News Scan – 8th Jan : Revenues from N. Iraqi oil exports “to be deposited at Halkbank”

Revenues from Northern Iraqi oil exports “to be deposited at Halkbank”

Turkey will use state-owned lender Halkbank to deposit revenues from northern Iraqi oil exports, Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said on Wednesday.

Halkbank’s head Suleyman Aslan was arrested last month over corruption allegations as part of an anti-graft probe.

The Turkish government calls the probe a setup with international links aimed at weakening the economy.

Babacan said the bank will be used for payments with Iraq as was the case in gas trade with Iran.

Turkey, which exports most of its energy, has major oil and natural gas deals underway with the northern Iraqi administration in a three-way partnership that also includes the central Iraqi government.

Babacan earlier said Halkbank’s legal entity was under attack over the arrest of its general manager, although the bank was never linked with the allegations.

AA

Graft prosecutor says threatened by officials dispatched by Erdoğan

Istanbul Prosecutor Zekeriya Öz, who was leading one branch of a major ongoing corruption investigation, has said he was threatened by two high-level jurists dispatched by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, adding that the officials called on the prosecutor to apologize to the prime minister through a letter.

In a written statement that appeared in the Turkish media on Wednesday, prosecutor Öz said the officials warned him to not proceed further with the corruption probe and end it, threatening that he would otherwise face dire consequences.

Öz said he met with the officials at a hotel in the western province of Bursa.

“The people from the judiciary sent by the prime minister told me the prime minister is very angry about me. They asked me to halt the investigation and to write a letter of apology to the prime minister,” Öz said about the content of the meeting at the hotel.

In the meantime, Prime Minister Erdoğan, who is currently in Japan for an official trip, denied claims that he sent two officials to meet with Öz, asking for halting the investigation.

On Tuesday, Öz was removed from the graft probe and has been reassigned to a position at the Bakırköy Courthouse in İstanbul.

TODAYS ZAMAN

Ankara ‘adds’ uranium clause in nuclear deal with Tokyo

Ankara demanded allowance for uranium enrichment and plutonium extraction in a nuclear export deal inked with Tokyo, a Japanese daily quoted as a Japanese Foreign Ministry official as saying.

A clause, which was added in the nuclear agreement signed by the two nations, upon Turkey’s demand prompted concerns over a possible proliferation of nuclear weapons.

The clause at issue allows Turkey to enrich uranium and extract plutonium, potentially creating nuclear material for weapons, Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun reported on Jan. 8.

A senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official claimed the clause was added at the request of Turkey, the daily also reported.

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

HSYK proposal seeks to strengthen gov’t hand over judiciary

Plans by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to restructure the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) have been met with criticism by legal authorities and opposition figures, who say the plans are aimed at giving the government a tighter grip over the judiciary.

The ruling party sent a bill proposing changes to the structure of the HSYK to the parliament speaker’s office on Tuesday evening. The HSYK is the body responsible for appointments in the judiciary. The bill allows the undersecretary of the justice minister to be elected as chairman of the HSYK.

In addition, the HSYK will comprise two separate bodies: One will include an 11-member board of judges while the other will be made up of a seven-member board of prosecutors. If adopted, the bill will allow Parliament and the justice minister to have more say in the election of members of both of the HSYK bodies. According to the bill, the board will no longer have the authority to pass decrees and circulars. Instead, the justice minister will be entitled to pass decrees and circulars on behalf of the HSYK. Furthermore, the board will be stripped off its authority to decide to launch investigations into HSYK members. This authority is again passed to the justice minister.

The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muižnieks, voiced criticism against the HSYK proposal in a tweet on Tuesday. He said proposals to curb the powers of the HSYK represent a serious setback to the independence of the judiciary in Turkey.

TODAYS ZAMAN

Bozdağ to block investigation of chief prosecutor, police chief

Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has said he will not grant necessary permission to launch an inquiry into İstanbul police chief Selami Altınok along with the chief public prosecutor.

The Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) decided on Tuesday to launch an investigation into Altınok and four prosecutors who were involved in a far-reaching investigation into alleged corruption and bribery that has also targeted some government ministers.

The third chamber of the HSYK met early on Tuesday to discuss the accusations of abuse of power leveled against the four prosecutors and police chief. The board later decided unanimously to launch an investigation into İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Turan Çolakkadı, İstanbul Deputy Chief Prosecutor Zekeriya Öz and prosecutors Celal Kara and Muammer Akkaş, as well as Altınok.

The HSYK has the authority to launch investigations into police chiefs based on a law adopted in 2005. This is the first time the HSYK has exercised its authority to launch an investigation into a police chief.

TODAYS ZAMAN

Turkish police chiefs removed from posts amid graft investigation

Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says police influenced by cleric Fethullah Gülen contrived graft scandal

Turkey’s deputy police chief was sacked overnight, the most senior commander yet targeted in the purge of a force heavily influenced by a cleric whom the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, accuses of plotting to seize the levers of state power.

Erdoğan’s AK party sent plans to parliament allowing the government more say over the appointment of prosecutors and judges.

Erdoğan argues that a judiciary and police in the sway of the Hizmet (Service) movement of Fethullah Gülen contrived a graft investigation that is shaking his administration.

The police website said the deputy head of the national police, Muammer Bucak, and provincial chiefs, among them the commanders in the capital, Ankara, and the Aegean province of Izmir, were removed from their posts.

The government has purged hundreds of police since the graft scandal erupted on 17 December, with the detention of dozens of people including businessmen close to the government and three cabinet ministers’ sons. Among those questioned, most have been released. A remaining 24, including two of the ministers’ sons, remain in custody, according to local media.

GUARDIAN

Erdogan under pressure as Syrian crisis spreads to Iraq

A highly risky situation is emerging for Turkey on its eastern borders, as developments in northern Syria continue to deteriorate in favor of al-Qaeda-related groups that are also trying to make headway in Iraq’s strategic Anbar province. These developments have also pushed the question of removing President Bashar al-Assad from power to the back burner for the West as combating jihadists becomes a much more pressing need.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has limited regional influence and few good options as the pressure builds to slow the spread of the Syria war.

As work continues for the Geneva II conference, Ankara remains opposed to any settlement that will keep Assad in place. Addressing a Jan. 6 Nikkei conference in Tokyo, where he was on an official visit, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan underlined this point once again.

Referring to “certain mistakes made at Geneva I,” Erdogan said, “We hope these mistakes will not be made at Geneva II, that a successful result is obtained there and that a step can be taken for a Syria without Bashar.”

www.al-monitor.com

 08.01.2014

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.