News Scan, 05th March: Opposition leader slams government for manipulating court

Main opposition CHP leader slams government for manipulating court

An audio recording of an alleged conversation between the prime minister and the former justice minister has provided more ammunition to main opposition Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu leader who continued pounding the country’s leader over increasing authoritarianism at a rally on March 4.

Speaking at a party rally in the Thracian province of Tekirdağ, Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kılıçdaroğlu also warned people against any kind of provocation, including a fake assassination attempt against Erdoğan.

“This ‘Chief Thief’ calls the then-justice minister. He says, ‘Look, there is a case.’ He says: ‘That case is before a court, follow it, where will the hearing be? He says, ‘Have [the court] make such a decision,’” Kılıçdaroğlu said, referring to a recently released audio recording of an alleged conversation between Erdoğan and then-Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin during which the two talked about a court case against Aydın Doğan. During the alleged conversation, Erdoğan apparently recommended intervening at the court in order to get a ruling against Doğan, honorary president of the Doğan Group of Companies and the chairman of the Aydın Doğan Foundation.

During the rally, the CHP leader mostly used the epithet, “This Man,” for Erdoğan as his party has already announced that it has stopped prefixing the name of Turkey’s leader with either “Prime Minister” or “Mr.” following the corruption and bribery allegations that recently surfaced.

“What was he speaking of? He was speaking of the separation of powers; the legislative, executive and judicial. He doesn’t believe in these. He is a liar, and he is a fraud,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

Alstom to acquire stake in Turkish geothermal company

Dünya – France-based Alstom has reached a preliminary agreement to acquire a 30 percent stake in Turkish energy company Deltom Jeotermal, a subsidiary of Delta Yatirim, according to a filing made to the Turkish Competition Authority.

The French conglomerate, which mainly operates in the transportation and energy sectors, intends to team up with Turkey’s Delta Group to develop geothermal sites and install power plants utilizing geothermal sources in the country.

Alstom is deeply involved in Turkey’s energy sector, having supplied equipment to a considerable portion of the country’s coal-fired and hydro power plants. The company employs a total of 1200 people in Turkey and has a facility in Gebze, Kocaeli that manufactures grid power transformers.

Its transportation unit, Alstom Transport Turkey, is also active in the country’s railway and subway projects and manages the company’s operations in the Middle Eastern and African markets from its Istanbul headquarters.

Turkey ranks 7th in the world and 1st in Europe when it comes to geothermal resources, according to data from the Mineral Research and Exploration Agency of Turkey (MTA). The country plans for 120,000 MW of installed capacity in 2023, double that of today’s 60,000 MW.

INVEST.GOV.TR

Turkey boxed in by Russian moves in Crimea

The dangerous standoff in Ukraine between Russia and the West is reminding Turks once again of their volatile neighborhood, where unexpected developments can alter the geostrategic equation unexpectedly, leaving Turkey facing difficult choices and decisions overnight. These events are also showing just how interconnected developments in this part of the world are when superpower rivalry is concerned.

Rising tensions between the United States and Russia over Ukraine will most likely make the Syrian crisis more intractable and increase Turkey’s Syrian headache while Moscow positions itself more firmly behind Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, keeping in mind its naval base in Tartus and military ties with the Baathist regime.

The developing situation in the Crimean peninsula also has potential domestic ramifications for Turkey due to the close ties of kinship between Turks and Crimean Tatars. This issue can add fuel to an already tense political environment in Turkey, where the government is fighting serious corruption charges.

The opposition is likely to use the situation in Crimea to hit at the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) by alleging passivity by the government as the tide turns against the Tatars, many of whom have relatives in Turkey.

Turkey today has no legal claims over Crimea, of course — even if it was once part of the Ottoman Empire — other than a moral concern for the welfare of the Tatars. “The Khanate of Crimea” was lost to Russia in the war of 1768-1774.

Crimea, however, continues to hold an important part in Turkish nationalist lore, being the birthplace of some of the most prominent ideologues of 20th-century Turkish nationalism and Pan Turkism; these include Ismail Gaspirali (Gasprinski) and Yusuf Akcura.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/03/turkey-russia-crimea-ukraine.html#ixzz2v4xm8pMI

EU confirms Turkey probe, Erasmus funds at risk

The European Commission has confirmed it has launched an audit of the Center for European Union Education and Youth Programs in Ankara over claims that Turkey’s Ministry of EU Affairs was involved in the illegal use of EU funds, saying if the allegations are found to be true, financial penalties will follow, including suspending payments for the Erasmus+ program in Turkey.

The Taraf daily claimed on Monday that the European Commission has launched an investigation into claims of tender-rigging and illegal recruitment at the EU Ministry’s National Agency (Ulusal Ajans) while former EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bağış — who was implicated in a corruption scandal that became public on Dec. 17, 2013 — was in office.

In a written statement to the Cihan news agency, Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth Spokesperson Dennis Abbott said there is an ongoing audit of the center in Ankara, which is responsible for managing the Erasmus+ program and the former Lifelong Learning and Youth in Action programs in the country.

“The audit follows serious allegations of irregularities relating to a lack of transparency for staff recruitment and a lack of compliance with EU and national rules for procurement by the national agency,” he said in the statement.

If the allegations are found to be true, there are a series of measures that can be taken, according to the spokesperson.

“If the allegations are proven true, financial penalties could be applied, with the Commission recovering part of the operating grants provided to the national agency under the previous Lifelong Learning program and Youth in Action program in 2012 and 2013,” Abbot stated, and added, “A suspension of payments for the Erasmus+ program in Turkey, or the entire program in Turkey, at least for 2014, might also be envisaged.”

TODAYS ZAMAN

Turkey should fix judiciary system to ensure trust in markets: Deputy PM Babacan

Speaking during a meeting with Turkish private sector representatives to listen to their problems, Babacan stressed the law was the most important factor in the bid to create trust in countries’ economies.

“We want to see a country that is based on the superiority of law. We have been putting efforts into that for 11 years but we watched and saw that we have weak points during the developments of the past two to three months,” he said, addressing some of Turkey’s top business representatives at the seventh Sectorial Economy Council hosted by the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB).

“Efforts of decades can vanish within weeks or months. We should appreciate the environment of trust in our country and do whatever is needed to enhance it,” the deputy prime minister said.

To achieve full security of law, Babacan urged taking steps toward a fast, consistent and reliable judiciary system.

“This means open laws, the elimination of grey areas, not turning back, protecting rights that have been earned and not changing laws often,” he said.

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

New leak exposes Erdoğan’s meddling in judiciary, sparks criticism

In two recently leaked voice recordings Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is said to be heard asking former Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin to interfere in a trial in order to arrange a conviction of media mogul Aydın Doğan, who has been at odds with the prime minister. What seems to be blatant interference in trial proceedings by the prime minister prompted strong criticism from the main opposition party on Tuesday.

In the first phone call, which Twitter user Başçalan (head of thieves) posted Monday on YouTube, Erdoğan allegedly tells the former justice minister to closely watch the court case to make sure that Doğan, whom tax authorities fined $600 million in a separate case in 2009, does not get off scot-free. After a lower court ruled in Doğan’s favor in a trial over alleged irregularities in capital markets law, Ergin allegedly tells Erdoğan not to worry because the case would go for a final decision to the Assembly of Criminal Chambers of the Supreme Court of Appeals.

The voice recording, if authentic, shows Erdoğan telling Ergin to closely follow Doğan’s case. “I will have a talk, on Monday or Sunday, either before or after the meeting of the Cabinet ministers, with the person who is head of the Assembly of Criminal Chambers. We will make sure he acts sensitively,” Ergin allegedly says to Erdoğan.

The voice recording seems to show that Erdoğan and Ergin were closely following the progress of Doğan’s case and wanted to ensure a ruling against the media mogul, as well as a fine. Doğan, whom the prime minister has criticized on a number of occasions in past years, owns a number of mainstream TV channels and newspapers that are critical of the government.

The prime minister is allegedly heard telling Ergin in the recording that the case is of crucial importance; that Ali Babacan, deputy prime minister responsible for the economy, is standing next to him; and that the Capital Markets Board (SPK), which regulates markets, sectors and companies to ensure fair competition between firms, had already determined in a report that what Doğan did was in violation of SPK rules and capital market laws. Erdoğan is said to be heard asking Ergin to keep close tabs on the case. “If you could closely watch [the case] …” After Ergin answers in the affirmative, the voice attributed to the prime minister says: “This should not be neglected. […] Apparently, there will be a very heavy thing [penalty] against him, that’s why [the issue] is important.”

TODAYS ZAMAN

05.03.2014

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.