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Politics of Turkey
Hundreds of Turkish demonstrators marching in Istanbul in protest at new laws tightening government control of the internet clashed with riot police.
Demonstrators threw fireworks and stones at police cordoning off Taksim Square, the city’s main square.
President Abdullah Gul is under pressure not to ratify the legislation.
The new legislation includes powers allowing authorities to block websites for privacy violations without a court decision.
The opposition says it is part of a government attempt to stifle a corruption scandal.
Demonstrators threw fireworks and stones at police cordoning off Taksim Square
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denied accusations of censorship, saying the legislation would make the internet “more safe and free”.
The Turkish parliament approved the bill last week.
As well as allowing Turkey’s telecommunications authority to block websites without first seeking a court ruling, it will also force internet providers to store data on web users’ activities for two years and make it available to the authorities.
Internet access in Turkey is already restricted and thousands of websites blocked.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been openly critical of the internet, describing Twitter as a “scourge” and condemning social media as “the worst menace to society”.
Both Twitter and Facebook were widely used by anti-government protesters to spread information during demonstrations last year.
The corruption scandal broke in December with the arrest of businessmen close to the prime minister and three ministers’ sons.
Since then, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has sacked hundreds of police officers and executives from banking and telecoms regulators and state television.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the scandal is an attempt by a US-based cleric with influence in the police and judiciary to unseat him. The cleric, Fethullah Gulen, denies this.
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Turkey’s parliament has approved a bill that would tighten government controls over the internet.
The new law will allow Turkey’s telecommunications authority to block websites without first seeking a court ruling.
It will also force internet providers to store data on web users’ activities for two years and make it available to the authorities.
The opposition has criticized the move as an assault on freedom of expression.
Internet access in Turkey is already restricted and thousands of websites blocked.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been openly critical of the internet, calling Twitter a “scourge” and condemning social media as “the worst menace to society”.
Both Twitter and Facebook were widely used by anti-government protesters to spread information during demonstrations last year.
Turkey’s parliament has approved a bill that would tighten government controls over the internet
The new measures were adopted after hours of debate in parliament where Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) dominates with 319 of the 550 seats.
At the start of the debate, opposition MP Hasan Oren compared Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Adolf Hitler.
“When you came to power you talked of enhancing democracy in Turkey – now you are trying to implement fascism,” he said.
“Remember that Adolf Hitler used the same methods when he rose to power.”
However, Deputy PM Bulent Arinc said there was “no such thing as internet censorship” in Turkey.
“We are freer compared to many other countries and have freedom of the press,” he said.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said the new powers meant Turkey’s telecommunications agency would be able to “gather communications data about all internet users without any legal limits or restrictions” and with users “never… able to know when and how this information is gathered”.
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Turkey’s PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he favors the retrial of hundreds of military officers convicted of plotting to overthrow the government.
The move comes after Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s senior adviser suggested that the officers had been framed by the police and judiciary.
Hundreds of people were jailed in 2012 and 2013 in two high-profile cases, called Sledgehammer and Ergenekon.
Correspondents say the remarks represent a political turnaround.
“Our position on a retrial is a favorable one,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul on Sunday.
“First we must establish the legal grounding for fresh trials.”
It comes as political tensions run high over alleged corruption in the Turkish government.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the police and judiciary of orchestrating a probe which led to the resignation of his ministers.
The ruling AK Party is rooted in political Islam and has moved to curb the power of the Turkish military, which sees itself as guardian of the modern secular state founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he favors the retrial of hundreds of military officers convicted of plotting to overthrow the government
The prime minister now appears to have taken the side of the military he once opposed. In recent days, the army has filed a criminal complaint calling for retrials.
During the early years of his administration, Recep Tayyip Erdogan formed an unofficial alliance with prosecutors in an effort to remove the military from politics.
This effort culminated with two major trials relating to separate alleged plots – Sledgehammer and Ergenekon. They were seen as major challenges to Turkey’s secularist traditions.
But in December, some of the same prosecutors involved in those investigations ordered the arrest of a number of the prime minister’s own allies.
Three ministers resigned after their sons were arrested, along with dozens of others, over alleged wrongdoing in construction contracts and deals with Iran.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the investigation as a “dirty plot”.
The armed forces then suggested that this “plotting” also included the convictions of officers, and demanded a retrial.
The former armed forces chief, General Ilker Basbug, was among dozens of people given long jail terms. Lawyers, politicians and journalists were convicted, along with many military officers.
Analysts say the latest dispute over corruption is part of a power struggle between Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government and an influential US-based Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, who is said to have many followers within Turkey’s police and judiciary.
For decades, the armed forces were the ultimate arbiter in Turkish politics.
Between 1960 and 1997, the military forced out four civilian governments.
But over the last decade, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has changed the balance of power in Turkey.
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Turkish army has released a statement saying that it does not want to get involved in “political arguments”, amid a major political corruption scandal.
The crisis has forced PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reshuffle his cabinet following the resignations of three ministers.
The ministers’ sons were among dozens of people detained as part of a wide-ranging corruption probe.
The scandal has caused Turkey’s lira to fall to a new low against the dollar.
Turkish corruption scandal has forced PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reshuffle his cabinet following the resignations of three ministers
Meanwhile, Turkey’s top administrative court has blocked a government decree ordering police to inform their superiors before launching investigations.
The government introduced the decree last week after a series of police raids on senior figures as part of the corruption inquiry.
The Council of State’s ruling on Friday, blocking the regulation, is seen as the latest setback in Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s efforts to stop the political fallout from the scandal.
The Turkish army’s statement, posted on its website, comes in response to a suggestion in the media by an ally of the prime minister that the corruption scandal might be a plot to trigger a military coup.
“The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) does not want to be involved in political debates. On the other hand, the TSK will keep on closely following the developments regarding its corporate identity and the legal positions of its members,” the statement said.
Turkey has a history of military takeovers but its power has been curbed during Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decade in power.
Turkey’s PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced a major cabinet reshuffle after three ministerial resignations over a corruption inquiry.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan named 10 new ministers – almost half of his total roster – after talks with President Abdullah Gul.
One of those who quit, Environment Minister Erdogan Bayraktar, had urged Recep Tayyip Erdogan to step down himself.
Police are investigating allegations of illicit money transfers to Iran and bribery for construction projects.
Erdogan Bayraktar, Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan and Interior Minister Muammer Guler quit after their sons were taken into custody.
All three deny any wrongdoing.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced a major cabinet reshuffle after three ministerial resignations over a corruption inquiry
In Istanbul, protesters held a street rally against corruption in the government. There were reports of clashes with riot police late on Wednesday evening.
Commentators believe the scandal stems from a power struggle between Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government and an influential US-based Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, who is said to have many followers within Turkey’s police and judiciary.
Supporters regard the Hizmet movement inspired by Fethullah Gulen as the benign, modern face of Islam, but critics question its motives.
Fethullah Gulen, who has denied any involvement in the investigation, left Turkey in 1999 after being accused by the then government of plotting to establish an Islamic state. He was cleared of that charge but has never returned to Turkey and now lives in Pennsylvania.
The government has dismissed dozens of police officials who were either involved in the investigation or thought to be linked to Fethullah Gulen.
Journalists have been prevented from entering police buildings, leading to claims that the government is trying to impede the investigation.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan submitted the new cabinet line-up to President Abdullah Gul late on Wednesday.
Among those who lost his job was EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis.
Egemen Bagis is accused of being involved in the corruption scandal – but has not been detained or formally charged.
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Turkey’s Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan and Interior Minister Muammer Guler have resigned after their sons were charged amid a corruption inquiry that has hit the government.
Twenty-four people have been charged as part of the investigation, including the head of state-owned Halkbank.
In a statement, Zafer Caglayan condemned the inquiry as an “ignoble operation”.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to “break the hands” of rivals who used the inquiry to undermine his rule.
Zafer Caglayan said he was stepping down “so that all the light may be laid on this ignoble operation that targets our government”
Zafer Caglayan’s son Kaan and Baris Guler, the interior minister’s son, have both denied accusations of involvement in bribery relating to urban development projects and the allocation of construction permits.
Zafer Caglayan, in his statement, said he was stepping down “so that all the light may be laid on this ignoble operation that targets our government”.
In response to the police crackdown, a number of police commissioners have been removed from their posts, including the head of police in Istanbul.
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The sons of two ministers have been charged in Turkey in connection with a huge corruption investigation.
The head of the state-owned bank and at least a dozen other people also face charges.
The suspects are accused of abusing their power by taking or facilitating bribes.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denounced the investigation as a “dirty operation” against his government.
The controversial arrests began on Tuesday when police launched a series of dawn raids in Istanbul and Ankara.
On Thursday the head of Istanbul’s police was forced from his position, and more than 30 senior police officers have reportedly been sacked.
The sons of two ministers have been charged in Turkey in connection with a huge corruption investigation
The corruption investigation has targeted people close to Receo Tayyip Erdogan’s administration.
Baris Guler, the son of Interior Minister Muammer Guler and Kaan Caglayan, son of Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan was among those detained, as is the chief executive of the state-owned Halkbank, Suleyman Aslan.
They were put under formal arrest on Saturday morning.
The son of a third minister – Environment and Urban Planning Minister Erdogan Bayraktar – was among those released after hours of questioning.
Commentators in Turkey report that the arrests and firings reflect a feud within Turkey’s ruling AK Party between those who back Recep Tayyip Erdogan and supporters of Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic scholar living in exile in the US.
Members of Fethullah Gulen’s Hizmet movement are said to hold influential positions in institutions such as the police, the judiciary and the AK Party itself.
Opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has accused Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government of trying to cover up the scandal.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the Republican People’s Party, called for ministers implicated in the investigation to be sacked.
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For the first time since 1999, four Turkish women MPs have appeared in parliament in Ankara wearing headscarves.
The lawmakers are members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has roots in political Islam.
Last month, Turkey lifted the headscarf ban in a number of state institutions.
The ban was one of the most contentious laws in Turkey, pitting backers of the secular constitution against those who favour Islamic rights.
“I will no longer take off my headscarf,” Gonul Bekin Sahkulubey, one of the four MPs, was quoted as saying by Turkey’s Milliyet newspaper.
Last month, Turkey lifted the headscarf ban in a number of state institutions
“I expect everyone to respect my decision.”
A number of fellow MPs gathered around their colleague to take pictures.
Supporters of the women said their move was yet another step towards normalizing the wearing of headscarves.
However, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) accused the governing party of PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan of undermining the country’s secular traditions.
The CHP also said the move was an election gimmick ahead of municipal polls next March.
This is the first time MPs have worn the headscarf in parliament since an abortive attempt in 1999.
Back then, lawmaker Merve Kavakci arrived in the assembly in a headscarf for her swearing-in ceremony – only to be booed out of the building.
The reversal of the ban was part of major political reforms – including new Kurdish rights – announced last month by Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the move as “a historic moment”.
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