Oligarchic clique’s devious plans

Dr. Ihsan Yilmaz
Dr. Ihsan Yilmaz


Date posted: January 31, 2014

İHSAN YILMAZ

As I have previously written in this column, when former Interior Minister Idris Naim Şahin resigned from his party, he said in his resignation letter, “When it comes to governing, it is understood that [the party] prefers the guidance of a small oligarchic clique comprising politicians and bureaucrats whose intentions are uncertain.”

Şahin, a longtime friend and political partner of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, insisted that “the government is run by a small oligarchy of elites in a way that excludes broad segments of the party constituency and the Turkish people.” This narrow oligarchic group is composed of a number of bureaucrats and young advisers. News portal rotahaber.com’s chief editor, Unal Tanık, has written that Erdoğan gave up on getting regular feedback from his party’s parliamentarians years ago, and that since 2013 even his ministers have begun to lament to their close associates that they don’t have access to Erdoğan. Tanık wrote that Erdoğan seems to be talking to only one of his ministers, his intelligence chief, and a few other bureaucrats and advisers.

It seems that this elite clique headed by Erdoğan is waging psychological warfare against the Hizmet movement, trying to present it as a terrorist organization. Erdoğan keeps referring to the movement as a terrorist organization that, acting on the orders of foreign powers, is trying to stage a coup against him. He even likened Hizmet volunteers to hashish-consuming assassins, the Hashashins (the so-called assassins of 12th-century Persia and Syria).

I am seriously concerned about four major — and devious — developments that may follow. First, Erdoğan and his oligarchic clique may arrange for a prosecutor to prepare a lawsuit against Hizmet on terrorism charges. The Yeni Şafak daily’s Cem Küçük, who seems to be very close to the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), keeps writing that some academics, journalists, prosecutors and police officers who are allegedly affiliated with the Hizmet movement could be charged with both terrorism and spying charges. According to Küçük and some other pro-Erdoğan journalists, some prominent figures of the Zaman daily, Today’s Zaman, the Bugün daily, Samanyolu TV and the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), together with some academics (myself possibly included), may face charges of terrorism and spying. Küçük says that this “spy organization” steals national security information and gives it to foreign countries at GYV meetings.

Second, as my fellow columnist Emre Uslu has said, a fake assassination attempt on Erdoğan may be staged so the finger can be pointed at Hizmet. They can never prove these stupid allegations, but with fabricated evidence, etc., they can confuse the public and throw a smokescreen over the corruption investigations. In 1930, an assassination attempt on Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was staged, and he used this opportunity purge all his critics and potential rivals. Some of my readers will recall my mention of how a Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy told me just after the Gezi incidents that seeing Erdoğan so easily bend the truth about consuming alcohol and doing illicit things in a mosque, he was worried about such a terrible plan.

Third, as the same AKP deputy told me, there may be a fake coup attempt against the Erdoğan government that would make him a victim and a hero just before the elections and give him the opportunity to send all his critics to jail. Remember that Boris Yeltsin became a hero after this kind of coup attempt.

Fourth, there are rumors that this oligarchic clique is trying to turn the Hrant Dink assassination case upside down and accuse the Hizmet movement of plotting the deed. Until now, everyone, including the AKP, firmly believed that Ergenekon was working to convince international observers that the so-called Islamist alliance between the AKP and the Hizmet movement was putting pressure on non-Muslims in Turkey. According to the rumors, this clique will first peg the Dink assassination on some police officers and then try to link them to the movement.

The evidence revealed so far shows that the corruption cases are so strong and the amount of money involved so unbelievably large that Erdoğan and his clique may do everything they can to stop the investigations.

Source: Todays Zaman , January 31, 2014


Related News

US under Trump still highly unlikely to extradite Gülen

National War College professor Taşpınar says extradition remains unlikely because Ankara has presented no concrete evidence directly implicating him in the coup attempt. “I think what [Washington] should do is to basically tell the Turks they need a smoking gun. They need much clearer evidence, which is not there yet,” he says

Russian scholar: Gülen promotes peaceful education for a world mired in conflict

Prominent Russian scholar Professor Rostislav Ribakov has praised US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen for the schools opened around the world by his supporters, saying that these schools are bringing up a new generation of students who uphold world peace.

The İmralı peace process and defaming the Hizmet movement

İHSAN YILMAZ After the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan’s comments to the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputies visiting him on İmralı Island were leaked to the press, almost everybody asked who was behind the leak. The main suspicion was that it was leaked by one who did not want the peace negotiations […]

Irvine’s new arrivals — Turkish asylum seekers, after a failed coup and a sadly successful purge

The man, who ran a nonprofit that provided humanitarian aid, doesn’t want to be identified because he fears for the safety of the wife and two children he was forced to leave in Turkey. They are hidden in a different city, he said, not far from his hometown. They’ve thrown away their cellphones and erased their social media accounts for fear of being tracked down by a government that no longer welcomes them.

76 newborns stateless as Turkey denies passports over parents’ Gülen links

Seventy-six babies have been born stateless in the last three months because Turkish diplomatic missions are denying consular services to people allegedly linked to the faith-based Gülen movement according to a report released by the Netherlands-based Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI) on Monday.

Fethullah Gülen versus Ayatollah Khomeini?

Gülen will not return to a society that is expecting him as the Savior or the true representation of Turkishness or the antidote to current political failures. Although it is true that Gülen’s imminent return would cause tensions, it would only be tensions created by political interest groups which would use his presence for their […]

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Mali Minister of Education visits ‘Kimse Yok Mu’

Power struggle for the state or deep rift about Turkey?

Rumi Forum Hosts Dinner Celebrating Ramadan

New Constitution should have no barriers to mother tongue education

Turkish educator says Demirel stood with Turkish schools abroad

Outcome of Dakar Conference on Hizmet Movement

Turkey coup attempt: Number of people detained passes 26,000 amid international concern over crackdown

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News