AKP Watch

AKP Watch September 30th, 2007

History is full of unimportant men who lived like a creep till fulfilling their destiny. When their time has come, they obey the masters and instantly became historical figures by leaving ugly scars in the face of civilization. Like Harvey Oswald who murdered Kennedy or Ogün Samast who shot Hrant Dink dead. The masters of puppets always remained unknown. But not this time!

A Radikal Islamist and AK Party Supporter

Ali Kütüklü was one of those unimportant men who fired bullets to the free speech. He is an radical islamist and a die hard supporter of AK Party, one day, told by his master’s that it’s the time to fulfill his destiny. With a little help from Fethullah Gülen’s lawyers, he went to court in eastern city of Sivas and obtained an order to block the video-sharing site because of clips that it considered insulting to President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

YouTube ban has nothing to do with Atatürk

Kütüklü and the usual suspects (AK Party Officals in Sivas and Fethullah Gülen’s sect) added Atatürk’s name to the court documents, just to cover up their mess and distract the public. Fortunately public is not fooled. AK Party and Islamist see Atatürk as an infidel and biggest enemy. It’s ironic to see Islamists who do everything possible to wipe out Atatürk legacy from Turkey, now changed their minds to protect his memory. Sounds very suspicious!

AK Party’s Crusade Against Free Speech

Since AK Party is controlling most of the major media outlets in Turkey, WordPress and YouTube became a center of political opposition, especially during the recent elections, opposition parties made a good use of internet as a free speech platform. AK Party got worried and decided to address this problem by employing a new strategy, a strategy to covertly silence the leading free speech platforms in the world. The first victims were YouTube and WordPress.

The strategy is simple: First, find a wacko/freak like Adnan Oktar or Ali Kütüklü, then covertly provide them full legal aid, send them to courts and the most importantly always have the luxury of plausible deniability: deny any connection to or awareness of such act with the AK Party.

Google/YouTube Cooperates with Islamists

It was shocking for us when YouTube announced that it’s ready cooperate with Islamist in Turkey to remove the inappropriate content out of YouTube. It’s very sad to see a very Silicon Valley/Bay Area firm Google/YouTube’s betrayed their roots and cooperate with Islamists to bash free speech.

The Bay Area was once the center progressive movement and maybe considered to be most openminded place to live, witnessed even The Free Speech Movement led by Mario Savio and his historical speech in the Sproul Hall in University of Berkeley. Now Google/YouTube -an offspring of bay area’s progressive culture- is selling out the most important principle of western civilization -the free speech- to islamists for a fistful of petro-dollars.

Remembering Sivas (Hotel Madimak) Massacre

Eastern city of Sivas was always been an stronghold for radical islamist where Sivas Massacre took place. On July 2, 1993 (not 1493 of middle ages) radical islamists provoked by AK Party’s precursor, Islamist Walfare Party (President Abdullah Gul was Vice President of Walfare Party by then) gathered around Madimak Hotel and shouted for death to the infidels. The hotel was arsoned, flames engulfed several floors causing burned alive 37 people among whom were many famous and precious musicians, poets, few foreigners, guests, staff of hotel and even 2 of the attackers.

Walfare Party deputy Şevket Kazan, an attorney voluntary signup to defend the perpetrators and it’s ironic since he later promoted and became Minister of Justice!

Recently AK Party rejected CHP proposal to turn Hotel Madımak into a museum to remember the tragedy.

• AK Party , AKP , Free Speech , Freedom of Press , Islamist , Islamofascism , Opposition , Turkey , YouTube
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AKP Watch September 3rd, 2007

Glenn Simpson of Wall Street Journal revealed the connection between Qadi and Erdoğan on his article called “Well Connected, A Saudi Mogul Skirts Sanctions”. 

Glenn Simpson is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal covering money laundering and other financial crime, including terrorist financing, tax evasion and corporate misconduct. Below the highlights from Simpson’s article:
Erdoğan: I trust him the same way I trust my father 

“Yassin Qadi is a well-known multimillionaire, founder of a large supermarket chain here [in Turkey] and a close friend of the Turkish premier. “I trust him the same way I trust my father,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on national television last year.”

According UN and US Treasury: A Major Financier of Islamic Terrorism

“But the Saudi businessman also is a major financier of Islamic terrorism with close business associates who are members of al Qaeda, according to the U.S. Treasury and the United Nations Security Council. At Washington’s request, the Security Council ordered Mr. Qadi’s assets frozen a few weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S.”

“The asset freeze has largely crippled Mr. Qadi’s international business empire. But previously undisclosed records show he has managed to free up millions of dollars of holdings in Turkey, in apparent violation of the Security Council sanctions — and without incurring punishment by Turkish authorities.”

“Mr. Qadi’s friendship with the prime minister also plays into the growing debate in Turkey over the role of Islam in a secular society. Turkey’s Parliament for the first time yesterday elected a politician with an Islamist background, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, to the presidency. Immediately after being sworn in, Mr. Gul pledged impartiality, saying, “Secularism — one of the main principles of our republic — is a precondition for social peace.” But the development nonetheless has heightened concern about the direction this pivotal nation, poised between East and West, is taking.”

Erdogan government intervened in Turkish courts 

“U.S. diplomats lodged strong objections last year when the Erdogan government intervened in Turkish courts to try to lift the freeze on Mr. Qadi’s Turkish assets, according to U.S. officials. The Turkish government reversed course.”

Erdoğan is far less interested in combating terrorism  

“That Erdogan personally vouches for this man…raises the possibility that the prime minister of Turkey is far less interested in combating terrorism than he says,” said former Defense Department aide Michael Rubin, a conservative critic of the Turkish government who has close ties to top officials in the Bush administration.”

Top Prosecutors of the case was recently fired by Erdoğan

“Two reports by Turkey’s financial police allege potential money-laundering and other possible crimes by Mr. Qadi and unnamed associates. But Turkish prosecutors declined to bring criminal cases in both 2004 and 2006, citing a lack of evidence. Mr. Erdogan’s political opponents say the probes were quashed by the Finance Ministry. The top officer on the case was recently fired. According to the government, he abused his authority to investigate top politicians.”

AK Party’s Chief Adviser Cuneyt Zapsu supported Al Qaeda linked Islamic Charity

“Mr. Zapsu, who in 2001 helped Mr. Erdogan found the Justice and Development Party, also supported an Islamic charity Mr. Qadi founded that is at the center of the U.S. and Security Council decision to freeze the Saudi businessman’s assets. A Turkish financial-police report seen by The Wall Street Journal found that in the 1990s, Mr. Zapsu and his mother gave $300,000 to Mr. Qadi’s Muwafaq charity, which U.S. officials labeled a front for al Qaeda shortly after 9/11.”

“Central Intelligence Agency reports say Muwafaq, now defunct, specialized in purchasing and smuggling arms for Islamic radicals. The U.S. government’s special commission on the Sept. 11, 2001, attack and law-enforcement agencies have cited Saudi-backed Islamic charities as a primary source of funding for al Qaeda.”

“Mr. Zapsu also has business ties to two Islamic banks funded with Saudi capital — Dallah Al Baraka and Dar Al Mal Al Islam — that were accused of supporting al Qaeda in civil suits filed by families of Sept. 11 victims in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Both defendants adamantly deny the allegations, and the court dismissed claims against Al Baraka.”

Charitable Terrorist 

“Some of Mr. Qadi’s dealings in Turkey are recounted in a 2006 book, “Charitable Terrorist,” by Nedim Sener. Mr. Qadi has filed a defamation suit in an Istanbul court against Mr. Sener, who in the Turkish daily Milliyet also wrote of a real-estate deal involving Mr. Qadi that may also violate the Security Council sanctions. The sanctions, legally binding on U.N. member states, ban any large financial transactions or international travel by the roughly 350 individuals designated as terrorists or their sponsors.”

• AK Party , AKP , Al-Qaeda , Cüneyt Zapsu , Erdogan , Islamist , Terrorism , Turkey
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AKP Watch September 2nd, 2007

AKP Watch is sick and tired to write posts about Adnan Oktar, but he is not tired to seek court orders to ban bloggers in Turkey.  It’s look like Oktar committed to be an internet celebrity, even his fame will surpass famous Mahir of 99’s.

Bad news arrived as Jim Collela wrote on his blog: [CORRECTED] “the CNN Political Ticker Blog and Flickr Blog are also blocked because of the same court order (decision no.: 2007/195) enacted by Adnan Oktar.”

AKPWatch double checked and now it’s confirmed, the CNN Blog is also affected by the recent block of WordPress by AK Party connected Islamist/Creationist cult leader Adnan Oktar (a.k.a Harun Yahya). Oktar, acting like a proxy to AK Party, obtained a court order to block WordPress in Turkey which effected all WordPress powered sites, even the ones not using wordpress.com domain name, such as CNN Political Ticker and Yahoo owned Flickr Blog.

Adnan Oktar and his infamous creationist nonsense is very populer among AK Party circles, even an AK Party’s Gaziantep MP Ahmet Uzer distributed Oktar’s 800 pages Creationist book to member of parliments. (Source: mainstream turkish newspapers,  Radikal on 27/02/07, Sabah on 03/03/07, Vatan on 02/03/07) 

When MP Ahmet Uzer defended himself, he unintentionally revealed that Oktar’s creationist book –Atlas of Creation- approved by Ministry of Culture and Turism as a scientific book. (Source: OlayMedya)

Moreover AK Party officals decided that Adnan Oktar books will be purchased by all public libraries in Turkey. Currently legendary even poet Nazim Hikmet’s book are banned in public libraries in Turkey. (Source: Hurriyet on 03/02/07 and Hurriyet on 13/01/07)

Oktar and his famous book is favored among AK Party elements, for example, AKP appointed governors writes recommendation letters to distribute the book in the schools, multiple AK Party municipals including Ankara and Istanbul provides exhibition areas, childred from primary schools brought to those exhibitions, and more surprisingly Istanbul Governor approves Oktar aide to teach creationism seminars in schools (Source: mainstream Turkish newspapers, Hurriyet on 25/06/2006 and Radikal on 11/03/2007)

The fourth largest blogging platform in the world, WordPress, still remains banned in Turkey since 15th of August 2007.

• AK Party , AKP , Adnan Oktar , Censorship , Free Speech , Freedom of Press , Harun Yahya , Islamist , Turkey
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AKP Watch August 22nd, 2007

“If he is not yours [your president], then abandon your [Turkish] citizenship here, and go elsewhere where you can elect your president” said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (RTE), and he added “I have the right to tell people who cannot accept him [Abdullah Gül] that you must first abandon your Turkish citizenship and go elsewhere where you can elect whoever you want”

PM Erdoğan spared these words -during a live interview at a national broadcast network- against a well known journalist, Bekir Coşkun, who wrote on his column two weeks ago that Abdullah Gül could not be his president and he would not see him as such. After less than one month of AKP’s broad victory in general elections, Mr. Erdoğan has expressed his understanding of democracy as clearly and sharply as possible while many have been declaring Mr. Erdogan and his party, AKP, as the champion of democracy.

PM Erdoğan once more makes it clear that anybody who disagrees with them should leave his democratic Turkey. His democracy well fits in the frame of majority-dictatorship, and his election victory seems to be hardly more democratic than Hitler’s overwhelming election victories back then, which led his country to be transformed into the worst regime in the world.

PM Erdoğan is well known with his actions against journalists who criticize him publicly, and he had taken many of them to courts although courts rejected the most of such legal claims. In less than one month of his election victory, the accumulated power the election has provided to him has encouraged PM Erdoğan to openly implement his anti-democratic and fascist agenda. After the long-lasting pressure of PM Erdoğan and his party on a widely circulated national newspaper Hurriyet, another well known journalist, Emin Çölaşan, was dismissed from his position, which he held for 22 years. Hurriyet newspaper had been under intense pressure of the ruling party for a few years for Mr. Çölaşan’s dismissal. After the broad election victory of ruling party, Hurriyet could not resist the pressure any longer.

Unfortunately, we expect to see more of these kinds of outrages actions and expressions in the coming term of this fascist Islamist party administration and his satellite president when he takes the office.

• AKP , Erdogan , Free Speech , Freedom of Press , Islamist , Islamofascism , Opposition , Turkey
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AKP Watch August 20th, 2007

“This is the end of the republican period,” Mr Gül says flatly. “If 60 per cent of Ankara’s population is living in shacks, then the secular system has failed and we definitely want to change it.”

These are the words of the next to-be president, Abdullah Gül, of Turkey during an interview with The Guardian journalist Jonathan Rugman, and it was published on November 27, 1995.

After having run three Islamist political parties that were shutdown by the secular judicial system (those decisions were also approved by European Human Rights Court in response to appeals by Abdullah Gül and others), the current Islamist ruling party, AKP, is the fourth attempt, and it has developed a completely different strategy in order to be able to survive in secular democratic system by hiding its ultimate Islamist, anti Atatürk agenda.

With the lessons learned from previous three unsuccessful Islamist parties, AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (RTE) and other younger generation Islamist politicians have adopted a much smarter strategy to gain the power and execute their agenda to transform Turkey into an Islamist state while not being shut down again.

RTE and his company founded AKP in 2001, and won the general election one year later by loudly stating that they had changed and they were not followers of the three previous Islamist parties although they were all founders and high-ranking managers of those previous parties as well.

Not long time ago did they express their long lasting pro radical Islamist thoughts about various subjects, while they would soon, two or three years later, be adopting the new language of change, which is completely contrary to their almost three decades of political standing.

We want to put here some of these words that, in addition to Mr. Gül’s statement above, they said just before the new strategy has been adopted under the roof of the new Islamist party:

“Mosques are our barracks, domes our helmets, minarets our bayonets, believers our soldiers.” – RTE, 6 December 1997

“Democracy is not an aim but a means to an end.” – RTE

“We will turn all our schools into İmam Hatips [religious schools]” — RTE, Sept. 9, 1994

“Thank God Almighty, I am a servant of the Shari‘a.”— RTE, Nov. 21, 1994

“I am the imam of Istanbul.” — RTE, Jan. 8, 1995

“Democracy is like a train, we shall get out when we arrive at the station we want.” – RTE

Defying European Human Rights Court Decision on Headscarf Ban; PM RTE:
“Ulema, Not Courts, Have Right to Speak on Headscarf”
(Ulema: the arbiters of shari‘a law)

Defying Turkish Higher Court Decision on Headscraft Ban; PM RTE:
“Gentleman, what do you think who you’re? mecelle (shari’a law) may decide.”

There are many other these kinds of expressions against the spirit of the separation of the state and religion. It would be very naive to expect anybody to believe that they have changed and they now truly believe in democracy and its fundamentals such as secularism. They generally take subtle steps to undermine secular system but they in some occasions push for big steps up until there become significant public opposition and presidential veto.

One of such steps was to change the education system in the favor of religion. In May 2004, PM Erdoğan pushed an educational-reform bill that would have eased entry of religious-school graduates into Turkey’s university system. After the veto of President Sezer, the Turkish general staff — which has constitutional rights as defenders of secularism and the constitution — balked, forcing the AKP to shelve in order to prevent RTE from being sent the same bill to President again in which case President Sezer would have had to sign it into law since President cannot veto the same bill if the congress passes it without any change.

With the accumulation of significant power after the July 22nd general election, RTE have the chance to have his close friend elected as the next President of Turkey so that he can turn his power into an unchecked one, and he can get bills like education-reform bill signed into law without any difficulty and public debate. Unfortunately, Turkey’s absence of checks and balances is going to be observed dramatically in coming years. It may cause either significant diversion from Atatürk’s reforms or ending up with another military intervention since armed forces has constitutional rights to protect Atatürk’s reforms, especially secularism.

• AKP , Gül , Islamist , Islamofascism , Turkey
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