Cyprus-Forum.com

[Tim Drayton]

27 senior police officers in the Istanbul force have been assigned new duties at police academies. It is noted that most of them played key roles in the “17 December Operation” into corruption by people with close links to the ruling AKP.

http://www.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/17_ar ... di-1169689

[Tim Drayton]

This afternoon, the commanders of a massive anti-corruption police operation, which is expected to lead to about 100 arrests, conducted in Izmir this morning have been removed from their posts. Those removed from their posts are Assistant Director of Public Security, Mehmet Ali Şevik, Assistant Director of the Branch for Fighting Organised Crime, Taner Aydın and Director of the Branch for Fighting Narcotic Crime, Behzat Tuzcu.

http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/2683 ... indi_.html

[Tim Drayton]

The wave of reappointments has moved from the police, public prosecution and Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Education. The Directors of National Education in the provinces of Balıkesir, Gaziantep, Yalova, Rize, Samsun, Trabzon, Bolu and Van have been relieved of their duties.

http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/2686 ... zfkuoccvqg

[Tim Drayton]

The police chiefs in 15 provinces (Ankara, Diyarbakır, İzmir, Adana, Antalya, Bursa, Erzurum, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kocaeli, Malatya, Mersin, Sakarya, Samsun and Trabzon) have been changed.

http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/2696 ... gisti.html

[B25]

Incredible, you could not make this stuff up.

I wonder what those removed have to say about all this. Not a word of condemnation from the West, amazing, seems Turkey can do as she pleases with no consequences.

This must be a new definition of dictatorship!

[GreekIslandGirl]

Not a word of condemnation from the West, amazing, seems Turkey can do as she pleases with no consequences.

Total media silence. Barely a mention in the western press.

[Tim Drayton]

The government is obviously entitled to remove these people from their posts. As Erdoğan so calculatingly commented recently, they control the the Executive and Legislative branches (implying, correctly in my opinion, that the Gülenists control the judiciary), and so have the power, it would seem, to ruthlessly eradicate all of the Gülenists from office. Unless the Gülenists have another card up their sleeve, which is possible, it looks like they will be vanquished.

There is talk in the newspaper columns of a large number of judges being replaced in Istanbul soon.

[B25]

Tim, what??? So you are saying it's OK for say, the Conservatives in the UK or DHSY in Cyprus to fire anyone from an opposition party with no real grounds just so that they can put in people of their own??? Am I understanding you correctly.

If I am, then there is no hope for mankind with this mentality.

Erdogan is removing anyone connected with investigating the corruption that he, his family and his ministers are conducting, that's why he is removing them. Up until that point, there was no mention of moving anyone. I mean come on Tim, I had you for one of the intelligent ones.

[Tim Drayton]

BRUSSELS: The European Union (EU) executive on Wednesday voiced concern about developments in Turkey and urged that any investigation into a massive graft scandal embroiling the government remain transparent and impartial.

The Turkish government has fired more than 700 police officers since mid-December as part of a mass purge launched in response to the corruption scandal rocking Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Asked to respond to events in Turkey, European Commission spokesman Olivier Bailly said "recent steps" in the country were "a cause of concern".
"We urge Turkey, as a candidate country committed to the political criteria of accession, including the application of the rule of law, to take all the necessary measures to ensure that allegations of wrongdoing are addressed without discrimination or preference in a transparent and impartial manner," said a Commission statement.

"Any action which undermines the effectiveness of investigations into these allegations should be avoided."

In the latest wave of sackings, Ankara on Thursday fired 16 police chiefs, a day after 350 police officers were fired in the capital Ankara.

"The recent steps (removing, reassigning or firing police officers and investigators) are a matter of concern," the EU text said.

"These steps could undermine the current investigations and capacity of the judiciary and the police to investigate matters in an independent manner."

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/wor ... 47094.html

[Tim Drayton]

Tim, what??? So you are saying it's OK for say, the Conservatives in the UK or DHSY in Cyprus to fire anyone from an opposition party with no real grounds just so that they can put in people of their own??? Am I understanding you correctly.

If I am, then there is no hope for mankind with this mentality.

Erdogan is removing anyone connected with investigating the corruption that he, his family and his ministers are conducting, that's why he is removing them. Up until that point, there was no mention of moving anyone. I mean come on Tim, I had you for one of the intelligent ones.

I think you have missed the point. People are being fired from government posts, not from opposition parties, and the government can obviously do this in Turkey, because that is exactly what is happening. I have made no judgment as to whether it is right or wrong - I am just saying that this is how it is.

If you ask me how things should be, then the police and judiciary in particular, and the civil service in general, should be politically neutral and free from political influence. I am personally delighted to see the Gülenists purged from public office, but take little consolation from this given that they are being replaced by AKP puppets.