Visa liberalization for 'Islamist' Turkey only when all prerequisites are met, says EU Commission.

Visa liberalization for 'Islamist' Turkey only when all prerequisites are met, says EU Commission.(Cyprusmail).

VISA liberalisation will be granted to Turkey only when all 72 legislative prerequisites are fulfilled, including Ankara’s Cyprus-related obligations, European Commission Chief Spokesperson Margaritis Schinas said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the daily briefing in Brussels, and clarifying reported “ambiguity” during the past few days, Schinas said the European Commission would examine the situation, in accordance with the College of Commissioners schedule, but has no intention to make any “discounts”.

An EC source, speaking exclusively to CNA, later explained that “there is absolutely no possible way for Turkey to legislate, ignoring the Cyprus related obligations” and pointed out that all these issues were absolutely clear since yesterday, when the visa liberalisation report came out.

Moreover, another European Commission spokesperson Maja Kocijancic said during the same briefing that the visit of Pierre Moscovici, European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, to Turkey had nothing to do with the opening of Chapter 33 on the budget and economic policy, the preparation of which is already done and is still up to date.

The spokesperson pointed out that the schedule which has been decided is to convene an intergovernmental conference in June, during the last days of the Dutch Presidency and open the chapter there.

On Wednesday the first Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans will inform the College of Commissioners about his joint trip to Gaziantep, together with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Council President Donald Tusk.


On Tuesday, the issue of the agreement with Turkey was also on the agenda of a working lunch of the European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker with the President of the Council and the President of the European Parliament. (CNA)

Video - UKIP Leader Nigel Farage threatening with Britex, We're living in a German-dominated Europe of Disharmony.

'Yes We scan' - NSA monitors WiFi on US planes ‘in violation’ of privacy laws

'Yes We scan' - NSA monitors WiFi on US planes ‘in violation’ of privacy laws.(RT).

In a letter leaked to Wired, Gogo, the leading provider of inflight WiFi in the US, admitted to violating the requirements of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). 

The act is part of a wiretapping law passed in 1994 that requires telecoms carriers to provide law enforcement with a backdoor in their systems to monitor telephone and broadband communications.
Gogo states in the letter to the Federal Communications Commission that it added new capabilities to its service that go beyond CALEA, at the behest of law enforcement agencies.

“In designing its existing network, Gogo worked closely with law enforcement to incorporate functionalities and protections that would serve public safety and national security interests,” Gogo attorney Karis Hastings wrote in the leaked letter, which dates from 2012.

He did not elaborate as to the nature of the changes, but said Gogo “worked with federal agencies to reach agreement regarding a set of additional capabilities to accommodate law enforcement interests.”

Gogo, which provides WiFi services to the biggest US airlines, are not the only ones to adapt their services to enable spying. Panasonic Avionics also added “additional functionality” to their services as per an agreement with US law enforcement, according to a report published in December.

The deals with security services have civil liberties organizations up in arms. They have condemned the WiFi providers’ deals with authorities as scandalous.

“Having ISPs [now] that say that CALEA isn’t enough, we’re going to be even more intrusive in what we collect on people is, honestly, scandalous,” Peter Eckersley, of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Wired.

The powers of the National Security Agency and other US law enforcement agencies have come under harsh criticism since the data leaks from whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the extent to which they monitor citizens’ communications. In particular, critics have taken issue with the NSA’s mass, indiscriminate gathering of metadata which has been described as “almost Orwellian in nature” and a violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Judge Richard Leon of the US District Court for the District of Columbia has filed a lawsuit against the US agency and is pushing to have the case heard in the US Supreme Court. Last week the Supreme Court said that Leon would have to wait for a ruling from the lower court before his case could be heard.

Since the NSA scandal blew up last year, prompting widespread public anger in the US and internationally at the violation of privacy rights, President Barack Obama’s administration has reluctantly taken some modest steps to curb the powers of the agency.


At the beginning of this year, Obama announced that the NSA would no longer be able to monitor the personal communications of world leaders. In addition, last month Obama formally proposed to end the NSA’s bulk data collection, proposing legislation that would oblige the agency to get a court order to access information through telecoms companies.

Voting on the post of Secretary General of the Council of Europe takes place.

Voting on the post of Secretary General of the Council of Europe takes place.(Taz).

A vote on election of a new secretary general of the Council of Europe (CE) took place at the committee meeting of representatives of the organization in Strasbourg on Feb. 21, a source at CoE told Trend.

Three candidates put forward their nominations for the post of CE Secretary General: the current Secretary General of the organization Thorbjorn Jagland (Norway), Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (Germany) and Jean-Claude Mignon (France).

Today's vote resulted in a tie between Thorbjorn Jagland and Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger.

According to the procedure of elections for the post of secretary-general, the two candidates will be submitted to PACE. It will announce the name of the new secretary general of the Council of Europe for the next five years during its spring session on June 23-27.

The present Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland has held the position since October 2009.

Bahçeli accuses Turkish PM Erdogan of reckless misconduct while in office.

Bahçeli accuses Turkish PM Erdogan of reckless misconduct while in office.(TZ).

Opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has accused Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of wanton misconduct while in office for being lenient on those who took bribes and misused funds while ruthlessly confronting the police force and judiciary, who were trying to do their jobs, saying such behavior by Erdoğan can be explained by the corruption and embezzlement allegations reaching him and his family members.

Addressing an audience of party members during a weekly group meeting on Tuesday, Bahçeli argued that Erdoğan and his government have obstructed the judiciary and legal enforcers and have thus committed a crime by preventing the detention of suspects. 

Mentioning the government's hurried removals and reassignments of thousands of police chiefs and officers as well as some prosecutors, Bahçeli said such a display of power and exploitation of authority can only be seen in tribal societies. “Guilt-ridden, Erdoğan contravened the law and has railed against jurists,” he said.Bahçeli claimed that the corruption probe on Dec. 17 marked the start of the government's demise.

In particular, Erdoğan's modifications to the laws and regulations one after another to impede the judiciary in order to escape the deepening of the graft dragnet is a clear act of misconduct.

He lashed out at Erdoğan for his attempts to explain the corruption probe as a conspiracy by external powers that aim to prevent Turkey from becoming a global actor with its strong economy. “His brakes have failed so badly that he has been tirelessly narrating the story that a global assassination and a foreign-oriented assault have been initiated against him, his government and the national will for the last three weeks. 

So to put it this way, everything is a plot, everything is a trap and everyone is under the influence of the domestic subcontractors of the external forces. That means, corruption is a lie and bribes are baseless stories. … To us, Erdoğan has been transfixed by illusions, stuck with lies and has lost his mind. He believes or has been made to believe in unreal chimeras, artificial threats and groundless fears. Erdoğan is deceiving both himself and the nation,” Bahçeli argued.

He claimed that Erdoğan's real purpose is to divert attention away from the corruption allegations and weather the storm. Bahçeli called on the prime minister to stop hiding the truth and answer the serious questions put forth with evidence from the corruption and bribery investigation.Read the full story here.

Turkish opposition CHP leader criticizes Erdoğan for steering public debate away from corruption scandal.

Turkish opposition CHP leader criticizes Erdoğan for steering public debate away from corruption scandal.(TZ).

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, has said the government, under public pressure from corruption and bribery allegations, is trying to draw attention away from them with speculation on the Ergenekon and Balyoz (Sledgehammer) cases, in which the convicts, including a number of top-brass military commanders, were accused of forming a terrorist organization to topple the government.

After one of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's senior advisors, Yalçın Akdoğan, mentioned in a local newspaper that the “parallel state had made a plot against the military” in these cases, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) applied to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for a retrial of the Ergenekon and Balyoz convicts. Erdoğan confirmed on Saturday that a retrial is possible.

Kılıçdaroğlu said Erdoğan is not credible and that these debates are intended to change the direction of public discussion. He said the government has been enraged by the reporting of its members' corruption and embezzlement. Hence, the government has started to smear some groups, describing them as gangs aiming to topple the government.

“There is certainly a shoebox gang,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, referring to Halkbank General Manager Süleyman Aslan, in whose home police found $4.5 million stashed in shoe boxes during a raid that was part of the biggest corruption probe in Turkey's history.“Whatever you do, you can't get away with the shoe box.

By mentioning the injustice they did in the Ergenekon and Balyoz cases, they are trying to change the topic. They are covering up the corruption and bribery,” he said. 

He said the CHP has been shouting as loudly as possible that the convicts of these cases were denied the right to self-defense and that many unjust acts have been committed against them, to all of which the government had turned a deaf ear.

“He turned to us and said: 'You are pro-coup fans of Ergenekon.' Now you have become pro-coup and a fan of Ergenekon,” said Kılıçdaroğlu, adding that he has no trust in the prime minister's sincerity.

However, he called on Erdoğan to prove his honesty. “I will submit a legislative proposal to Parliament,” he said, inviting Erdoğan to offer his support.

Speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony for a students' residence and social center named after Teoman Öztürk, a former president of the the Turkish Union of Engineers and Architects' Chambers (TMMOB), Kılıçdaroğlu said the investigations had shown everyone the government's true colors.

“We witness today that those who claimed to be fighting against corruption are sunk in a marsh of corruption,” the CHP leader said.

His speech was frequently interrupted by spectators chanting, “Government resign!” 

Kılıçdaroğlu responded by saying that someone must have a sense of shame in order to consider resigning before such grave accusations. Not even one prime minister had defended corruption in the past, the CHP leader claimed, adding that Erdoğan is the first to have backed graft and bribery.

Kılıçdaroğlu also mentioned Erdoğan's meeting with some pro-government journalists, describing them as “wallflowers” for failing to ask the prime minister real questions.

Erdoğan met with 45 columnists and journalists in Dolmabahçe Palace, İstanbul, on Saturday to repeat the government's views on the corruption probe. Erdoğan believes an international conspiracy is being carried out to topple his government and thinks that certain groups in the US, Israel, Europe and Turkey have collaborated to plot against his rule. He stated that the corruption investigations are merely a sham.

The CHP leader lashed out at some full-page ads run by the Civilian Solidarity Platform (SDP) that appeared on the back pages of a number of newspapers on Friday.

He said he had investigated those included in this platform and found the Confederation of Turkish Real Trade Unions (Hak-İş) and the Civil Servants' Trade Union (Memur-Sen). “There are lots of fictitious institutions [within the platform]. Who paid the cost of these ads? A rear page ad is TL 50,000. What is this platform? I call out to all my brother workers who pay dues to Hak-İş. How much does your president earn? Who is paying the cost of these ads that attempt to legitimize corruption? Let [your president] openly declare this. You will take the workers' elbow grease and promote a prime minister who defends bribe-receivers. We are not accepting this,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.

The 'Just US' Department - Erdogan Government plans to change Turkey's justice system.

The 'Just US' Department - Erdogan Government plans to change Turkey's justice system.(HD).

The government of Turkey is preparing for yet another extensive restructuring of the judicial system in a bid to escape from a massive graft investigation that has already pushed Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) into the corner. 

The move by the government, which has suggested that it was fending off a “mini coup attempt” by elements in the police and judiciary who served the interests of foreign and domestic forces bent on humbling the country, comes around three years after a referendum which brought significant changes to the judicial system, that’s to say the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), the Supreme Court of Appeals and the Council of State.

The modification of those key bodies was carried out within the context of Turkish constitutional reforms that were approved in a referendum in September 2010.

The move is highly likely to irritate the European Union as at the time, both the EU and the United States hailed the results from the referendum on a package of changes to the country’s military-era Constitution, with EU’s Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle describing the reforms as “a step in the right direction as they address a number of long-standing priorities in Turkey’s efforts towards fully complying with the accession criteria.”

According to a Jan. 1 report by Turkish daily newspaper Radikal, the HSYK, which angered the government by delivering a statement on Dec. 26 and describing a new judicial police regulation obliging those carrying out investigations to inform superiors as “unconstitutional,” is the prior target of the government’s plan.

There are only 40 days left before the Parliament goes into recess due to the local elections in late March. During this short period of time, the government will try to at least make some legal amendments which will limit the authorities of both the HSYK and the Council of State, Radikal reported, noting that a new referendum which would deal with changes to the judicial system was not on the agenda. 

Given the difficulty of making these changes on their own, the government may resort to putting changes concerning the judicial system in a package which would also include arrangements that will pave the way for the release of jailed lawmakers, which would be relieving for those convicts and detainees in coup plot cases such as Ergenekon and Balyoz (Sledgehammer).

The 3rd Chamber of the HSYK will, meanwhile, hold a meeting on Jan. 8 in order to discuss the recent cross of swords between members of the judicial system, Turkish daily Hürriyet reported on Jan. 1.

Whether the prosecutors involved have been handling the corruption probe appropriately; whether they have violated the confidentiality of the probe; whether Zekeriya Öz, the Istanbul deputy chief prosecutor who supervised the prosecutors, is involved in inappropriate business relations at a municipality, as suggested by Prime Minister Erdoğan; and mutual accusations between Prosecutor Muammer Akkaş and Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Turan Çolakkadı will be on the agenda of the meeting which the newspaper described as a “surprise” meeting.  Hmmm.....Erdogan will sooner go for a dictatorship then allowing free elections putting him aside.As he said himself : "Democracy is like a train. We shall get out when we arrive at the station we want."

"Yes We Scan" - NSA's Secret Toolbox: Unit Offers Spy Gadgets for Every Need.

"Yes We Scan" - NSA's Secret Toolbox: Unit Offers Spy Gadgets for Every Need.(Spiegel).

The NSA has a secret unit that produces special equipment ranging from spyware for computers and cell phones to listening posts and USB sticks that work as bugging devices. Here are some excerpts from the intelligence agency's own catalog.Read the full story here.

Video - Turkey : Whole soccer stadium chant yesterday: 'thief Erdogan.'

Video - Turkey : Whole stadium chant yesterday: 'thief Erdogan.' 3 big teams of Turkey's fans chant against AKP and Erdogan every game.HT: WashingtonPoint.

Şükrü Saraçoğlu Stadında oynanan Fenerbahçe - Kayserispor maçında ''Hırsız Tayyip Erdoğan'' sloganı 29 Aralık 2013.
(Google Translate): Fenerbahce Sukru Saracoglu stadium - Kayserispor match Tayyip Erdogan'' motto'' Thief December 29, 2013

Turkey - BBP leader Mustafa Destici 'No one should attempt to change law to save themselves.'

Turkey - BBP leader Mustafa Destici 'No one should attempt to change law to save themselves.'(Taz).

Grand Unity Party (BBP) leader Mustafa Destici, speaking about an ongoing corruption operation and the government's response to it, said on Sunday that everyone has a responsibility to respect the laws in the country and that efforts to change the laws to protect a certain group of people from accusations are unacceptable.

In the wake of a corruption operation which has extended to several ministers and their sons, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, which views the investigation as a “dirty operation” to topple the government, has removed hundreds of police officers who took part in the operation from their posts, leading to claims that it is obstructing the investigation from proceeding.

Making a press statement ahead of his party's Central Decision and Administration Board (MKYK) meeting at the party headquarters, the BBP's Destici said: “What needs to be done here is not intervening in the job of the police and the judiciary or removing police officers from their posts. There is no end to this. It was you [the government] who appointed those policemen. It was you who established the judicial system you are complaining about today. If the new ones you appointed today act in the same manner tomorrow, will you also remove them from their posts? The right thing needs to be done. Everyone should respect the current laws and not try to evade them. No one should attempt to change or discredit laws in order to protect themselves.”

He said the laws in advanced democracies do not change according to events, time, persons or governments and that everyone is equal before the law.

‘Be acquitted or be held accountable'Pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Diyarbakır deputy Altan Tan on Sunday called on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to respond to the corruption allegations which his government is allegedly involved in, saying if these allegations are untrue, his government will be acquitted sooner or later.Speaking to the Cihan news agency, Tan said many politicians and their relatives have been prosecuted in Turkey due to claims of involvement in corruption and that it is not a new thing for some politicians to be facing corruption charges in the country.“Whoever was involved in such business [corruption] in Turkey was tried and investigated, and most of them were punished. Now, you [Erdoğan] are facing similar accusations. If you are right, you will be acquitted sooner or later. If not, you will be held accountable for your actions. … You just need to respond to these accusations,” Tan said.

Concerning Erdoğan's claims that the US, the UK, Europe, Israel and the Hizmet movement are behind the corruption investigation and that their aim is to topple the government, Tan said these groups have been supporting Erdoğan for the past 11 years and that he needs to explain why they withdrew their support from his government.
“Why have you [Erdoğan] been brought to power and why are you now being toppled? You just need to explain this but you don't,” he said in further remarks.

In the meantime, Felicity Party (SP) leader Mustafa Kamalak, who also shared his views about the ongoing corruption operation, said on Sunday that it is unacceptable to “present those individuals claimed to be thieves as innocent and those who detained them with an order from the prosecutor as criminals.”

Speaking at a meeting of his party, Kamalak said the best way to clear oneself of corruption charges is to allow the judiciary do its job, directing criticisms at the government for meddling in the corruption investigation.

Meanwhile, the house of a woman who held up a shoebox during a meeting of Prime Minister Erdoğan in Akhisar town in Manisa province on Sunday in protest of the government's alleged involvement in corruption was raided by Erdoğan's security guards.Shoeboxes have become a symbol of the ongoing corruption investigation as a huge amount of money was discovered hidden in shoeboxes in the house of state-run Halkbank's general manager.The woman, Nurhan Gül, was detained by Erdoğan's security guards.

Obama's BFF Turkish PM Erdogan declares his readiness to resign

Obama's BFF Turkish PM Erdogan declares his readiness to resign.(Taz).

Speaking in Sakarya province, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he is ready to resign if Turkish people demand this, TRT Haber TV channel reported on Dec.27.

"If the Turkish people demand us to step down from the power, we are ready, but the people do not want this," Erdogan said.

The Turkish people face a choice - to continue the development and create new Turkey or to become the previous weak Turkey, according to the prime minister.There are forces that want Turkey to become "as previous", according to Erdogan.

If there is corruption in Turkey, the government will reveal it sooner or later, the prime minister said.
Turkish police conducted special operations in Istanbul and Ankara on Dec.17, resulting in the arrest of 52 people that includes businessmen and sons of some ministers.

The businessmen are accused of corruption, smuggling and selling drugs.

Among those detained were the sons of some ministers, who are the members of Turkey's ruling party - Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan's son, Salih Kaan Caglayan, Interior Minister Muammar Guler's son, Baris Guler and Minister for Urban Development and Environment Erdogan Bayraktar's son, Oguz Bayraktar. All three were detained on suspicion of corruption.

Mayor of Istanbul's Fatih Municipality, Mustafa Demir, Director General of Turkish Halkbank Suleyman Aslan and well known entrepreneur Ali Agaoglu were arrested during the same operation by police. Searches were conducted at Halkbank's office.
Mustafa Demir and Ali Agaoglu were released on Dec.21.
After a meeting with Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the new cabinet of ministers.
MP from Ankara Emrullah İsler was appointed Deputy Prime Minister instead of Bekir Bozdag. In turn, the latter was appointed Minister of Justice.
MP from the ruling party Lutfi Elvan was appointed Minister of Transport, Shipping and Communications.
Ayshenur Islam was appointed Minister for Family and Social Policy. Mevlut Cavusoglu will head the Ministry for EU Affairs.
Fikri Isik Bilim was appointed Minister for Science, Industry and Technology, while Gulluce Idris became Environmental and Urban Development Minister.
Akif Cagatay Kılıc was appointed Youth and Sports Ministry, Nihat Zeybekci - Economy Minister and Efkan Ala became Interior Minister.

Iran silent, but under the spotlight in Turkish corruption scandal

Zarrab is accused of being the ringleader in Turkey of a shady money-laundering and gold-smuggling ring established to dodge sanctions against Iran

Iran silent but under spotlight in Turkish corruption scandal. (TZ).

Iran is once more under the spotlight -- this time due to the major ongoing corruption and bribery investigation in Turkey involving a public bank, Halkbank, one of the three main targets of the operation, for its role in trade between Turkey and Iran; however, there is still no word from the Iranian side on the scandal that has shaken Turkey's political and business elite and pushed three ministers to resign on Wednesday.

One of the top suspects in the corruption case is an Iranian-Azerbaijani businessman, Reza Zarrab, who is currently under arrest as part of the investigation.

Zarrab is accused of being the ringleader in Turkey of a shady money-laundering and gold-smuggling ring established to dodge sanctions against Iran.

During the investigation, Zarrab told the prosecution that transactions were mainly conducted through Halkbank until July, when a new set of US sanctions placed restrictions on the gold trade.
Halkbank has long been active in trade between the two neighboring countries, Turkey and Iran, and this was no secret. The government has been grilled for violating sanctions against Iran, which was placed under a strict embargo by the United Nations for its nuclear program in 2010, by assigning Halkbank to handle payments for energy imports from the country.
Turkey was paying liras instead of dollars for energy purchases, and Iran was depositing this money in Turkish banks and then using it to buy gold from Turkey. Halkbank was the platform for conducting these transactions.

Zarrab, who has obtained Turkish citizenship and lives in Turkey, is said to have close links to Iran and his father is rumored to have had connections with former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Zarrab, who faces various accusations, is alleged to have bribed three ministers and their sons with a total of TL 137 million ($66 million) to help him disguise money-laundering operations. Halkbank and its general manager, Süleyman Aslan, also under arrest, were involved in Turkey's gold trade with Iran.

However, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan praised Zarrab for his contribution to the country's economy and charity events while addressing reporters aboard his plan on his return from Pakistan.

Today's Zaman phoned the Iranian Embassy in Ankara for comment on the accusations against Iran, but the embassy did not respond to repeated calls by the newspaper.

Speaking about the silence of Iran since the corruption scandal began to rock Turkey, Mehmet Şahin, an expert on Iranian politics and a professor of international relations at Gazi University in Ankara, stated that as part of the opening policy adopted by new Iranian President Hassan Rohani since he took office in early August, Tehran does not want to be seen as directly involved in Turkey's domestic issues in order to avoid sabotaging the reconciliation process it launched with the West.

Meanwhile, experts believe that the Turkish government is looking for US and Israeli hands in the anti-corruption operation because of the use of Halkbank to circumvent the sanctions imposed on Iran.

Several pro-government media outlets claimed that US Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone had told several European Union ambassadors that Washington asked the bank to cut its ties with Iran -- allegations vehemently denied by the ambassador.

Şahin maintained that Iran, hard-pressed by UN sanctions, tried to break the sanctions through Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other neighboring countries.

“As a way to evade the embargo, Iran has increased the number of its companies in some countries, particularly Turkey and the UAE. Iranian companies are at the forefront of foreign companies established in Turkey,” said Şahin.
The number of Iranian companies established in Turkey has increased tremendously in recent years. Iranian companies left all others behind with an increase of 41 percent in 2012 over the previous year in terms of the number of newly established companies in Turkey.

Last year, 590 new Iranian companies were established in Turkey. Currently there are 2,116 companies said to have been established after 2010 in Turkey. Iran was Turkey's third-largest goods export market last year, according to the Ministry of Economy.

Erdoğan is anticipated to visit Iran in the coming days while Rohani is scheduled to visit Turkey in January. However, it is still a matter of question whether those visits will take place while Turkey is still in the midst of a major corruption investigation.Hmmm.....If Rouhani wanted to discredit former Pres Ahmadinejad and the IRGC he might have the perfect occasion for it now, I wonder if Pres Obama knew this was coming and if this was the reason why Erdogan did not show up at Mandela's funeral.....How 'close' is Zarrab to the Erdogan family?

"Sanctions that Benefit" - Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Denies Zanjani Has Returned Oil Money.

Zarrab reportedly tells the Turkish prosecutors that his “boss” and contact in Tehran was Babak Zanjani, the controversial Iranian businessman and head of the Sorinet Group business conglomerate

"Sanctions that Benefit" - Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Denies Zanjani Has Returned Oil Money.HT: UskowiOnIran.

The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced today that Babak Zanjani, the notorious “sanctions broker” involved in the “private” sale of Iranian crude oil in the black market, has not returned any of the sales proceeds to the oil ministry’s account at CBI, Fars News Agency reported today. 

The central bank had said Zanjani owes the oil ministry billions of dollars. Zanjani had told reporters last week that he has repaid all that he owed.

The semi-official Fars News Agency reported today that a document presented by Zanjani to an investigating committee of Majlis showing that he had deposited funds at CBI was “forged.” The bogus document reportedly showed the funds were transferred to CBI through the central bank of Tajikistan. (Fars News Agency, 28 December)

Zanjani had become a successful “sanctions broker,” or what President Rouhani today called “sanctions profiteer.” He is the owner of a private company that had received huge allotment of Iranian crude oil to sell in the black market for cash. His company is believed to have close ties with the IRGC, who had received the original export permit from the oil ministry.

Rouhani today ordered an immediate investigation into sanctions profiteering. He said those who have taken advantage of special (anti-sanctions) concessions and privileges to enrich themselves would be identified and punished.

Zanjani has also been implicated in “gas-for-gold” scheme in Turkey. Reza Zarrab, the Iranian sanctions broker who was arrested in Istanbul last week, has told Turkish authorities that Zanjani was his “boss” and contact in Tehran. Hmmm....As i said many times before all this happened because the Obama 'Admin' 'Allowed' it to happen.

Related:

Iranian billionaire businessman, Zanjani claims his business is legal, denies involvement in Turkey corruption scandal.

"Sanctions That Benefit" - Growing Corruption Scandal in Turkey Involves Iran – ‘Gas for Gold’ 

Great overview of 'events' here: 

AKP's Longest Day: Erdogan's Omnipotence Backfires Spectaculary, But Will The Protests Trigger Early Elections? 

Gold at center of corruption, money laundering allegations hitting Erdogan's Turkish gov't.

Gold at center of corruption, money laundering allegations hitting Erdogan's Turkish gov't.(HD).

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) Istanbul deputy Umut Oran filed a parliamentary question in July 2012 referring to my column to ask Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan about the issue.

Babacan sought to clear the issue on November 2012 with this answer; “We put the money for Iranian gas into Iran’s bank account in Turkey in liras. However, it is impossible for Iran to bring that money to its country in the dollar because of international restrictions and U.S. sanctions. Therefore, Iran withdraws that money from its account and buys gold from the market to bring it back. I don’t how it does so, but this is how it works.”

The claims are saying Reza Zarrab and his team were one of the mediators that used to do what Babacan said he didn’t know and they were earning a great amount of money.

Gold deposits

According to claims, Zarrab needed some convenience support in the transaction of transferring the gold bullion with planes and couriers. Mediator bank Halkbank’s General Manager Süleymen Arslan, Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan and his son, Interior Minister Muammer Güler and his son and EU Minister Egemen Bağış are claimed to be the ones helping him with citizenship, residence and business permits in return for bribery. 

The Turkish banks’ gold deposit practices, which are presented with an innocent reason of inclusion of under-the-pillow gold into market through economy management, have also been regarded as being a part of these money laundering claims.

It was said there were approximately 5,000 tons of gold with a value of $300 billion under pillows and they were aimed to be drawn to recoded finance.

Banks were allowed to keep 30 percent of the reserves they have to allocate for the Central Bank in gold, which was alluring for them.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) describes Turkey as one of the countries that have flaws in its fight against Money Laundering Legislation, along with Indonesia, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen Ethiopia, Ecuador and Nigeria. 

Is it possible the government’s attempts to control the probe through changing investigation officials and regulation amendments to push Turkey from the gray zone to the black zone on the OECD level?

Would Turkish banks face international blockage? It was clear that such a measure would create a great hole in a Turkish economy that is dependent on foreign capital inflow.

Claims of Turkey’s financing and supporting al-Qaida-like organizations in Syria could be added and the Justice and Development (AKP) leadership could face serious accusations. It wasn’t coincidence the U.S. Treasury Undersecretary David Cohen met with banks in Istanbul and discuss Halkbank.Read the full story here.

Related:

The End of Erdogan’s Cave of Wonders: An I-Told-You-So

In June 2012, for example, David Ignatius of the Washington Post bragged that Obama’s embrace of Erdogan had “paid big dividends.” Said Ignatius:

As President Barack Obama was feeling his way in foreign policy during his first months in office, he decided to cultivate a friendship with Turkey’s headstrong prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Over the past year, this investment in Turkey has begun to pay some big dividends – anchoring the policy of the United States in a region that sometimes seems adrift.
Erdogan’s clout was on display this week as he hosted a meeting in Istanbul of the World Economic Forum that celebrated the stability of the “Turkish model” of Muslim democracy amid the turmoil of the Arab Spring. One panel had the enraptured title “Turkey as a Source of Inspiration.”

Now the hashish smoke has cleared, Erdogan’s Cave of Wonders has turned back into a sandpit, and the foreign policy establishment has nothing to show for years of propitiation of this Anatolian wannabe except a headache.

Now that Turkey is coming unstuck, along with Libya, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, we should conclude that the entire project of bringing stability to the Muslim world was a hookah-dream to begin with. Except for the state of Israel and a couple of Sunni monarchies that survive by dint of their oil wealth, we are witnessing the unraveling of the Middle East. The best we can do is to insulate ourselves from the spillover effect.

Hélène Flautre accuses Erdoğan with being ‘irresponsible' in corruption scandal.

Hélène Flautre accuses Erdoğan with being ‘irresponsible' in corruption scandal.(TZ).

Hélène Flautre, the co-chairwoman of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, released a statement on Saturday in which she criticized Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with being “irresponsible” for accusing those who investigate the recent corruption probe.

"I observe the recent developments in Turkey with extreme vigilance, which greatly affect the credit of Prime Minister. In his statements, he accuses those who investigating the probe rather than require light on serious allegations of corruption involving his family is irresponsible. Allegations are certainly not findings, and justice must now continue its work in serenity and independence,” Flautre said.

Flautre's statement came after the Council of State's decision on Friday to cancel the Erdoğan government's executive order requiring police and prosecutors to notify their superiors of all investigations, effectively giving the government advance warning of what should be secret investigations.

“This is a serious political crisis and the European Union must stand firmly on the side of the defense of the rule of law, avoiding any exploitation of the situation,” her statement added.

After the cancellation of the order by the Council of State on Friday, Erdoğan said he would prosecute Turkey's top judicial body if he had the authority because it “committed a crime.”

Erdoğan claimed the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) has committed a crime by issuing a statement about a judicial police regulation while it was being assessed at the Council of State. On Thursday, the HSYK has harshly criticized the new judicial police regulation, saying that it is in violation of the Turkish Constitution.

The Erdoğan government's interference into and pressure on the judiciary was met with a huge backlash from opposition parties, bar associations, advocacy groups and the media. It has raised concerns of an attempted government cover-up of the corruption probe that has implicated prominent people in the business community and government.

White House panel: Little to no indication mass NSA surveillance thwarts terrorism.

White House panel: Little to no indication mass NSA surveillance thwarts terrorism. (RT).

Geoffrey Stone, a University of Chicago law professor, told NBC he was “absolutely” shocked when the review panel’s findings turned up little to no indication that terrorist activity had been identified by the controversial National Security Agency practiced.

“It was, ‘Huh, hello? What are we doing here?’” he said. “The results were very thin.”

The NSA program was one of the first Snowden leaks to be made public in The Guardian and The Washington Post earlier this year. It was revealed that the agency does not listen in on telephone conversations in the US, but does compel major telecommunication companies like Verizon and AT&T to turn over the records – including the time and length of the call as well as the numbers dialed - belonging to millions of Americans.

Stone was among the five members of the White House review panel who were handpicked by the Obama administration to consider if major changes should be enacted to the NSA programs. The group began work on August 27 and has since met with executives from Google and Facebook, as well as lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and even the chief judge of the FISA court.

The panel recommended this week that the massive collection of phone records be stopped immediately to protect Americans’ privacy. They issued this recommendation upon finding that it was “not essential in preventing attacks.”

That assertion blatantly contradicts statements made by President Obama and intelligence leaders for over six months.

“Lives have been saved,” Obama told reporters when the Snowden leak was first reported. “We know of at least 50 threats that have been averted because of this information.”
Yet Stone spared no sympathy for Snowden, saying that the former NSA contractor was wrong to release so much information regarding national security.

“My empathetic view is that a person who has access to classified information – the revelation of which could damage national security – should never take it upon himself to reveal that information,” he said.

Admitting he was using a “somewhat inflammatory” example, Stone compared Snowden’s actions to a crazed gun control advocate.
“Suppose someone decides we need gun control and they go out and kill 15 kids and then a state enacts gun control?” he said, decrying the whistleblower for putting the nation “at risk.”

This week’s recommendation quietly noted that the phone collection program, which uses Section 215 of the Patriot Act as legal justification, has “only made a modest contribution to the nation’s security.” It went on to note that “there has been no instance in which NSA could say with confidence that the outcome [of a terror investigation would have been any different” without section 215, as quoted by NBC.

It also proposed applying oversight to the US’ surveillance on targets outside the country, and increasing internal security in an attempt to stop future leaks. These points came as somewhat of a surprise to some pundits, who dismissed the White House panel as a political ploy that would have no real impact on the security vs. privacy discussion.
“That was stunning. That was the ballgame,” one congressional intelligence official told NBC. “It flies in the face of everything they have tossed at us.”
The President is expected to address the recommendation, and possibly enact some of the proposed changes, sometime in January.

“The message to the NSA is now coming from every branch of government and from every corner of our nation: You have gone too far. The bulk collection of Americans’ data by the US government must end,” Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters Friday. “This momentous report from the President’s closest advisers is a vindication of the efforts of a bipartisan group of legislators that has been working for years to protect Americans’ privacy by reining in these intelligence authorities.”

Related:

Obama defends NSA programs during rare White House press conference

Yahoo announces plan to encrypt all customer data, email by 2014.

Yahoo announces plan to encrypt all customer data, email by 2014.(RT).

Mayer published the news in an announcement to customers on Yahoo’s Tumblr page. She acknowledged that the changes are in response to the NSA leaks that began in June, which have outraged the public and challenged internet leaders to come up with an answer. 

“We’ve worked hard over the years to earn our users’ trust and we fight hard to preserve it. As you know, there have been a number of reports over the last six months about the US government secretly accessing user data without the knowledge of tech companies, including Yahoo,” she wrote. 
“I want to reiterate what we have said in the past: Yahoo has never given access to our data centers to the NSA or to any other government agency. Ever. There is nothing more important to us than protecting our users’ privacy.” 

Mayer said the changes will be implemented by the first quarter of 2014. 
The statement comes less than one month after The Washington Post revealed that the NSA infiltrated the main communication links between Yahoo and Google centers located around the world. By doing so, the NSA essentially gave itself the ability to collect information from hundreds of users’ accounts, most of whom are Americans.  
Working in conjunction with the GCHQ, its British intelligence counterpart, the NSA processed 181,280,466 records showing which users sent or received emails, when they did so, and other context such as text, audio, and video. This program is in addition to the court-approved PRISM program, according to the Post report based on documents obtained by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. 
Yahoo recently announced that the company plans to better protect the privacy of Yahoo Mail by introducing Secure Sockets Layer - known as SSL - encrypting with a 2048-bit key. According to Mayer’s announcement, the company plans to build on that.
“We will encrypt all information that moves between our data centers by the end of Q1 of 2014,” she wrote, adding that Yahoo plans to “offer users an option to encrypt all data flow to/from Yahoo by the end of Q1 2014, work closely with our international Mail partners to ensure that Yahoo co-branded Mail accounts are https-enabled.” 
This announcement comes after Google went public with a similar encryption initiative that aims to turn messages from text into gibberish when Google is forced to turnover data by court order. Eric Grosse, vice president for security engineering at Google, told The Washington Post in September that such efforts are likely to continue. 

“It’s an arms race,” he said. “We see these government agencies as among the most skilled players in the game.” 

Germany, Brazil submit UN draft resolution to end mass surveillance.

Germany, Brazil submit UN draft resolution to end mass surveillance.(RT).

The draft resolution did not point fingers at any specific country, but UN diplomats said it was in response to recent revelations of US mass surveillance programs, Reuters reported.

The text of the resolution asks the 193-nation assembly to declare that it is "deeply concerned at human rights violations and abuses that may result from the conduct of any surveillance of communications, including extraterritorial surveillance of communications.”
The circulated draft also urges member states "to take measures to put an end to violations of these rights and to create the conditions to prevent such violations, including by ensuring that relevant national legislation complies with their obligations under international human rights law.”

It is expected that the draft resolution will be debated in the General Assembly's Third Committee, which deals with human rights issues.
"We have received the draft and will evaluate the text on its merits," said an official at the US mission to the United Nations. 
Several diplomats said they expect the resolution to receive support from the vast majority of UN member states.
The goal of the resolution is to gain wide international support and spread moral and political values on the subject of surveillance. 

The resolution’s intention is to call on member states “to establish independent national oversight mechanisms capable of ensuring transparency and accountability of State surveillance of communications, their interception and collection of personal data.”

It would also ask UN human rights chief Navi Pillay to publish a report "on the protection of the right to privacy in the context of domestic and extraterritorial, including massive, surveillance of communications, their interception and collection of personal data.”

US global surveillance sparked international outrage following leaks from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and German Chancellor Angela Merkel found themselves in the middle of the controversy after reports emerged that both leaders were spied on by the NSA.
The US has stated that it is not spying on Merkel will not do so in the future. However, Washington has not commented on possible past surveillance.

Meanwhile, spy chief Keith Alexander has blamed US diplomats for ordering the surveillance of EU politicians. The White House is seeking to distance itself from the scandal, intimating the NSA was acting of its own volition. 

In a video conference to London on Thursday, US Secretary of State John Kerry addressed accusations that the NSA recorded millions of European citizens’ telephone calls. Kerry conceded that US surveillance has “in some cases...reached too far” and said the NSA had been conducting its espionage on “automatic pilot.”

EU delegation left with more questions than they arrived with, Washington’s answers don’t justify NSA spying.

EU delegation left with more questions than they arrived with, Washington’s answers don’t justify NSA spying. (RT).

The European Union’s delegation of politicians trusted with getting answers from Washington over the National Security Agency’s (NSA) espionage programs in the EU left with more questions than they arrived with.
The heated condemnation of the reports the US eavesdropped on millions of calls as well as the communication of EU leaders was dampened by spy Director Gen. Keith Alexander.
“It is much more important for this country that we defend this nation and take the beatings than it is to give up a program that would result in us being attacked,” Alexander told House of Representatives Intelligence Committee on Wednesday.

Furthermore, he said that the reports in European media alleging the NSA recorded millions of personal phone calls were “completely false.”

Addressing allegations of EU complicity in the spying he said that some data had been provided “to NSA by foreign partners,” but it is “not information that we collected on European citizens.”
“It represents information that we and our NATO allies have collected in defense of our countries and in support of military operations," said Alexander.

Following the meeting members of the delegation told RT’s Gayane Chichikyan that espionage on such a scale could not be justified by the American fight against terrorism.

Spanish MEP Salvador Sedo said that Alexander gave some statistics and an explanation neither of which “clarify the situation.” “This is not justifiable,” said Sedo, adding that the tapping of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone was not included in Alexander’s explanation.

A group of German officials are also in Washington this week to address allegations of the NSA eavesdropping on the Chancellor phone.

RT’s correspondent, Gayane Chichikyan, described the EU delegation’s visit as purely “symbolic.”
“They came to Washington, expressed reserved indignation and then agreed to cooperate further. This is something that we’ve seen before,” said Chichikyan.


The EU delegation left Washington on Wednesday and it remains to be seen what action will be taken in relation to the talks with US officials. European leaders have threatened to suspend the multi-billion ‘Safe Harbor’ trade pact as a measure against US spying. The deal allows American companies to collect data on clients, something that the EU believes is being undermined by the NSA.Read the full story here.

"Yes We Can" - EU calls for suspension of multi-billion ‘Safe Harbor’ deal over NSA spying.

"Yes We Can" - EU calls for suspension of multi-billion ‘Safe Harbor’ deal over NSA spying.(RT).

The EU’s top politicians have slammed Washington for a “breakdown of trust” and seek guarantees for the safety of EU customer data.

“For ambitious and complex negotiations to succeed there needs to be trust among the negotiating partners,” EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said Wednesday in a speech at Yale University.

The Safe Harbor agreement has been in place for 13 years and it allows over 4,300 American companies to collect and process sales, emails and photos from EU customers. In order for firms to be able to collate this information they have to comply with seven directives to prevent data loss and disclosure.

However, EU officials believe the system is flawed and can be manipulated by the NSA. “If you look at the US legal environment, there is no adequate legal protection for EU citizens,” said the European Parliament’s leading data protection lawmaker Jan Philipp Albrecht after talks with officials in Washington.

In the light of the spy scandal the EU has threatened to suspend the treaty pending stipulated changes that would sure up security. EU leaders are expected to urge the US to strengthen its privacy laws to allow European citizen more control over how their private data is used.

If the ‘Safe Harbor’ pact is suspended it could have a massive knock-on effect, costing the US and EU billions of dollars in trade. Moreover, the pact allows US companies to get around the lengthy approval procedure by the European data protection authorities, without it some US firms would be forced to stop doing business in the EU.

“I don’t think the US government can be convinced by arguments or outrage alone, but by making it clear that American interests will suffer if this global surveillance is simply continued,” said Peter Schaar, the head of Germany’s data protection watchdog.


If Washington fails to comply with the EU’s demands then it could further endanger a free trade deal which could add an estimated $138 billion a year to each economy’s gross domestic product.

Reding warned that if changes were not made to US privacy regulations, negotiations for the free trade agreement could easily be “derailed.”

Negotiations on the conditions of the transatlantic agreement are due to resume in December and a decision is likely to be reached by the end of the year.

The revelations of the NSA’s spying activities in Europe scandalized the 28-nation bloc. Security leaks released by former CIA worker Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA taps millions of phone calls across the continent and stores the collected information in its data banks.

Furthermore, the security disclosures indicate the NSA not only monitors citizens it suspects are involved in terrorism, but also businessmen and high-profile politicians. ......AND THE VATICAN!

In the wake of the scandal the White House has launched an inquiry into its intelligence-gathering practices. Hmmm.........