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Tens of Thousands at Anti-Erdogan Protest amid Vast Graft Probe
[An Nahar] Tens of thousands of demonstrators erupted into the streets of Turkey's capital Ankara Saturday in protest against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi only they haven't dumped him yet... 's government, which has been rocked by a vast corruption probe. As Erdogan arrived home after a week-long tour to Asia, about 20,000 protesters gathered at Ankara's major Sihhiye Square, chanting "revolution will clean this filth" and "they are thieves". Some protesters were also handing out fake dollars with Erdogan's photo on them. The corruption scandal implicating close allies of Erdogan has rattled his government to its core, and poses the biggest challenge to his 11-year rule. It erupted on December 17, when several public figures, including high-profile businessmen and the sons of three ministers, were detained over allegations of bribery for construction projects as well as illicit money transfers to sanctions-hit Iran. Forced into a major cabinet reshuffle after the three concerned ministers resigned, the firebrand ... firebrandsare noted more for audio volume and the quantity of spittle generated than for any actual logic in their arguments... prime minister has responded angrily to the probe, calling it a "dirty plot" to discredit his government. He sacked hundreds of police chiefs in a major purge and has moved to curb the powers of the judiciary. Erdogan's government, in power since 2002, has accused loyalists of U.S.-exiled holy man Fethullah Gulen, whose movement wields influence in the police and judiciary, of instigating the corruption probe. Lami Ozgen, one of the protest leaders, said the scandal shed light on the true face of both the government and the Gulen movement. "The crisis has made it known to the public how those who abuse religion and faith... are fond of wealth, luxury and splendor, how they worship money and how they see bribery as their direction to Mecca," Ozgen said. Gulen was a major supporter of Erdogan's ruling AKP party when it first came to power in 2002. Posted by: Fred 2014-01-12 |
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