The headline of this column belongs to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He said it during his party’s parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday.
The prime minister, who has directed harsh insults at the Hizmet movement and Fethullah Gülen in all the speeches he has made since the corruption investigation went public, continued to do so on Tuesday, too. He had previously called the Hizmet movement a “dirty organization,” “instrument of foreign powers,” “parallel organization” and “Hashishins.” On Tuesday, he defined the movement as the “last gang.” Saying that his government has fought against gangs, military juntas and tutelage as well as other deep powers, the prime minister added, “There will not be any obstacle in the way of democracy when this last gang becomes a thing of the past.” He also said his government managed to stop the “Dec. 17 coup attempt.” In addition, he accused Hizmet of spying and added, “The responsible figures and evidence [of a coup attempt] will soon be exposed.” The prime minister has put forward many claims since Dec. 17, but he has not provided any satisfactory evidence to back up these claims. I wonder how he will prove his allegations of spying.
Dr. Esposito: The Gulen Movement Introduces Turkey To The World
AYTEN ÇİFTÇİ İSTANBUL – Oct.9, 2011 John L. Esposito, an American Professor of Islam, praised the Gulen Movement and the Turkish Schools operating around the world. He said: “ They have one goal. That is to enlighten the world with education. This is why we need the Gülen Movement in this age.” Dr. John L. […]
Operation against whom?
A claim made this past weekend by Hüseyin Gülerce, a senior columnist for the Zaman daily, affiliated with the Gülen (Hizmet) movement, increased tensions in Ankara when he suggested that a major operation will be carried out by the government against the Gülen movement, which it believes to be behind the graft investigation.
Abant Africa forum: Freedom of Speech and Respect to Sacred
Abant Platform and African Union Commission are jointly organizing an International Forum titled “Freedom of Speech and Respect to Sacred” on 8-9 March, 2014 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Sessions will be in the form of free discussions in the spirit of the Abant Platform. The program will be held at the Large Conference Hall of the African Union Commission Headquarters.
Erdoğan isolates himself in power
Erdoğan is picky about journalists escorting him on board his official plane; he doesn’t like to see journalists asking annoying question around him anyway, but this time the criteria became really narrow. Umut Oran, Deputy Chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) asked the prime minister about his criteria, since Erdoğan excluded most popular papers like Hürriyet, Zaman, Posta, or critical ones like Sözcü, Cumhuriyet, Radikal, and whether the travel expenses of journalists from pro-government papers would be covered on the government budget.
Observers: Charging Zaman’s editor-in-chief based on 2 columns, 1 report is ‘unlawful nonsense’
Charging Zaman daily Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanlı for a crime based on two columns and one report published in his paper is “unlawful nonsense,” according to intellectuals and politicians observing the government-backed media crackdown in which the editor was detained.
Alienating Turkey
Pro-government media outlets publish reports and news stories that are dark propaganda. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and leading party figures make unfounded accusations directed at the Hizmet movement at every opportunity. In Turkey, when people want to hide something and divert attention, they create a virtual agenda and you are asked to follow the distortionist.
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