TURKEY/FILE: Two Turkish ministers resign after their sons were arrested in a corruption investigation that has pitted the government against the judiciary and rattled foreign investors

Record ID: 342978

  • Title: TURKEY/FILE: Two Turkish ministers resign after their sons were arrested in a corruption investigation that has pitted the government against the judiciary and rattled foreign investors
  • Date: 25th December 2013
  • Summary: ANKARA, TURKEY (DECEMBER 24, 2013) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) ***FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** EUROPEAN UNION AFFAIRS MINISTER EGEMEN BAGIS, RESIGNING INTERIOR MINISTER MUAMMER GULER, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER ERDOGAN BAYRAKTAR AND RESIGNING ECONOMY MINISTER ZAFER CAGLAYAN POSING FOR MEDIA SUPPORTERS OF AK PARTY GATHERED AT AIRPORT UPON TURKISH PRIME MINISTER TAYYIP ERDOGAN'S RETURN FROM
  • Embargoed: 9th January 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey, Iraq
  • City:
  • Country: Turkey Iraq
  • Topics: Crime,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAEKF69HSZ29108EGJ08VE9XXXX
  • Story Text: Turkey's Interior Minister Muammer Guler and Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan on Wednesday (December 24) resigned from their government posts. Each had a son among 24 people arrested on graft charges on Dec. 17 in a case involving the chief of state-run lender Halkbank.
    Neither minister has been implicated and both say their sons are innocent.
    Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has responded to the investigation by purging police officers involved, including the chief of the force in Istanbul, Halkbank's headquarters.
    The Erdogan government portrays the scandal as a foreign-orchestrated effort to sow discord in Turkey. The country has flourished economically during the Islamist-rooted premier's three terms, though he has been accused of authoritarianism.
    "I have resigned from my post of economy minister to help the truth to come out and to foil this ugly plot, which has impacted my child and my close work colleagues among others," Caglayan said in a statement.
    In a separate statement, Guler called the affair "a dirty set-up against our government, party and country".
    Among many Turks, the affair has reignited anti-Erdogan sentiment that had simmered since the mid-2013 mass protests against his rule. It also drew an EU warning that Ankara needed to safeguard the separation of powers.
    Moving to salve the domestic divisions, President Abdullah Gul pledged on Tuesday that there would be no cover-up and that the investigation would be adjudicated in independent courts.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register