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This is the second in a series of articles based in part on eyewitness accounts about the rapidly deteriorating socio-political conditions in Turkey and what the future may hold for the country. The first article is available here.

Much has been written on the endemic corruption in Turkey which involves virtually every social strata -- including political, judicial, government administration, private sector, civil society, business, and military -- and which stands in total contrast to President Erdogan's grandiose vision to make Turkey a significant player on the global stage. After fifteen years in power, Erdogan now presides over a state deeply entrenched in corruption, conspiracy theories, and intrigue. He uses every lever of power to cover up the pervasive corruption consuming the nation and overshadowing the remarkable socio-political progress and economic growth that he made during his first nine years in power.

To consolidate his reign, he intimidated his political opponents, emasculated the military, silenced the press, and enfeebled the judiciary; most recently, he pressed the parliament to amend the constitution to grant him essentially absolute powers.

Turkey ranks 75th in the world in transparency on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index--falling nine places since 2015--along with Bulgaria, Kuwait, and Tunisia. More than 40% of Turkish households perceive public officials to be corrupt.

The economy: Given the pervasiveness of corruption, economic progress in Turkey has slowed down. In Erdogan's initial years, the economy grew by 5-7 percent because he made it a priority while focusing on the poor and less educated, who subsequently became his core supporters.

When the global economy was strong Turkey registered significant economic growth, but the recent economic slowdown revealed the fault line in Turkey's economy. An inflated and corrupt bureaucracy made it extremely difficult to be granted licenses for development, making it ever harder for foreign and local investors to accelerate the process without bribing government officials.

During a corruption investigation in 2013, $17.5 million in cash was discovered in homes of various officials, including the director of state-owned Halkbank. Fifty-two people connected to the ruling AK Party were detained in one day, but subsequently released due to "lack of evidence."

Given this grim reality, as long as the government continues to deny the existence of pandemic corruption, Erdogan's ambition to make Turkey's economy among the ten largest economies by 2023 (the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic) has become nothing but a pipe dream.

Suppressing the press: Erdogan has shown zero tolerance for criticism and has worked to stifle the press. Any media outlet that exposed corruption cases became an 'enemy of the state.'

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 81 journalists are currently imprisoned, all of whom have been charged with anti-state offenses, and over 100 news outlets have been ordered closed by the government. In total, between July 20 and December 31, 2016, 178 broadcasters, websites, and newspapers were shuttered.

Whereas in a democracy the media is considered central to keeping the government honest, in Turkey investigative journalism has become taboo as the Erdogan government is terrified of the potential exposure of corruption cases where government officials are directly involved.

The implications of this are far and wide as other countries, especially democracies, become suspicious of Turkey's positions. The lack of transparency severely erodes its credibility and international standing.

Political: Two-thirds of Turks in a survey revealed they perceive political parties to be corrupt. Turkey lacks an entity that monitors the financing of parties, which are required to submit their financial tables to the Constitutional Court, an institution ill-equipped to handle audits.

Additionally, according to the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation, Turkey "does not have a specific regulatory process to eliminate possible conflicts of interest" for parliamentarians who transition to the private sector after their terms are complete.

Commenting on former Prime Minister Davutoglu's "transparency package", Erdogan shamelessly stated that "If it [requiring party officials to reveal wealth] goes on like this, you can't find anyone to chair even [the AKP's] provincial and district branches."

Several of Erdogan's ministers (Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, Interior Minister Muammer Guler, and Environment Minister Erdogan Bayraktar) resigned after their sons were arrested on allegations of bribery. Following their resignation, Erdogan "proceeded to dismiss thousands of police officers, prosecutors, and judges" and accused the Gulen movement of a coup attempt.

The arrest and indictment in US courts of Iranian-Turkish gold trader Reza Zarrab poses a significant threat to Erdogan's authority, as top AK officials are wrapped up in the indictment--including some of Erdogan's family members. Pro-government media quickly leveled accusations against the American prosecutor and judge involved in the case of being instruments of the Gulen movement.

The ramifications of the wide-spread political corruption also have major adverse impacts on Turkey's relations with foreign governments who interact with Ankara out of necessity rather than by free choice--particularly the EU--which makes Turkey's foreign relations tenuous and puts its long-term security at risk.

Judiciary: According to the 2013 Global Corruption Barometer, 13% of households reported having to pay a bribe after coming into contact with the judiciary, which has increased in the past three years. The flaws of the Turkish judiciary have "undermined the acceptance of the ruling by all segments of Turkish society and tainted it with allegations of political score-settling."

An even-handed judiciary is necessary to have a healthy and sustainable democracy. But when it becomes corrupted, as it has in Turkey, it is not just the cases before a court that become compromised--there is a ripple effect that occurs, impacting on behavior of officials engaged in criminal activity and who feel they can continue to act in such a manner with impunity.

Military: According to the EU Progress Report 2016, extensive legal protection is given to counter-terrorism personnel and "the military and intelligence services continue to lack sufficient accountability in Parliament." The same report states that "Access to audit reports by the Turkish Court of Accounts on the security, defense and intelligence agencies remains restricted."

Erdogan has replaced hundreds of generals, which led to a reduction in strategic planning and overall quality of military effectiveness. His purge of the military high brass three years ago on charges of conspiring to topple the government has eroded Turkey's position in NATO.

Similarly, the purge of the top echelon of the military following the July 2016 coup further weakened military preparedness, which raises serious questions about Turkey's military prowess and its effectiveness as a member of NATO.

Turkey defies the NATO charter that requires its members to "safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilization of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law." By not adhering to these principles, Turkey risks being potentially expelled, especially now that Erdogan appears to be increasingly gravitating toward Moscow.

Civil society: The EU Progress Report 2016 notes: "Participation by civil society in the budgetary process is poor...and independent civil society organizations are rarely involved in law- and policy-making processes."

Corruption creates fear in society--individuals who might otherwise wish to expose acts of corruption are now afraid to be implicated. According to Transparency International's Oya Ozarslan, "Today you can't offer people neither a good nor a bad example because corruption trials have become impossible in Turkey. This in turn legitimates the notion that [the corrupt] get away with it anyway."

The AK Party pledged "[to wage a] most intensive struggle [against corruption]," and fully ensure "transparency and accountability prevail in every area of public life... [to prevent] the pollution of politics," but then Erdogan himself rejected any practical measures to tackle corruption, fearing damaging exposure.

Sadly, much of what Erdogan aspired for could have been realized had he continued the reforms he initiated and brought Turkey to the international status he desired without resorting to authoritarianism.

After 15 years in power, Erdogan provides a classic example of how power corrupts. It is time for the public and the opposition parties to demand that he leaves the political scene and allow the formation of a democratically-elected government to begin the process of stemming corruption.

Otherwise, Turkey will forfeit its huge potential of becoming a significant player on the international stage.

See original here:
Erdogan: A Classic Case Of How Power Corrupts - Huffington Post

The Russian ultra-nationalist dubbed Putins Rasputinby Breitbart News when it was run by PresidentDonald Trumps chief strategist, Steve Bannon, has emerged as an unlikely foreign-policy fixer for the Kremlin.

AlexanderDugin, whose bushy beard gives him a passing resemblance to the Siberian mystic who bewitched the last czars family, says he played a key but largely clandestine role in patching up Russias relations with Turkey, an account confirmed by a senior figure in Ankara. And with people he calls ideological allies now in the White House, Dugin says hes bullish on better ties with the U.S., too.

Photographer: Alexander Vilf/Sputnik

After Turkey shot down a Russian warplane along the Syrian border in 2015, prompting World War III to trend on Twitter, the firebrand philosopher used his contacts in both countries to form a backchannel that helped Vladimir Putin and PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoganend an increasingly dangerous feud, according to a retired Turkish general who flew to Moscow for secret talks.

The rapprochement allowed Putin to outmaneuver the Obama administration and turn the tide in Syrias civil war on behalf ofBashar al-Assad. ForDugin, whose views on the evils of liberalism have been cited by Bannon and other far-right leaders, it also moved Russia a step closer to fulfilling his vision of unwinding the U.S.-led global order, in part by luring Turkey away from NATO and creating a Russo-Islamic pact that includes Iran.

Dugin, the son of a Soviet military-intelligence official, said being independent makes him an effective go-between in matters of state. The 55-year-old rabble-rouser, blacklisted by the U.S. for aiding the insurgency in Ukraine, has no official post. But he has advised a member of Putins inner circle and written a textbook on geopolitics thats been used by the military.

I can talk to people like an official cant,Duginsaid in his Moscow office at Tsargrad TV, where hes a commentator and chief editor. A diplomat says what hes told. What does a military man say? Even less. And an intelligence officer? Nothing at all. You dont understand where the truth lies. I speak from the perspective of geopolitics. Thats why the Turks started to trust me.

Dugin, whos been described as everything from an occult fascist to a mystical imperialist, lost his prestigious job running the sociology department at Moscow State University in 2014 after activists accused him of encouraging genocide. Thousands of people signed a petition calling for his removal after a rant in support of separatists in Ukraine in which he said, kill, kill, kill.

The Kremlin, which gave the prolific polemicist prominent airtime on the biggest networks to cheerlead during the annexation of Crimea in 2014, has kept him at arms length since he criticized Putin for not taking more of Ukraine. When asked ifDuginplayed a role in the detente with Turkey, Putins spokesman,Dmitry Peskov, said, No.

Hes seen as a brilliant philosopher, but brilliance and madness are very close to each other, said Sergei Markov, a political consultant to Putins staff. Even thoughDugins not an official envoy, Markov said, he appears to have given the Turks some very good advice.

Duginmade everyone happy by organizing a November visit to Crimea by a Turkish delegation that included one of Erdogans cousins, a few weeks after meeting Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in Ankara, Markov said. The trip was a major fillip for Russias efforts to gain recognition for Putins annexation of the Black Sea peninsula, which provoked U.S. and European sanctions.

Incredibly beautifulone of the best moments of my life, Dugin said after Trumps inauguration.

Dugins writings, in dozens of books and countless blogs, have made him an influential thinker not only in Turkey, but also Iran, wheres hes a frequent visitor, and among anti-establishment parties that are on the rise throughout the West, a trend that is welcomed by Russias leadership.

Apart from Turkey only two countries really pay attention to meIran and the U.S.,Duginsaid.

The foreword to one of his books was written by a retired U.S. professor, Paul Gottfried, a Trump supporter who was among the first political philosophers to use the term alternative right to describe the radical conservative movement. In July 2016, a month before he joined the Trump campaign, Bannon described Breitbart as the platform for the alt-right.

In a video address to a Vatican conference in 2014, Bannon, whose White House role has beenelevated to include a seat on Trumps National Security Council, defended the traditionalist views espoused byDuginand other nationalists who want sovereignty for their country. Dugin said hes never met Bannon.

Dugins role in resolving the crisis with Erdogan over the jet incident was confirmedby Ismail Hakki Pekin, a former head of Turkish military intelligence. He was one of five members of the Patriotic Party, including a fellow retired general and a retired admiral, who flew to Moscow in December 2015 for four days of meetings thatDuginarranged with current and retired Russian officers.

Russian warplane violating Turkish airspace is downed in Kizildag region of Turkey's Hatay province, close to the Syrian border, on November 24, 2015. A jet brought down after violating Turkish airspace was given 10 warnings over a five-minute period.

Photographer: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

During the visit,Dugintook the Turkish delegation to a secret room in a special place to meet his benefactor,Konstantin Malofeev, a multimillionaire with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church, Pekin said in an interview in Ankara.

Duginand Malofeev, whos also under U.S. sanctions for supporting the revolt in Ukraine, started Tsargrad, an old name for Constantinople, in 2015 and the TV channel now has some 20 million viewers. It was the only major station to carry a speech former Trump adviserCarter Pagegave in Moscow last year.

Pekin saidDuginintroduced Malofeev as Putins right-hand man, and the Turks came to learn the financier really can knock on Putins door.

Thats how the trip became effective, Pekin said. We knew what we said went directly to Putin.

And what they said was that Erdogan had nothing to do with downing the bomber the previous month. Pekin said he and his colleagues were successful in convincing the Russians they spoke with, including two plainclothes generals, that rogue elements in the military were responsible for the shootdown.

It was a conspiracy involving followers ofFethullah Gulen, a reclusive cleric based in Pennsylvania, and U.S. and NATO officials who wanted to drive a wedge between Russia and Turkey, said Pekin, who briefed senior diplomats and military officials in Ankara after the Moscow trip.

Pekin saidDuginhad sought out the two retired Turkish generals and former admiral specifically because they all had a history opposing Erdogan and spent time in jail for alleged plots to overthrow the government, which made them more credible in the eyes of their Russian interlocutors.

Vladimir Putin and Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in October.

Photographer: Dmitry Azarov/Kommersant via Getty Images

In March, with tensions between Putin and Erdogan still simmering,Duginflew to Ankara for a follow up visit that included talks with relatives of Erdogan and other influential figures.

Duginsaid he told the Turks that arresting the person accused of shooting dead one of the Russian pilots as he tried to parachute to safety would go along way toward re-establishing relations. The next day, on March 30, the suspect was taken into custody in the eastern city of Izmir.

They said they were carrying out an investigation and that Erdogan would apologize, saidDugin, who passed on the information to Russian officials.

Three months later, on June 27, with Turkeys economy squeezed by the trade curbs Russia introduced after the shootdown, Erdogan finally expressed regret for the incident, paving the way for a resumption of ties.

But less than three weeks later, on July 15, something Malofeev andDugin warned about back in that secret room came truean attempted coup by disgruntled members of the military, according to Pekin.

Malofeev dismissed the assertion hes Putin's right-hand man as a flattering exaggeration. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, denied the financier played a role in the rapprochement with Turkey.

Dugin, a dissident in the 1980s who co-founded the National Bolshevik party after communism ended, was in Ankara at the time of the military revolt. He gave a series of TV interviews in support of the Turkish leaders decision to mend ties with Russia, the last of which, at state-run TRT Haber, concluded just 2 1/2 hours before the coup plotters seized the station.

Erdogan blamed Gulen and his U.S. benefactors for the putsch, responding with a sweeping crackdown of suspected Gulenists that has upended society and driven Turkey and Russia closer together. The re-energized partnership was put to the test in December, when Russias ambassador to Turkey was assassinated by a police officer in Ankara.

That was the last attempt by the outgoing U.S. administration and the globalists to disrupt Russias rapprochement with Turkey,Duginsaid.

Duginhas delighted in watching Russia and Turkey take the reins in resolving the Syrian crisis, elbowing the U.S. aside.

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Dugin, who has long predicted the demise of the Wests liberal hegemony, said the election of Trump has been a watershed development that promises to change the course of world history.

Incredibly beautifulone of the best moments of my life, he said after Trumps inauguration.

After decades of railing against Washington for seeking the Westernization of all of humanity, Trumps elevation has led to a Damascene conversion for Dugin, who declared anti-Americanism over.

America not only isnt an opponent, its a potential ally under Trump, he said.

NowDugins focusing on Europe, where hes been cultivating ties with anti-establishment parties that threaten a political and military union seven decades in the making.

With key elections in France, Germany and the Netherlands this year, the Russian polemicist has a new mantra for Europe thats ripped straight out of Trumps campaign playbook:

Drain theswamp.

With assistance from Stepan Kravchenko and JoshuaGreen.

Continue reading here:
The One Russian Linking Putin, Erdogan and Trump - Bloomberg

By Ilhan Toprak

ANKARA

The evil Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) exploited the Turkish peoples appreciation for education, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday.

FETO supporters -- including academics, judicial officials, police officers, soldiers, teachers and business figures -- had followed a charlatans false claims, he told the audience at a Turkish Academy of Sciences awards ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Ankara.

Like many heretical structures, FETO members have lost their way, Erdogan said. Forgetting what they are and who they are, they have become mankurt who do exactly what their owner orders.

A mankurt is a Turkic word to describe someone whose mind is enslaved by another.

FETO, led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen, is held to be responsible for the July coup attempt in Turkey. Gulen spent decades establishing a network of schools and exam-cramming colleges in Turkey, whose students would go on to find careers in the state.

According to the government, these supporters in the armed forces, police, judiciary, business and elsewhere have been used in an attempt to subvert the legitimate administration, with the coup attempt being the latest and most obvious example.

FETO has also established a network of education institutions and businesses overseas.

The ceremony heard Erdogan congratulate 35 academics and scientists for their contribution to Turkeys development.

We really have progressed in this process to build a new and great Turkey from the way that science has enlightened us, he said.

Original post:
Erdogan: FETO members became unthinking slaves - Anadolu Agency

Deutsche Welle

A conversation with Asli Erdogan Deutsche Welle Arts.21. A conversation with Asli Erdogan. Turkish writer Asl Erdoan was recently released from jail. A conversation about the experience; the current climate of fear in Turkey and political support from outside the country. and more »

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A conversation with Asli Erdogan - Deutsche Welle

The statement comes after the Turkish President held a meeting with UK Prime Minister Theresa May, who arrived on an official visit to Ankara earlier today following her trip to the US.

Photo by: AA

British Prime Minister Theresa May meets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on 28 January 2017.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said Turkey hoped to boost annual trade volume with Britain to $20 billion from the existing $15.6 billion.

The statement came after President Erdogan held a meeting withUK Prime MinisterTheresa May, who arrived on an official visit to Ankara earlier today following her trip to the US, where she met with President Donald Trump.

Erdogan also said an important step between the two countries would be taken on Turkey's TF-X fighter jet project.

May said she discussed issues relating to Cyprus and Syria in addition to stepping up aviation security cooperation withErdogan.

She said the UK wanted to build anopportunity for trade to benefit both countries.

May, who on Friday became the first foreign leader to meet new USPresident Donald Trump, is pushing to expand Britain's trade relations with countries outside the European Union in preparation for its exit from the bloc in about two years' time.

The British premier is also expected to meet with Prime MinisterBinali Yldrm.

TRT World's Alican Ayanlarreports from Ankara.

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Erdogan says Turkey hopes to boost annual trade with UK to $20B - TRT World