January 23, 2014

I wish none of this had happened

Cafer Solgun

The ruling party described the Dec. 17, 2013 corruption probe as a coup attempt and started an illegal process through which it removed many public employees.

Lambsdorff: PM's explanations on corruption cases were not convincing

The vice-chairman of the Liberal Group in the European Parliament, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, who represented his group in the meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday, said he was not convinced by the arguments put forward by the Turkish prime minister to explain the corruption cases which erupted on Dec. 17 and the unfolding events afterwards.

Gülen's lawyer warns about possible doctored tapes

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen's lawyer warned the public on Wednesday about the existence of possible voice recordings of his client which could have been edited and doctored in order to mislead people about Gülen.

İpek Holding chairman denies reports about alleged mansion for Gülen

Koza İpek Holding's chairman, Akın İpek, who is known for his support for the Hizmet movement inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, released a statement on Thursday denying reports in the Sabah and Takvim dailies which had claimed that İpek has been constructing a luxury villa for Gülen.

MHP deputy dismissed gang allegations against Hizmet Movement

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Adana Deputy Seyfettin Yılmaz stated that it would be a great wrongdoing to deem a person as gang affiliated without any verdict of conviction by a prosecutor, referring to Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen who inspired the Hizmet Movement.

EU to wait before taking action

Lale Kemal

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is understood to have failed to convince the European Union leadership of the existence of a parallel state allegedly supported by what he calls the international circles that he believes have been undermining his government, in power for more than 11 years, through a graft scandal that was disclosed on Dec. 17 of last year.

UN and Turkish charity provide 17,000 Syrian refugees with financial aid

In a project jointly carried out by Turkish charity Kimse Yok Mu and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 2,900 Syrian families comprising some 17,000 people, most of whom are women and children who fled the civil war in Syria and sought refuge in Turkey, are being provided with financial aid totaling TL 3.5 million ($1.5 million).

Shocking change and disappointed hearts…

Begüm Burak

Since 2010, democratization efforts have slowed down to an important degree.