No other government like this one
YILMAZ ÖZDİL yozdil@hurriyet.com.tr
The interior minister asks his son, “How much money have you got at home, son?” The son answers, “One trillion, dad.” The interior minister still insists, “I did not call my son, neither did my son call me. There is no wiretapping.”The brother-in-law of the transport minister is detained. The transport minister says he doesn’t know about it. Contractors call each other to say, “If Binali stays, we’re good. We will f… the nation.” Binali, again, says he doesn’t know of it.
A watch worth 700,000 Turkish Liras has been put on the wrist of the economy minister. He has a summary of proceedings for bribery. His son is arrested. The economy minister says he is serving with his honor, that there is not one kuruş of money he can’t account for.
The Housing Development Administration (TOKİ) minister says, “Whatever I have done was done under the instructions of the prime minister. The prime minister should also resign; never mind, I can’t explain.” Later on, he says, “I apologize to my esteemed prime minister. Personally, there is nothing between me and my leader that we can’t explain.”
The EU minister is accused of receiving bags full of 500,000 liras inside suit boxes. He answers that he has no doubt in his faith, “Thank God that there is no doubt about our beliefs or religious practices.”
The justice minister says the content of the summary of proceedings has not been looked into, and that they were sent back as they arrived. He said there was nothing against the law. He says there was no pressure on the justice. He says the government is not at all arranging a new prosecutor.
The prosecutor, police, gendarmerie, the ones who stopped the MİT (National Intelligence Organization) trucks, all of them have been reassigned; the trucks drove away. A media blackout was imposed; the foreign minister said nothing was done secretly. The American dollar, which was supposed to be one Turkish Lira, is nearing two and a half liras; but the finance minister says there’s nothing to exaggerate about.
There is no rain, the water levels in the dams are at their lowest in 20 years; but the waterworks minister says there is no danger of a draught. We were one of the seven self-sufficient countries, now we are importing hay; but the agriculture minister says there is no drop in production. Unemployment has exploded to 4.7 million. We have more unemployed than the total population of Ankara together with its vicinities; but Ali Babacan still says there is no need for a solution package because there is no crisis in the country.
The prime minister says “parallel state” 78 times a day. He says junta, gang, organization, spy, assassin. He says “we will go into their dens.” Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç says there is no “parallel state” investigation. Customs and Trade Minister Hayati Yazıcı is much better; he says, “There is only one state, there is no parallel state.”
There are summaries of proceedings for six Cabinet ministers; two sons of ministers are in jail; there is an abundance of corruption, bribery, villas, and a pool of contractors. The prime minister says, “These do not have the slightest connection to me personally.”
As a result, it is very reasonable that main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has taken the Supreme Court of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) law to the Constitutional Court “to be declared null and void.”
Because, really…
There is no such government…
There is no other example in the world!
Yılmaz Özdil is a columnist for daily Hürriyet in which this abridged piece was published on Feb 21. It was translated into English by the Daily News staff.