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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called his US counterpart Donald Trump as often as two times a day and was put through directly to the US president, American news broadcaster CNN said in a report published on Monday.

Citing sources with knowledge of hundreds of confidential telephone calls between Trump and foreign heads of state during his four years in office, CNN said that Erdogan was among the leaders who was most frequently in contact with the American president. He sometimes phoned the White House at least twice a week and was put through directly to the President on standing orders from Trump, CNN said.

The frequency of the calls with Erdogan in which the Turkish president continually pressed Trump for policy concessions and other favors was especially worrisome to McMaster, Bolton and Kelly, the more so because of the ease with which Erdogan bypassed normal National Security Council protocols and procedures to reach the president, CNN said, citing two sources, and referring to national security advisers H.R. McMaster and John Bolton, and White House chief of staff John Kelly.

The same sources indicated that the US president was woefully uninformed over the issues discussed with Erdogan and was unable to engage on equal terms in nuanced policy discussion.

Erdogan took him to the cleaners, CNNs Carl Bernstein quoted a source as telling him, indicating that Erdogan was able to steer policy in Turkeys favor, such as Trumps decision to pull American forces out of Syria, paving the way for Turkeys operation against the Kurds.

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Turkish President Erdogan 'put through directly' to Trump, CNN reports | Kathimerini - http://www.ekathimerini.com

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ordered the closure of a university in Istanbul linked to a rival and former prime minister, according to a decree published Tuesday (Jun 30).

The private Istanbul Sehir University was established in 2008 by a foundation whose founders included ex-premier Ahmet Davutoglu but it became mired in controversy after he quit Mr Erdogan's ruling party in September last year.

Mr Davutoglu set up his Future Party three months later, andexperts say itseeks to peel away voters from Mr Erdogan's Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The university first had its assets frozen late last year when an Istanbul court ruled against it in a dispute over payments with Halkbank.

Then control of the university, owned by the Foundation for Sciences and Arts (BISAV), was transferred to Marmara University in December before the state took control of BISAV itself in January by installing trustees.

A presidential decree signed by Mr Erdogan on Monday but published overnight, said the "university's permission to conduct any activities has been withdrawn."

The university was once a beacon for conservatives, heralding what they believed was a new period where secular institutions would not dominate the modern Turkish republic.

Mr Davutoglu was once close to Mr Erdogan and served as foreign minister but the two men fell out over multiple issues and he was forced to resign as premier in May 2016.

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Turkey's Erdogan shuts down university linked to rival - CNA

Jun 26, 2020

A Turkish court on June 19 bannedaccess to content in a title on The Sour Dictionary, one of the most popularsocial media platformsinTurkey. That title is Emine Erdogans Purse. It's about a notorious handbag that cost some $50,000, and it has become a symbol of public criticism of the lavish lifestyle of the presidents family and palace life. The court has banned reader access to more than 200,000 entrieson The Sour Dictionary.

There is an intriguing pattern in Turkey'spolitical scene. State oppression on freedom of expression and access to information is worsening. All the while, public chatterparticularly from the ruling Justice and Development Partys (AKP) conservative base, who are mostly small-business ownersis increasingly critical. The recent events increased the visibility of fast-brewing social tension. Even the AKPs most loyal supporters are asking where the money is or, in other words,is this how state funds are being spent?

On June 15, a donation campaign led to street protests and clashes between AKP supporters and security forces in Ankara. After the 2016 failed coup attempt, Recep Tayyip Erdogan had declared that all of those who lost their lives were martyrs, and all of those who were wounded were veterans.These terms not only have religious connotations but also financial payoffssuch asmonthly salaries. Normally reserved for active duty soldiers or security personnel, the titles, benefitsand salaries are structured accordingly.

After the coup attempt,Erdogan said these martyrs and veterans are my real siblings. Anyone who hurts them should know that they will have to answer to me. And it was Binali Yildirim, then prime minister, who announced,Anyone with even a nail scratched on July 15 will be considered a veteran. The campaign raised more than 300 million Turkish liras, which became 339 million Turkish liras in December 2019 at the bank with interest, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced.

On June 8, after months of negotiations and delays, a group of veterans began a protest in Ankara over why they still hadnot obtained proper official veteran statusand had notbeen given the money they were promised four years ago.

On June 15, reportedly based on a tip that Erdogan was in the building, theymarched in front of AKP headquarters in Ankara. Their chants were harsh. Some included,Soylu (Interior Minister)come here,""The center of the Gulen terror organization is here (pointing to AKP headquarters),and Traitors and crooks. Police brutallycharged at the veterans.

In an attempt to discredit the protesters, some AKP trolls posted tweets that the protesters were not real veterans but Gulen movement members.

A day after the protests, ultranationalist Good Partys proposal forimmediate payment to theveterans was shot down by AKP and Nationalist Movement Partyvotes. And after speaking with the interior minister, protesters decided to stand down.

A senior AKP bureaucrat told Al-Monitor on the condition of anonymity that these people are like the Janissaries of Erdogan. Now they are flipping their cauldrons and threatening the government to meet their demands. Turning their big pots upside down was how Ottoman soldiers signaled their unhappiness to the sultan.

The senior bureaucrat added, On the night of the coup, these people organized through WhatsApp chat rooms to defend Erdogan. There are now about 2,700 who were promised benefits and pay. Only about 250 to 300, I believe, received proper payoff. About 1,500 of the veterans or their immediate family members have been provided government jobs. The bureaucrat was candid that unrealistic promises were made to these men. "It will be more difficult to find martyrs for Erdogan next time around, he joked.

Although negotiations between veterans and government representatives have been ongoing, these men are angry that their rights were blocked by Gulen members still in the government. The government has beenquite worried about their protests and tried to dissuade them from taking to the streets. Veterans explained that the officials offered to pay them 1,000 Turkish lira ($146)through the foundation to appease them, butthesizable group that came out to protest refused the offer.

Prominent political analyst and author Levent Gultekin told Al-Monitor he did not view the protest as the Janissaries revolt. I rather see that people who have been devoted Erdogan supporters react emotionally due to their disappointments. They have been pushed to the background as Erdogans alliance with the ultranationalists and other groups expand. Gultekin explained that he views the newly created parties of former top AKP elites as a reflection of this alienation and disappointment. Erdogan is known to turn the tables around on his core supporters conservatives and Muslim Brotherhood sympathizerssuch as those who were victims of theMavi Marmara flotilla. After supporting their cause for years, in 2016 Erdogan abruptly disowned them.

Another problem here is the issue of diminishing resources, which has challenged Erdogans clientelist relations with his base. The idea that the AKP like any other political party is corrupt but is at least getting business done is to a large extent based on the returns these groups received for their loyalty and, as Gultekin emphasized, the publics lack of trust toward the alternatives. Now,these returns are not trickling down and there are alternatives. Opposition mayors are transparent in their budgets. They take pride in being accountable and broadcast live their decision-making gatherings.

There were big promises made right after the coup attempt and during the transition into the presidential system, and now unfulfilled expectations are generating frustration. Disillusionment leads to louder demands to know where all the government funds are being spent.

Gultekin attributes the indifference of the AKP base to significant corruption allegations to the polarization in the country. The base believes these are exaggerated claims. However, on minor issues such as a fee on plastic bags, which hits their own interests directly, there is an outcry. Erdogan must be aware of the growing discontent in April, banks provided credit for over 300,000small-business owners.

These types of public outbursts and clashes with police are rare ruptures in the AKPs voter base, but times are changing. Today, even the most dedicated AKP members whisper jokes about the lavish Palace lifestyle and the infamous purse in friendly circles.

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Erdogans most loyal supporters want to know where the money is - Al-Monitor

ANKARA, Turkey Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that he has reached agreements with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump that could herald a new era concerning Libya.

Erdogan made the comment in a television interview following a telephone call with the U.S. president, but did not elaborate on the agreements reached.

After our talks on the transition process in Libya, a new era can begin between Turkey and the U.S., Erdogan told state broadcaster TRT. We had some agreements.

Earlier, a statement from his office said Erdogan and Trump had agreed to continue their close cooperation on Libya.

Turkeys support for Libyas U.N.-supported government in Tripoli has helped shift the balance in the country, allowing the Tripoli-based forces to retake the capitals airport and gain the upper hand against the rival east-based forces, led by Khalifa Hifter.

Hifters forces are backed by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, as well as France and Russia. The Tripoli-based government receives aid from Qatar, Italy and Turkey, which stepped up its military support in recent months.

Erdogan said he would soon also discuss the situation in Libya with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

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Originally posted here:
Erdogan says Turkey, US reached agreements on Libya - Military Times

The death of George Floyd has ignited protests across America and the world, reverberating as far as the gates of the Embassy of the United States in Athens. Though some ruffians have been ransacking American cities under the cover of the protests, polls show that up to 54 percent of Americans support the call for justice. Citywide curfews, heavy police and National Guard deployments, as well as tough talk from the White House have been brushed aside by the passion and conviction of the protesters.

Former President Barack Obama threw his support behind the peaceful protesters, and former secretary of defense James Mattis criticized his old boss handling of the protests. More remarkable is the inspiring compassion and empathy shown by police and guardsman who knelt with protesters and others like Sheriff Chris Swanson, who ordered his officers to take off their helmets, lay down their batons, and walk with protesters. Rahul Dubey opened his home to 70 cornered protesters to offer them refuge during Washington, DCs curfew. What this all shows is that the most important political office in America that of private citizen has been stirred.

Sometimes, mass assembly and vocal free speech awaken us to the reality that our neighbor is hurting and needs our help. Protest by the people is a vital component of any democratic order, and no matter how upsetting it may be to witness the events in America, the voice of the people is confronting governing power to demand equal justice for all.

So, to read a tweet from the autocrat Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is the worlds premier jailer of journalists, and who brooks no criticism, condemning the killing of George Floyd as a consequence of a fascist American political order, shows the impulses driving this man. Such impulses were exhibited on May 16, 2017 when President Erdogan was in Washington, DC visiting the White House. After his meeting with President Donald Trump, Erdogans motorcade traveled to the Turkish ambassadors residence, where a small group had gathered to protest across the street. The chants of the protesters enraged Erdogan and his security agents, who, with spite and hate, viciously attacked them.

Today, I am one of the attorneys representing the injured protesters in Usoyan et al vs the Republic of Turkey. The lawsuit, detailed at http://www.hesaysattack.com, demands that President Erdogan and his security agents be held accountable for their violent, politically motivated attacks. No Turkish official has ever expressed remorse for the incident; instead Turkey wants to sweep the violence it perpetrated on American soil under the rug. Turkey argues that as a sovereign country it cannot be sued in American courts, and that Erdogans security agents acted on a perceived threat. Fortunately, United States District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly rejected Turkeys arguments noting that Turkish security forces did not have the discretion to violently attack the protesters, nor to continue violently attacking them after they had fallen to the ground and were otherwise attempting to flee. Having failed to convince the court of its sovereign immunity, Turkey has appealed the decision and we continue to zealously challenge the Erdogan regimes efforts to avoid accountability.

Those who protest the death of George Floyd and those who protest President Erdogan are moved by feelings of pain and suffering. The pain and suffering vented upon the death of George Floyd has driven people into the streets. When Americans attempted to protest Erdogan in the heart of Washington, DC, to express the pain and suffering of their kin and brethren living in Turkey, never could they have imagined Turkish authorities would brutalize them on American soil.

Derek Chauvin, the white policeman who knelt on George Floyds neck for eight and-a-half minutes, and three other officers implicated in his death are being prosecuted by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Muslim African-American. No such prosecutorial diversity and steward of justice can be imagined in Turkey. Indeed, the Erdogan regime is not only harboring the criminally charged security agents who attacked protesters on the streets of Washington, DC, but celebrates them as national heroes. This is to be expected of Erdogan the Magnificent, as he has been called by former secretary of state Madeleine Albright for his fascist impulses, an autocratic leader who commits gross human rights violations, manipulates religion for political gain, violently abuses Kurds, and has plunged his country into a permanent state of political trauma.

Silence is acceptance, say those protesting for equal justice in America. So too our lawsuit raises a voice against Erdogans oppression. America is an imperfect country, but its democracy is robust and resilient, and history will prove Erdogans legacy worthy of the dustbin.

Andreas N. Akaras, a government and political affairs adviser, is of counsel to the law firm Bregman, Berbert, Schwartz & Gilday.

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Erdogan's attacks on freedom and his George Floyd commentary, ANDREAS N. AKARAS | Kathimerini - http://www.ekathimerini.com