Erdoğan’s parallel bicycle gets rotten

Selcuk Gultasli
Selcuk Gultasli


Date posted: July 22, 2014

SELÇUK GÜLTAŞLI

Because he believes that the lies about the so-called “parallel state” are a useful tool to cover up the corruption charges, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan keeps riding this parallel bicycle. He is aware that once he stops riding this bicycle, he will fall off and the corruption charges will be exposed to the people.




Prime Minister Erdoğan and the members of his close circle, whose careers depend on his, have developed a strategy to address the serious corruption charges that emerged on Dec. 17. One crucial leg of this strategy was to reach out to people who would vote in the local elections and convince them that there had been no corruption. As part of this strategy, they also launched a campaign to argue that the Dec. 17 charges were a coup attempt rather than a corruption investigation and that this attempt was sponsored by the Hizmet movement, which he referred to as a treasonous network that collaborated with external actors, to make the people hate the movement, which is presented as an enemy, and to carry out a perception-altering operation based on false news reports and allegations on pro-government TV channels, newspapers and Internet sites. Another crucial leg of this strategy was to work hard to ensure that the world, particularly the West, bought this fictional depiction. Despite the allegations of electoral fraud, it seems that this strategy at least partially worked in the local elections.

Erdoğan, who believes he has found a treasure in his offensive discourse, keeps pedaling the parallel bicycle because he still believes that he can win the upcoming elections by blaming the Hizmet movement and covering up the corruption allegations. He is also aware that once he stops pedaling, he will fall off the bicycle, the corruption allegations will become known to the public, and the public will in turn grasp the true nature of the government efforts to paralyze the state apparatus.

He does not hesitate to use libel about Gülen’s comments on Gaza; he presents himself as a hero who sorted out the problem of military tutelage, while he also argues that a conspiracy was set up against the military; he redesigns the entire judiciary to make it submissive to his wishes; these are all moves he has been making to keep pedaling the parallel bicycle.

Despite the fact that the strategy has partially worked in the domestic terrain, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) is having a difficult time in the West. While they have reserved some criticisms against the Hizmet movement, the European Union and the US have not bought Erdoğan’s argument about a so-called “parallel state” wholeheartedly. And Erdoğan’s parallel bicycle has started to rot despite all efforts abroad.

A leading figure in the European Parliament (EP) has suggested that it is Erdoğan himself who has done the greatest harm to his “parallel state” argument. EU institutions that believe that the Hizmet movement has some influence within the bureaucracy are suspicious of the accusations directed against the Hizmet movement in connection with the Hrant Dink, Father Andrea Santoro and Zirve Publishing House murders, while the convicted perpetrators of these incidents have been released.

I talked to another official in the European Commission (EC) who is familiar with political affairs in Turkey. He says it has been seven months since Dec. 17 and that no convincing evidence has been presented so far. He notes that any evidence that might be presented now would not be as strong as if it had been presented months ago. His conclusion suggests that there is either no “parallel state,” as there is still no evidence despite the fact that 40,000 police officers, judges and prosecutors have been reappointed, or the “parallels” are so skilled that they disappeared without leaving any shred of evidence behind. The same official further said: “Now the word ‘parallel’ is a joke; AKP figures have been making reference to this argument less frequently now.” Like former socialist group leader Hannes Swoboda told Prime Minister Erdoğan, and former EP Rapporteur on Turkey Ria Oomen-Ruitjen said to Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ, there is a widespread belief in Brussels that the government is using the Hizmet movement as a pretext. The reappointment of 40,000 police officers, prosecutors and judges confirms this belief.

EU Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Füle insisted on meeting Constitutional Court head Haşim Kılıç on his latest visit to Turkey, and then he held a lengthy meeting with him, while he avoided Erdoğan; these are all hints of how the “parallel state” argument is viewed by the EU.

A police officer who was removed from his position because of attempted rape during his service at the US Embassy in 2003 has blamed the “parallel state.” It is inevitable for others to follow, if you have a prime minister who relies on this “parallel state” argument so eagerly. But if the number of subscribers to this thesis grows further, the number of those who buy this argument will inevitably decline. It should also be noted that the West has been following these news reports and developments quite closely.

Source: Today's Zaman , July 21, 2014


Related News

Hundreds of young Turkish children jailed alongside their moms as part of a post-coup crackdown

“We were all treated like terrorists, we were isolated,” Kam, a 34-year-old university teacher, told Fox News from Germany, where she and her family are now refugees. “We were all humiliated. … I don’t know what was worse, to have my baby in the prison or to have my other son, who was 11, outside the prison.”

PM Erdoğan: Internet bill protesters are defenders of immorality

Media outlets ran stories based on leaked voice recordings and the documents of a second probe, which has been stalled since Dec. 25, 2014, when the government started removing or reassigning thousands of police officers and police chiefs as well as the prosecutors carrying out the investigation. The press has since reported that the depths of corruption within the government is actually a lot bigger than initially assumed.

Governor’s office closes 3 Gülen-inspired prep schools in Çorum

Despite a ruling from the Constitutional Court and the Council of State annulling a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government-sponsored law that required privately owned exam preparation schools in Turkey to be closed down or converted, the Çorum Governor’s Office has ordered the closure of three prep schools as part of the government-led operation against institutions and businesses owned by the faith-based Gülen movement.

Visually impaired journalist sent to prison over Gülen links

Visually impaired Turkish journalist Cüneyt Arat was sent to prison late on Monday due to his alleged links to the Gülen movement. When Arat learned that a prison sentence approved by an upper court on Sunday, he turned himself in to the police later the same day.

Teacher detained just after giving birth, handcuffed to bed at hospital

Turkish teacher Fatma Ozturk was detained just after she gave birth to her baby at Ege Umut Hospital in Manisa’s Turgutlu district while police handcuffed her to a bed she is resting on.

Gülen: purge of public officials seems ‘arbitrary’

The Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who has inspired the popular civic and social Hizmet (Service) movement, has said that the reassignment of thousands of public officials from their posts without any disciplinary procedures following the Dec. 17, 2013 corruption scandal seems to have been conducted on an arbitrary basis.

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

The Battle For Turkey’s Soul

Terrorist organization, you say

Teacher abducted from Malaysia subjected to beating, torture in Ankara: cellmate

10 unanswered questions about the Dec. 17 operation

Islamic scholar Gülen offers condolences to Berkin’s family

Foreign Policy Magazine Interviewed Fethullah Gulen

Gülen, a man of peace, not behind attempted coup in Turkey

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News