 |
| Photo Credit: Today's Zaman |
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has targeted the Chief of General Staff, Gen. Necdet Özel, President of the Constitutional Court Haşim Kılıç and the head of the Supreme Court of Appeals, Ali Alkan, criticizing them for their comments expressing concerns about the government's recent policies on domestic issues, a media report has said.
According to the Hürriyet daily, on Thursday, while en route to the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit being held on Sept. 4
and 5, Erdoğan responded to questions from several journalists who had
been invited to accompany him during his flight, excoriating the three
figures for their critical attitudes.
Erdoğan reportedly first targeted Özel, who previously said that the military was not given any solid evidence regarding allegations that the military has been infiltrated by the “parallel state,” a term President Erdoğan uses to refer to alleged members of the faith-based Hizmet movement within the state bureaucracy who he believes aim to topple him, saying: "If there are anonymous letters concerning the acts of the 'parallel structure' then first examine them. If you find any solid evidence on the matter, then you may launch a legal procedure. If you cannot find anything, then you throw it away.”
The government claims the “parallel state” exists within the military as well, an allegation that Özel said needs to be substantiated by solid evidence. “The Turkish Armed Forces [TSK] works with documents and information,” he said, adding that military authorities have requested documents from the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), but none have been provided.
“We cannot initiate a procedure [against members of the military] on the basis of anonymous tip-off letters. The Turkish Armed Forces believes in the rule of law and acts accordingly,” Özel said.
Arguing that launching a legal procedure into an incident does not always require a signed letter, Erdoğan reportedly went on to say: "Those people who sent the letters to inform [the General Staff) about the 'parallel state' may have some worries about their future. We, in the past, have faced many examples of this kind of situation which caused trouble for the person who provided information about some sort of wrongdoing."
After lashing out at Gen. Özel, Erdoğan then reportedly criticized Kılıç because of his previous remarks expressing his concern about profiling activities within the state, saying, "Some mention profiling activity [by the government]. What profiling? In fact, the preceding governments conducted massive profiling campaigns. All of them reached us. I do not want to send messages to the head of the Constitutional Court through the press, as well as the head of General Staff, but only if Özel does not share his concerns with the press. He could do it with me and the prime minister [Ahmet Davutoğlu]."
Finally, Erdoğan reportedly targeted Alkan for his criticism of the political authority during his speech on the occasion of the beginning of the new judicial year on Monday. The president said: "I clearly assert that Alkan is not the person who is heading the Supreme Court of Appeals. He also confessed this, stating that, 'the board of presidents prepares my speeches.' If the head of the Supreme Court of Appeals says that he just read a text prepared by a board and has no more role regarding the content of the text, then it is a shame for him."
Erdoğan also reportedly claimed that Turkish Bar Association (TBB) Chairman Metin Feyzioğlu had no authority to deliver a speech at the opening ceremony of the new judicial year, adding, "They [members of the high court] also admit the fact. They defend allowing the delivery of the speech by pointing to the decision by the board of presidents. So, one should ask [Alkan] how can you claim to be the head of the court [the Supreme Court of Appeals]?
Erdoğan reportedly first targeted Özel, who previously said that the military was not given any solid evidence regarding allegations that the military has been infiltrated by the “parallel state,” a term President Erdoğan uses to refer to alleged members of the faith-based Hizmet movement within the state bureaucracy who he believes aim to topple him, saying: "If there are anonymous letters concerning the acts of the 'parallel structure' then first examine them. If you find any solid evidence on the matter, then you may launch a legal procedure. If you cannot find anything, then you throw it away.”
The government claims the “parallel state” exists within the military as well, an allegation that Özel said needs to be substantiated by solid evidence. “The Turkish Armed Forces [TSK] works with documents and information,” he said, adding that military authorities have requested documents from the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), but none have been provided.
“We cannot initiate a procedure [against members of the military] on the basis of anonymous tip-off letters. The Turkish Armed Forces believes in the rule of law and acts accordingly,” Özel said.
Arguing that launching a legal procedure into an incident does not always require a signed letter, Erdoğan reportedly went on to say: "Those people who sent the letters to inform [the General Staff) about the 'parallel state' may have some worries about their future. We, in the past, have faced many examples of this kind of situation which caused trouble for the person who provided information about some sort of wrongdoing."
After lashing out at Gen. Özel, Erdoğan then reportedly criticized Kılıç because of his previous remarks expressing his concern about profiling activities within the state, saying, "Some mention profiling activity [by the government]. What profiling? In fact, the preceding governments conducted massive profiling campaigns. All of them reached us. I do not want to send messages to the head of the Constitutional Court through the press, as well as the head of General Staff, but only if Özel does not share his concerns with the press. He could do it with me and the prime minister [Ahmet Davutoğlu]."
Finally, Erdoğan reportedly targeted Alkan for his criticism of the political authority during his speech on the occasion of the beginning of the new judicial year on Monday. The president said: "I clearly assert that Alkan is not the person who is heading the Supreme Court of Appeals. He also confessed this, stating that, 'the board of presidents prepares my speeches.' If the head of the Supreme Court of Appeals says that he just read a text prepared by a board and has no more role regarding the content of the text, then it is a shame for him."
Erdoğan also reportedly claimed that Turkish Bar Association (TBB) Chairman Metin Feyzioğlu had no authority to deliver a speech at the opening ceremony of the new judicial year, adding, "They [members of the high court] also admit the fact. They defend allowing the delivery of the speech by pointing to the decision by the board of presidents. So, one should ask [Alkan] how can you claim to be the head of the court [the Supreme Court of Appeals]?
No comments:
Post a Comment