlu said. “You have pulled your own son into corruption and graft. Aren’t you aware what kind of a sin you have committed?”

Showing a picture taken three weeks before the Dec. 17, 2013, operation that showed Erdoğan and the now-arrested Reza Sarrab, along with other allegedly corrupt former ministers, Kılıçdaroğlu called the prime minister to immediately submit a summary of proceedings about four of his ministers to Parliament.

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

Turkish PM Erdoğan slams media, investors, opposition

PM Erdoğan slams the local and international media, business groups, investors, opposition parties and the Gülen movement and calls them as ‘the losers’ lobby’ targetting his party

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has slammed what he called “the losers’ lobby” – local and international media, business groups, investors, opposition parties and the Fethullah Gülen movement – accusing them of targeting the Turkish economy and people in a bid to overthrow the government.

“Smear campaigns against Turkey have mostly been carried out by some circles inside Turkey. Certain media groups, some businessmen and business organizations, some civil society organizations and even the main opposition party and other political parties have unfortunately taken the task of smearing their own country and economy,” Erdoğan told lawmakers from his Justice and Development Party (AKP) at a parliamentary group meeting on Jan. 28.

The group is not just targeting the government and its policies but the entire Turkish economy, Erdoğan said, calling the move a “treasonous plan” aiming at tarnishing the credibility of the government.

He repeated his earlier accusations of treachery against the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD), saying conducting such a smear campaign against one’s own country would be regarded as an act of betrayal in every part of the world.

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

France wants new chapters for democratization, rule of law in Turkey

French President François Hollande said on Tuesday that France supports the opening of talks on new EU chapters, especially on the separation of powers and the rule of law for democratization in Turkey, comments that came amid the government’s ongoing attempts to control the judiciary in response to a major corruption investigation.

“The negotiations [accession talks between Turkey and the EU] can be additional instruments for democratization, the rule of law, freedom and modernization [in Turkey]. That’s why France wants new chapters to be opened, especially the chapters on the separation of powers and the rule of law,” Hollande said, adding, “Without thinking about what will happen in the end.”

Hollande’s watchful support for Turkey on the opening of new chapters on law, freedom and human rights follows a corruption scandal that hit Turkey’s agenda on Dec. 17 with a wave of high-profile detentions, including those of three Cabinet minister’s sons. The EU has warned Ankara several times that it should uphold the principles of the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary after the government responded to the corruption probe by reassigning scores of judges, prosecutors and police officials, including those involved in the investigation, as well as by restricting the body responsible for appointments, promotions and removals in the judiciary.

TODAYS ZAMAN

Turkey Energy Min: No new oil deal with Iran

Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Taner Yildiz announced that no new oil agreement has been reached with Iran.

Speaking at the Industrial Cooperation and Energy Projects meeting in Istanbul, Yildiz said that Iran and Turkey have common interests, including energy, infrastructure and transportation, and have a special joint focus on air travel and railways.

“Turkey’s economy has been growing very fast for the last 10 years. A growing Turkey should not have a shrinking economy. Turkey has to invest US$118 billion in energy for the coming years. It is not a choice, it is an obligation.”

Yildiz also hinted that Turkey and France are planning to invest in a US$22 billion nuclear energy project with a Japanese partner, in an aim to reduce Turkey’s dependence on imported natural gas and focus on nuclear and renewable energy.

In May 2013, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, signed a US$22 billion deal to build Turkey’s second nuclear plant project in the Black Sea province of Sinop.

A Japanese-French alliance led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and France’s Areva will build the power plant, which will have a capacity of approximately 4,800 megawatts.

AA

Erdogan accuses TUSIAD chairman of treason (Kadri Gürsel)

Muharrem Yilmaz, the chairman of the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD), which has the largest share of revenue, employment and taxes paid to the state out of Turkey’s private sector, gave a speech that incensed Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the organization’s 44th General Assembly in Istanbul on Jan. 23. Among the things he said:

Muharrem Yilmaz, chairman of the Turkish Industry and Business Association, had accused the prime minster of imposing tax penalties against political opponents.

“A country where the supremacy of law is not heeded, where judicial mechanisms don’t operate with EU norms, where the independence of regulatory institutions is tainted, where there is pressure on companies through tax penalties and other kinds punishments, where regulations on tenders are changed regularly … it is not possible for foreign capital to come to such a country. We owed our affluence that has been growing over the past years to making up for our savings deficit by transferring resources from abroad and to our attracting of investments. Once we lose this drawing power, we will face the risk of regression of our prosperity level.”

Erdogan responded the next day by accusing Yilmaz of “treason against the country.” He said: “The TUSIAD chair cannot say, ‘Global capital won’t come to such a country.’ If he said that, then that is treason against this country. After you said that, with what nerve are you going to invite the ministers of this government to TUSIAD? With what nerve you will come to this prime minister and his government to solve your problems regarding your investments?”

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/01/erdogan-tusiad-treason-turkey-business-tax-politics.html#ixzz2riehXNom

28.01.2014

This is a news-scan from major Turkish papers and internet sites. However, we do not verify above stories neither do we vouch for their accuracy.