TURKEY: Lebanese Refugees in Turkey & more – 1st Oct 2024

In other news, on Friday the 27th, Eric Adams, the New York City Mayor, pleaded not guilty to charges of accepting bribes and illegal campaign contributions from Turkish nationals, including prominent businessmen. However, the FBI didn’t disclose their names in the investigation.

Prosecutors allege Turkish diplomats funneled money to Adams' campaign and provided luxury perks in exchange for favors, including his pushing to open the Turkish House, Turkey’s thirty-six-story consulate, in twenty twenty-one, despite safety concerns.

Recently, rumors of Erden Timur, Galatasaray’s former executive, being detained by the FBI in connection to the investigation started circulating. He denied the rumors and clarified that he was only briefly questioned about whether he had donated to Adams’ campaign while in the U.S. for a concert.

On Thursday the 26th, Özgür Özel, the leader of the main opposition, the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, backed the government up against allegations concerning the Turkish House. He stated Turkey doesn’t need to offer bribes to the U.S, finding the allegations absurd. This was surprising since the CHP seldom aligns with the government. Unsurprisingly, though, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the party's former leader, criticized Özel, stating the party shouldn’t support bribery or normalize government misconduct.

Speaking of bribery… journalist Timur Soykan revealed that Mustafa Aydın, the deputy chair of Turkey’s Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, accepted extravagant gifts from banking executives at his wedding last week. Aydın invited officials from banks and financial institutions to the ceremony held at a five-star hotel in Istanbul, where some CEOs presented gifts valued up to 350 thousand liras, which is around thirteen thousand dollars.

Soykan, who attended the wedding uninvited, observed that bank executives discussed gift amounts beforehand to avoid being outdone by one another. He said the atmosphere was formal, with no dancing or celebration, as guests departed soon after presenting their gifts. The situation was put into question since it could have been unethical, as a regulator accepting gifts from those they oversee resembles bribery.

On international news, Recall that in previous shows, we mentioned Turkey’s interest in joining BRICS. Named after the initials of its founding countries, the BRICS focuses on strengthening economic cooperation. Well, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, announced that BRICS is not planning to expand further at this time and added that the group's priority now is integrating new members. Earlier this year, Egypt, Iran, and the UAE were added.

While Turkey has close ties with Russia, its support for Ukraine complicates its potential alignment with BRICS. However, the group could come up with a new partnership status for Turkey this month.

Rumors have been circulating on social media that Sedat Peker, a former crime boss who became a whistleblower against the president and his close associates, is preparing to form a new political party, called The Voice of the People Party, or Halkın Sesi Partisi.

In response, Peker’s lawyer took to Twitter to deny these allegations. Despite being a crime boss, Peker is popular with many due to his nationalistic views, anti-Erdoğan stance, and laid-back persona. His lawyer clarified that Peker is not involved in the establishment of any political party and has no connection to the party. He also warned people against joining such groups as he believed they were misleadingly using Peker's name.

There were also rumors about the university diploma of Ekrem İmamoğlu, Istanbul’s Mayor and a potential candidate for the CHP in the upcoming presidential elections. A journalist wrote in his column that İmamoğlu’s transfer from Girne American University in Northern Cyprus to Istanbul University in nineteen ninety wasn’t legitimate. He suggested that Kemal Alemdaroğlu, the former Istanbul University rector, supported this transfer due to his relationship with İmamoğlu's father.

However, Alemdaroğlu denied knowing the İmamoğlu family. He stated that he had no authority in nineteen ninety, as he became rector in nineteen ninety-seven and couldn’t have influenced the transfer. This controversy likely aims to tarnish Imamoğlu’s political reputation.

More on politics… On Monday the 30th, Ahmet Zenbilci, an MP for the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, resigned after learning his son was implicated in a criminal investigation. Zenbilci stated that he stepped down to prevent the situation from damaging his party and colleagues before deleting his social media accounts.

A journalist from Deutsche Welle Turkey revealed that authorities arrested Zenbilci's son after discovering twenty kilograms of synthetic drugs in a car registered under Zenbilci’s name. The Osmaniye Chief Public Prosecutor's Office is handling the investigation, and his son now faces drug trafficking charges.

Now, some updates on education… Last week, we discussed the ongoing hygiene issues in schools caused by staff shortages. Unfortunately, the situation hasn't improved. Some municipalities tried to step in, but the district directorates of the Education Ministry in İzmir’s Buca and Bornova districts blocked the CHP municipalities from providing cleaning services to public schools.

Despite the school year starting a month ago, the Ministry’s decision to pay cleaning staff just 577 Turkish liras, seventeen US Dollars, per day caused many to quit. The ministry promised to hire thirty thousand new contracted employees. In the meantime, teachers, parents, and students have taken on the cleaning themselves.

The Buca District Mayor from the CHP revealed that the ministry pressured schools to retract cleaning requests to the Municipality, likely in an effort to prevent the opposition from gaining credit for addressing the issue. He condemned the ministry for obstructing attempts to create healthy educational environments, urging the public to consider the implications.

On Saturday the 28th, the Diyarbakır Governor’s Office designated the area between the Yaylak village and the Kulp district as a Temporary Special Security Zone from Sunday the 29th of September to Sunday the 13th of October to ensure national security and public order. Entry is restricted without permission, with violators facing legal consequences. Authorities stated the action aims to prevent crime and protect public safety, though they gave no further details.

In some upsetting news… On Saturday the 28th, Şero, the beloved cat of the CHP, died at twenty years old. Şero had been living in the party headquarters since two thousand four, becoming a symbol of the party and Turkish politics. A veterinarian in Ankara shared the heartbreaking news. Following his death, many people took to social media, posting fond memories of Şero. Check the link in the show notes to see some of the posts.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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