A tentative glossary of Dec. 17 process

A brand new glossary of Turkish politics inclusive of new names and concepts has emerged in the aftermath of the Dec. 17 corruption and bribery operation.

Shoebox, Hello Fatih, Hello Daddy have become symbols of corruption and bribery, while Reza Zarrab, Yasin al Qadi, Uncle Latif and Fatih Saraç have played leading roles in many leaked recordings subsequently published online by anonymous Twitter and YouTube accounts.

In the leaked recordings, a number of people, including the prime minister, members of his family, government officials and businessmen, appear to be discussing, among other things, "zeroing" large sums of money out of fear the police may find the cash, interference in media coverage of news critical of the government and bribe schemes. A number of controversial public statements by government officials in the post-Dec.17 era have also introduced new phrases into the Turkish political vocabulary. Here is a guide to the main actors and terms involved in the corruption probe and the leaked recordings.

Lead players of the Dec. 17 process

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: Prime minister of the Republic of Turkey

Bilal Erdoğan: Younger son of the prime minister

Berat Albayrak: Prime minister's son-in-law

Sümeyye Erdoğan: Prime minister's daughter

Fatih Saraç: One of the government's commissioners in the media

Uncle Latif (Topbaş): A businessman who has close ties with Erdoğan

Muammer Akkaş: One of the prosecutors who initiated the Dec. 17 investigation

Yasin el Kadı: A Saudi businessman who has close ties with the prime minister

Rıza Zarrab: An Iranian businessman who played a lead role in the corruption and bribery case

Efkan Ala: Interior minister

Fatih Altaylı: Editor-in-chief of the Habertürk daily

Yalçın Akdoğan: Prime minister's chief advisor

Süleyman Aslan: General manager of Halkbank

Mustafa Varank: Prime minister's advisor

Cengiz Kalyon: Businessman

Ali Ağaoğlu: Businessman

Babek Zencani: An Iranian businessman who was allegedly Zarrab's boss and placed under arrest in Iran

Popular statements and remarks in Dec. 17 process

Shoebox: $4.5 million placed in shoeboxes in Halkbank General Manager Süleyman Aslan's house

National Intelligence Agency (MİT) trucks: Trucks searched by the security forces; it was not certain whether or not these trucks were carrying weapons to Syria

Hello Daddy: The way Bilal responded to his father, the prime minister, over the phone

Hello Fatih: An executive director at Habertürk TV; the prime minister urged him to change a news ticker

Did you zero (it)?: The prime minister's implicit question asking his son, Bilal, whether or not he took the whole amount of money out of his house

Pool media: The media outlets the prime minister purchased by monies he collected from the businessmen who won the public tenders

Urla and Çatalca villas: The villas the prime minister and his relatives constructed illegally

Take from the (Nationalist Movement Party) MHP, move it to the (Peace and Democracy Party) BDP: The prime minister's request for manipulating public surveys

A benevolent businessman: Prime minister's reference to Zarrab, a lead suspect in the corruption investigation

You should tip the prostitute and the civil servant in advance: The bribe money Zarrab sent to Cabinet members

I'll cover you with my body: Assurance by Interior Minister Muammer Güler that Zarrab would not be arrested

A few dimes; around 1 trillion: Güler's son tells his father the amount of the money in his house

30 million euros are left: Amount of money Bilal Erdoğan was unable to take out of the house

Bilal, you do not understand: Prime minister's reaction to Bilal who did not understand his tactics to do with the Fenerbahçe soccer club

Is it zakat or the other type? Bilal is asking the type of money that Saraç would send to the Foundation of Youth and Education in Turkey (TÜRGEV)

They will fall into our lap: The prime minister tells Bilal that the amount of the bribe is not enough and that they will need them

I expect your benevolence: Prime minister's chief advisor İbrahim Kalın asks a businessman to cover his daughter's tuition

Sobbing: Media mogul Erdoğan Demirören sobs because of insults by the prime minister

Tell them that you do not recognize them: Efkan Ala threatens a journalist

Who are you; we defeated your masterminds: Efkan Ala threatens Fethullah Gülen

10 million euros are missing: Minister Zafer Çağlayan tells Zarrab that the amount of the bribery is not enough

Mini ship: The sixth ship prime minister's elder son, Burak, purchased

They would take us down: In a tape recording involving a phone conversation between a minister and a bureaucrat, they say that they would be taken down if a report by the Court of Accounts is referred to Parliament

Ali, Yiğit does not agree with you: The prime minister tells Economy Minister Ali Babacan, who says that interest rates should be increased, that Yiğit Bulut, economy advisor, is opposed to this idea.

Ask me why I did this: Erdoğan admits to interfering with the judiciary and media but argues he did this for the nation

You take the law too seriously: Bilal Erdoğan notes that the laws can be ignored in the purchase of a land for TÜRGEV

Erdoğan is a righteous caliph: Some journalists who have close ties with the government argue that unless Erdoğan recites the religious sermons, Friday prayers are not obligatory

I started smoking after being berated by the prime minister: Mehmet Cengiz, a businessman who has close ties with the government, says that he started smoking after being berated by the prime minister

Encrypted phone: The phones the prime minister and his family members use; it is technically hard to wiretap these phones

Tall man: This became part of the glossary after a remark by Minister Taner Yıldız, who argued, in reference to the prime minister, that they damn the tall man

A politician is engaged in screwing with people, not losing: A remark by Minister Bülent Arınç suggesting that politics is all about hypocrisy

You'll survive if we are there: Arınç says religious communities survive thanks to the AK Party

They make me do all the dirty jobs: Response by minister Erdoğan Bayraktar to İstanbul Public Housing Corporation (KİPTAŞ) president

This is what you get if you do not submit: Hasan Palaz, who resigned from the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), argues that he was threatened by his superiors who told him that this is what he gets if he does not submit to their orders

This is public, not private: The opposition parties justify the broadcast of the leaked tapes by recalling the prime minister's previous remark in a similar situation when he said the tapes were public, not private

You will not comply with the call if you are summoned: Erdoğan told MİT Chair Hakan Fidan that he would not comply with the call if he is summoned to testify

Prime minister will like my column: The column Nagehan Alçı, one of the journalists who support the government, wants to publish in Milliyet daily

Damn this sort of journalism: Derya Sazak, who was fired from the Milliyet daily, published a book, “Damn this sort of journalism,” a remark the prime minister has frequently made during his election campaign

An oligarchic structure: Former minister İdris Naim Şahin, who resigned from the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) said an oligarchic structure rules the party

Süleyman send 2 million, will you? A media executive who was unable to pay the salaries asked Halkbank general manager to send him TL 2 million

If you are merciful, then you will need mercy: Erdoğan implied by this remark that he will not be merciful to his opponents

The prime minister should resign, too: Minister Erdoğan Bayraktar, who resigned after the corruption scandal, said the prime minister should also resign because he endorsed all corruption cases

Yezid: Editor-in-chief of Zaman daily responded to the prime minister, who called members of the Hizmet movement assassins by making reference to one of the most controversial leaders of the history of Islam, Yezid

Recepi: Professors working at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University named three new fish species they discovered after Erdoğan and his wife: Emineae, Velioglui, Recepi

Insults against Hizmet movement

Parallel structure: The prime minister argues that Hizmet movement infiltrates in the state to create a parallel state

Pineapple: The prime minister refers to the pineapples Fethullah Gülen sent to Mustafa Koç as gifts as the codename of an operation

Assassin: The prime minister refers to members of the Hizmet movement as assassins, members of the bloodiest terror organization in history

Fake scholar, false prophet: This is how the prime minister describes Gülen in a conference held by the religious affairs directorate

The person in Pennsylvania: Erdoğan calls Gülen by this reference

Gülen will return like Khomeini: The Erdoğan media argues that Gülen will return to Turkey like Khomeini

They do not have kids: The prime minister said opposition leader Devlet Bahçeli and Gülen do not have children

Imam of the MIT, the judiciary and the police: Erdoğan-affiliated media often argues that the parallel state has its representatives and leaders within the judiciary and police

Porn lobby; sermon lobby: Erdoğan-affiliated media refers to the Hizmet movement, which stages opposition to the Internet regulations

They are the same as the (Kurdistan Communities Union) KCK: Orhan Atalay and Muhyittin Aksak from the AK Party argue that the Hizmet movement is like the KCK, the urban organization of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)

Controversial statements from a religious perspective

Our mercy exceeds our wrath: Erdoğan adapted an expression attributed to Allah to himself

The greatest title: Minister Egemen Bağış says that being companion of the prime minister is the greatest title

I would have understood if this had been done by an atheist or a Jew: A reaction by Minister Zafer Çağlayan

Freedom to commit a sin: AK Party deputy Metin Külünk argues that their freedom to commit a sin was taken away from them by the tapes

We are stoning Satan: An insult by Efkan Ala against the Hizmet movement

Zakat by religious people: A conservative writer, Emine Şenlikoğlu, says that the bribe money might be zakat money sent by the religious people to the prime minister

Discrimination

That judge is an Alevi: Justice Minister tells Erdoğan that the judge who acquitted media mogul Aydın Doğan was an Alevi

Gülen is philosemitic: Erdoğan-affiliated media and his advisors refer to Gülen as philosemitic

Gülen is a CIA and MOSSAD agent: Erdoğan and his media argue that Gülen, who lives in the US, is a CIA and MOSSAD agent

The US is sponsoring the Hizmet movement: Erdoğan and his supporters raise this argument all the time

Gülen cooperates with al-Qaeda: Erdoğan-affiliated media argues that Gülen cooperates with al-Qaeda

Gülen is anti-Kurd: Erdoğan media argues that Gülen is anti-Kurd; but sometimes, they also argue that he is asking votes for the pro-Kurdish BDP

Kurds and Alevis are non-Muslim; they are minorities: Sabah daily refers to the Kurds and Alevis as non-Muslim and minorities in its English version

Titles of accounts, places and companies

Eftelya: Escort service from which Zarrab picks girls

TÜRGEV: A so-called philanthropic institution headed by Bilal Erdoğan, which came up in many recorded tapes as the center of the bribery network

Kaleidoscope Sound: An American company that allegedly confirmed the tapes were fake. However, the company denied this allegation by the government

Haramzadeler-Başçalan: Twitter accounts that broadcast the corruption tapes

Bank Asya: A bank Erdoğan has been trying to eliminate; Erdoğan urged businessmen and public institutions to withdraw their monies from the bank

Kabataş: Erdoğan argued that a woman wearing a headscarf was attacked in Kabataş during the Gezi Park protests; however, the images of surveillance cameras showed that this allegation was untrue

Iran: During his visit to Iran, the prime minister said: “I feel I am in my second home.”

Fenerbahçe: A soccer club of which the prime minister wanted to seize control

Dec. 17 in diplomacy

Ahmet, shall I explain? US Secretary of State John Kerry responded to Ahmet Davutoğlu on the allegations that the US interfered with the domestic affairs of Turkey

Brookings is owned and operated by the Hizmet movement: Media outlets close to Erdoğan argue that famous American think tank Brookings Institute is owned and operated by the Hizmet movement

His political opponents are political pigmies: The Financial Times says that even though he is experiencing hard times in politics, Erdoğan is still the dominant political figure in Turkey because his opponents are politically pigmies

Hologram Erdoğan: In reference to Erdoğan, who delivers his speech via a hologram, The Guardian says that he is not a ghost, but Turkey's prime minister

Cameron also shut down a newspaper: Britain officially refuted the allegation by Erdoğan that British Premier David Cameron shut down a newspaper

Erdoğan is becoming paranoiac: A statement by The Daily Telegraph

Riccardione, go home: The media outlets that have close ties with the government asked American envoy Francis Ricciardone to leave Turkey, arguing that the US interfered with Turkey's internal affairs.

Published on Sunday's Zaman, 16 March 2014, Sunday