Turks rise in anger over corruption scandal

[Valin]

The Australian:

1/13/14

 

Protesters hold a banner with a cartoon depicting Prime Minister Erdogan and his three cabinet ministers. Source: AFP

 

TENS of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Turkey's capital yesterday in protest against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government, which has been rocked by a vast corruption probe.

 

The government signalled it may back down on a contentious bid to curb judges' powers as fierce scuffles erupted in a parliament commission ahead of a second round of debate over the draft bill.

 

As Mr Erdogan arrived home after a week-long tour to Asia, about 20,000 protesters gathered at Ankara's major Sihhiye Square, chanting "Revolution will clean this filth" and "They are thieves".

 

Some protesters were handing out fake dollars with Mr Erdogan's photo on them.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

Turkey Political Warfare Continues, New Purge Sees 800 Turkish Police Officers Fired or Reassigned
1/31/14

 

Roughly 800 Turkish police officers were fired or reassigned on Thursday - 500 just from Ankara, and another 274 from Turkey’s third most populous city Izmir – marking the latest in a series of anti-judiciary purges being conducted by Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The AKP has for months been locked in an open political war with police officers and prosecutors linked to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, after Gulenists in December launched a series of graft probes that ensnared AKP elites. The AKP responded with a series of sweeps that systematically removed thousands of judiciary figures from their positions. The latest move comes just a few days after Erdogan lashed out at foreign media and business groups for having “always stolen the national will in [Turkey and]… pocked the resources and energy.”

 

(Snip)

 

The conspiracism and political bloodletting may be eroding Ankara’s regional and global standing. Turkish outlet Zaman yesterday assessed that Erdogan’s handling of anti-government protests last summer and the ongoing graft scandals have eroded Turkey’s soft power in the Arab world. The outlet quoted an Arab diplomat rejecting “Erodgan’s conspiracy arguments” and declaring that “Turkey missed the chance of becoming a regional power.”

 

 

“We believed Turkey, with its success in the region, had realized a miracle. But after the Gezi protests and the corruption operation, we believe that Turkey is no different from us,” the diplomat maintained, adding: “Democracy is needed not only for Arabs, but for all Muslims. Unfortunately, Turkey is deviating from the path of democracy.”