MESOP SPECIAL: ERDGAN’S TRUCKS TO SYRIA – CHP files petition to investigate Erdoğan and ex-ministers in shock move

NORTH KURDISTAN (TURKEY)August 21, 2015 | BGNNews.com | Istanbul – In the midst of political turmoil and elections looming, Turkey’s main opposition, the CHP, moves in swiftly, filing six separate petitions, two surrounding President Erdoğan and four former ministers on allegations surrounding corruption and weapons to Syria.

Five of the petitions filed by the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) Mersin deputy Fikri Sağlar concern allegations featured in the 2013 dated December 17th-25th corruption probe which implicated the then-prime minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s family as well as prominent figures of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), including four ministers, on allegations of bribery and illegal gold trade with Iran. The second petition appertaining to Erdoğan relates to a 2014 raid onto trucks belonging to the Turkish Intelligence Agency (MİT), which allegedly uncovered weapons on board.The move by the CHP comes as a surprise that can potentially have severe implications for President Erdoğan given the fact that the ruling AK Party does not have the majority in parliament. The CHP has long demanded that the Erdoğan abide by the impartiality of the presidency, accusing him of obstructing recent coalition talks, which have ended with a negative outcome resulting future snap elections. On Thursday, the CHP submitted a separate petition to prevent Erdoğan from going on the campaign trail.

Corruption probes

The 2013 December 17th-25th probes were the biggest corruption scandal in Turkey’s modern history and a severe blow to the AK Party’s image, with demands continuing to rain in for the allegations to be brought to light.Following the probe, the AK Party government swiftly purged the judiciary and the police force, denying the corruption allegations, instead calling the investigations a plot to overthrow the government. Hundreds of police officers and top members of the judiciary faced reassignments, discharges, detainment and arrests on terror charges. Subsequently, in October 2014 a newly appointed judiciary dropped the cases. Subsequently an AK Party majority parliament voted against sending the four ministers, who had resigned following the case, to Turkey’s top court.

Trucks to Syria

The case concerning the January 2014 raid onto MİT trucks allegedly carrying weapons to extremists in Syria have similarly caused public outcry and calls for transparency from the government. Once again the government reaction to investigation was to brandish terror charges against the prosecutors who stopped the vehicles, while issuing a gag order on distribution of footage from the scene.

In late May, Cumhuriyet daily had posted a video of the truck search from the prosecutor’s case file. The video shows that upon initially opening the case of the truck, the authorities found a layer of cardboard boxes containing medicine. Beneath the boxes of medicine, however, is a staggering collection of ammunition. All in all, Cumhuriyet claims there were 1,000 mortars, 1,000 artillery shells, 50,000 assault rifle rounds and 30,000 heavy machine gun rounds in the truck.