What Feb. 28 could not do to Erbakan, his family is doing
I’m watching with astonishment. For years, the opposition on one hand and the government on the other had done whatever they could to lower the prestige of former prime minister and leader of the Welfare Party and the National Salvation Party Necmettin Erbakan.
Especially on February 28, they wanted to bury him. But the damage none of them were able to inflict on Erbakan’s name is now being inflicted by his own family.
They are ruining their father’s reputation in public. It is not a nice image, people trying to scratch each others’ eyes out. It has become more distasteful due to the implication that aid money collected from pious people has entered the pockets others.
The most important figure in the party, Oğuzhan Asiltürk, said “Erbakan registered all the immovable property belonging to the cause in the name of his son and his son-in-law. And they have pocketed the money.” Erbakan’s daughter Zeynep Erbakan has filed suit, claiming that her brothers have hidden the true value of the estate inherited from their father.
Total scandal. The legend has shattered to pieces.
The image that emerges is that when it comes to money, there is neither any piousness nor abiding by the rules of the Koran left. The members of that party are no different from those of other parties. They collect money from pious people and spend it for their own needs.
Unfortunately, what the Erbakan family is doing is only strengthening this image.
The leader of the Felicity Party (SP), Mustafa Kabalak, has protested, saying, “This is the exaggeration of the media. They are trying to block the party. It is a domestic family affair and does not involve the party.” But when the name they have flown as a flag begins to wear away, they themselves also wear away. Beliefs are scarred.
Once again we see that money has no color or religion…
‘Unfortunately died a martyr’
What would you say in response to the words of this deputy of ours?
“For a person who has been martyred, the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) speaker should not say, ‘Unfortunately, he has become a martyr.’ Martyrdom is a rank. Everybody lives their lives to reach this rank.” Ruling Justice and Development Party (Ak Parti) Gümüşhane deputy Kemalettin Aydın criticized TRT for this and said he would never watch TRT channels again.
Unbelievable. Because it is so unbelievable, TRT General Manager İbrahim Şahin could not contain himself anymore and exploded in a parliamentary committee meeting: “Should people die this way? With these words, we are trying to express that people should not die. Otherwise, indeed, martyrdom is a rank. But what is important is human life, what needs to be stressed is that people should not die.”
When the deputy, as if trying to prove his piousness, says, “I want to become a martyr,” Şahin gives a very correct reaction, “Then this terror should go on, and the number of martyrs should increase. Do we want this?”
There is no need for me to add anything to that. Şahin has given the due reply.
Back from Dubai
When businessman Fettah Tamince invited me, I could not turn him down. I participated in the opening of his hotel in Dubai and we spent two wonderful days there.
When a Turkish entrepreneur achieves something in another country, it thrills me and I take pleasure in participating. This is Rixos’ second hotel in Dubai. Both of them are shaped like the famous palm tree. It is incredible, one has to see it. The name of the first hotel was Ottoman Palace. I have never seen such beautiful Turkish architecture and interior decoration. Following on its success, a second hotel project was given to the Rixos group. The second one is the Rixos Palm Jumeirah. The opening, the hotel, and the food were unforgettable.
We had to wrap ourselves in blankets because this month has been the coldest in 20 years in Dubai.
Dubai is like a mixture of New York, Hong Kong, and Singapore. It is like a Lego city, very modern, clean and well managed.