Wiretap Recordings Incriminate Turk PM in Corruption Scandal

[Sideroxylon]

Never a dull moment in Turkish politics.

Turkish PM Erdoğan dubs wiretap incriminating him of corruption a 'vile attack’

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan denied the authenticity of the latest wiretap recording incriminating him of corruption during a Feb. 25 parliamentary group speech.

“Yesterday they published a play that they have montaged and dubbed themselves. What has been done is a vile attack against the prime minister of Turkey,” he said.

The fresh wiretap leaked into the Internet Feb. 24 containing four phone conversations between Erdoğan and his son dating back to Dec. 17, the day when massive graft raids were conducted by the police.​

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/tu...ttack.aspx?pageID=238&nID=62898&NewsCatID=338

 

[A'isha]

From the article:

“I was making calls for weeks. I said: Publish everything you have, disclose whatever you’ve got. And they go and make an immoral montage and publish it. But even fabricating has morals and decency,” Erdoğan said, announcing that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) would use the same technology and publish similar tapes featuring opposition leaders.

How can anyone in Turkey take this guy seriously?

 

[Sideroxylon]

He's lost a lot of his conservative voters too with the spat with preacher Fethullah Gülen^WP whom he has been publicly blaming for the corruption allegations and investigations.

How can he be taken seriously indeed. Even if we accept his claim that the recordings have been manipulated to deceive, we have him saying things like this in the same article:

“I was making calls for weeks. I said: Publish everything you have, disclose whatever you’ve got. And they go and make an immoral montage and publish it. But even fabricating has morals and decency,” Erdoğan said, announcing that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) would use the same technology and publish similar tapes featuring opposition leaders. ​

Such tit for tat threats are unbecoming of the leader of any nation.

ETA: See that was your point too.

 

[Sideroxylon]

Here's an interesting article on the PMs views on what constitutes corruption, and it looks like rationalization.

One of the major problems with regard to what’s going on nowadays in Turkey stems from the definition of corruption by the head of the powerful Turkish government, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: “What I understand about corruption is this: Are the state’s coffers being robbed or not?” he said in an interview with Al-Jazeera on Feb. 11. He gave this definition upon a question about the $4.5 million in cash found in shoeboxes in the house of the former general manager of the state-run Halkbank.

According to Erdoğan, the money found in the general manager’s house was not the bank’s money, so accusing the general manager of corruption or fraud was baseless.​

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/is-pm-erdogan-corrupt.aspx?PageID=238&NID=62930&NewsCatID=429

 

[Sideroxylon]

The president has approved a bill giving the government wider powers over the judiciary. This follows his earlier comments that it contained unconstitutional elements. Given the ongoing scandal this doesn't seem the right thing to do, though he says he is leaving the problematic parts for the courts.

President Gül approves bill emboldening gov't control over judiciary

Turkish President Abdullah Gül has approved controversial law on top judicial body that will give more control by the government over the judiciary, significantly damaging separation of powers.
Gül signed into law a bill on the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) on Wednesday. The bill gives more rights to Justice Minister over the judicial body, raising concerns of separation of powers and independence of judiciary amid a recent corruption scandal.
The law was approved by Parliament on Feb. 15 after a heated debate and a brawl among the deputies of the ruling and opposition parties. The law, which lies at the center of harsh criticism as it gives the executive branch a much tighter grip on the judiciary, was submitted to the president for his approval last week. The president, by law, had 15 days to examine the draft, but he signed the bill into law, saying that controversial points could be reviewed by the Constitutional Court.​

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-340...-emboldening-govt-control-over-judiciary.html