Watergate scenes in Ankara: Who bugged the CHP?
Turkish press is full of stories about illegal interception of communications of politicians in Turkey as well as news about a new draft Data Protection Bill. I will post further information about these developments too.
Watergate scenes in Ankara: Who bugged the CHP? - Turkish Daily News May 29, 2008: ” It was two weeks ago when the Constitutional Court’s Vice President Osman Paksüt alleged he was being stalked, and yesterday a political party also denounced security officials for eavesdropping on private meetings in the party’s headquarters and providing the illegally acquired information to an Islamic daily, likening it to a Turkish Watergate.
Leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, Deniz Baykal claimed that the room of the party’s general secretary was bugged by security forces, and tapped conversations were leaked to an Islamic daily, Vakit, at a press conference yesterday.
Some illegal organizations nestled within state institutions are systematically employing technological means against some citizens. It is obviously the government who controls these actions, Baykal said.
Ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Vice President Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat accused Baykal of being paranoid and speaking nonsense, during a press conference.
Fırat said the conversation between the CHP’s general secretary, Önder Sav, with former Bolu Governor Ali SerindaÄŸ, which was published in daily Vakit, is ugly talk, and it is a violation of law. ‘We will take Baykal’s claims to court. We will make him carry the burden of his words, and stay committed to this,’ he said.
Interior Minister BeÅŸir Atalay said he ordered the Ankara governor to file a criminal complaint, and summoned prosecutors to investigate claims. We must shed light on this event, if the claims are true, it is a dire violation not only of law, but also of ethics, Atalay said.
The Islamic daily and the formation within the state was unveiled and they were caught red handed. Turkey has never witnessed such an incident before, said Baykal, and compared the event to the Watergate scandal in the United States, when a series of illegal eavesdropping activities were discovered to be authorized by the then U.S. President Richard Nixon, ultimately leading to his resignation in 1974.
The party headquarters were thoroughly searched, but no trace of bugging was found, raising suspicions that the office was being tapped from outside the party’s premises.
Atalay nevertheless criticized Baykal for going too far in his claims. Baykal said security structure is responsible for the tapping. But as yet there is no full investigation. I reject Baykal’s words. If he has some information, he should share it with us, Atalay said, stressing that spewing unfounded accusations is wrong.
If a similar thing happened in any democracy in the world, the responsible minister and prime minister would leave his post immediately, Baykal argued.
CHP takes parliamentary action
Sav said his private meeting with Serindağ on May 23 was published word by word in an �Islamic daily� (Vakit) with the title �As If He Is a CHP Governor.� �I called Serindağ, who was reappointed to the center, and wanted to console him. Our conversation lasted for about an hour, and he left my office. Governor Serindağ called me Sunday and told me that people claiming to work for this daily asked him about our meeting,� Sav said and accused a deep network within the state. Serindağ refused to comment on the event.
The CHP’s acting group parliamentary leader, Kemal Anadol, said his party is preparing a motion of censure on claims of bugging. Anadol pointed to the accuracy of the report in Vakit. �It is published exactly the same, as if they were assembly minutes,� Anadol told reporters. The CHP will take the incident to the assembly’s agenda either through a motion of censure or a parliamentary inquiry, said Anadol. Acting party group member, Suha Okay, urged Atalay to resign, and called on prosecutors to take the necessary action.
MHP is concerned, too
The Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, voiced similar concerns yesterday. The MHP’s general secretary, Cihan Paçacı, said his party’s officials harbor the same doubts of being tapped. �It must be found out who has these instruments and for what purposes they use them,� Paçacı said, noting that he would support a discussion in Parliament on the question, if a motion of censure is submitted by the CHP.
Interior minister rejects jurist’s claims
Paksüt had shared his suspicions in mid-May on being followed for the past two months. Paksüt’s concerns had drawn particular attention as the court is working on important cases like the closure case against the AKP.
�Mine is not a groundless suspicion. I have been stalked by vehicles of the same type for the last two months. The license plate of one of the vehicles turned out to be fake,� Paksüt had said.
Atalay maintained that it was revealed that no tapping was involved at all in Paksüt’s case during yesterday’s press announcement. ”
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