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Interview with Former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu
“Parts of the Government Are Mafia-Like”
As prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu was one of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s closest allies. In an interview, he now accuses the Turkish president of driving his country into the ground.
Interview Conducted By Sebnem Arsu und Maximilian Popp
20.07.2021, 17.40 Uhr
Spiegel Int'l
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu says: "Leaders are at their weakest
when they think they are particularly strong." Foto: Arif Hudaverdi Yaman / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
It’s shortly before midnight when Ahmet Davutoğlu arrives for an interview at a guesthouse in the Old Town of Antakya, near the Syrian border. He has spent the entire day rushing from appointment to appointment in nearly 40-degree-Celsius (104-degree-Fahrenheit) heat, meeting supporters of his Future Party as well as speaking with young people and local business owners. Davutoğlu, 62, served as foreign minister from 2009 to 2014 and then as prime minister from 2014 to 2016, both under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In 2019, he bolted from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) following a dispute with Erdoğan and founded his own party. Since then, he has been traveling around the country to build up support for his party. Davutoğlu believes Erdoğan’s administration will soon collapse, and the former prime minister aspires to be part of a new government.
Ahmet Davutoğlu says corruption "is more rampant than ever" in Turkey. Foto: Bradley Secker
DER SPIEGEL: Mr. Davutoğlu, you served as foreign minister and head of government under President Erdoğan. Why are you turning against him now?
Davutoğlu: There wasn’t just one reason or just one episode. It was a process. As Erdoğan’s chief foreign policy adviser and as foreign minister, I was responsible for diplomacy. My powers were limited. When I became prime minister, I realized that the country needed to be fundamentally reformed in terms of democracy, rule of law, and transparency. After my election victory in November 2015, I presented a reform package that included measures such as to change the criteria used for awarding government contracts. No one – no minister, no businessman – should continue to be able to enrich themselves at the public’s expense.
DER SPIEGEL: Have you personally witnessed instances of government corruption?
Davutoğlu: Yes. Power corrupts. When Erdoğan became prime minister in 2003, he still wanted to curb corruption in the country. Today, it is more rampant than ever. I wanted to fight nepotism, but my efforts were in vain. After I left office, Erdoğan’s son-in-law became the most powerful man in the system. I stood up for ethics in politics. Erdoğan didn’t want that.
DER SPIEGEL: Did you have to go because you were too critical?
Davutoğlu: I was too visible and too efficient as prime minister. Erdoğan couldn’t deal with that. He accepts no one alongside him. He turned the party leadership against me. I realized that it is impossible to implement reforms in this kind of environment. That’s why I stepped down as prime minister.
DER SPIEGEL: You are presenting yourself as an outsider, but you were part of the system for almost two decades.
Davutoğlu: I categorically reject that. If I had tolerated corruption, mismanagement, nepotism and attacks on the rule of law, I would still be prime minister or in some other leadership position today.
DER SPIEGEL: You were in charge of the government when the military was waging war against its own people in the Kurdish regions. Do you feel partly to blame for the decline of Turkish democracy?
Davutoğlu: No. Your description is incorrect. It was not a war against Kurds, but rather an anti-terrorist operation against groups like PKK (eds: the Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and Daesh. I would order it again today in exactly the same way.
DER SPIEGEL: Erdoğan started out as a democratic reformer. What went wrong?
Davutoğlu: We were on the right track. In 2010, we passed a reform package that was met with approval even by large parts of the opposition. The turning point came in 2013 ...
DER SPIEGEL: ... with the protests in Istanbul’s Gezi Park, which were quashed by the police.
Davutoğlu: Not only with that. FETÖ (eds: the movement led by Islamist preacher Fethullah Gülen) was grabbing for power more and more shamelessly. And Erdoğan was becoming more and more authoritarian. As prime minister, I tried to fix the state. But I wasn’t able to accomplish what I wanted to.
DER SPIEGEL: Your critics say you were Erdoğan’s puppet.
Davutoğlu: Anyone who calls me a puppet doesn’t understand Turkish politics. Forty-seven out of 50 members of the AKP’s central committee signed a petition against me in 2016 at Erdoğan’s insistence. Then they secretly apologized to me. They said: "Hocam (eds: my teacher), your criticisms were correct.”
There is more on this interview on Spiegel International
A woman was stabbed in Hyde Park. Media and authorities are acting
as if she had it coming for wearing a Charlie Hebdo shirt
26 Jul, 2021 20:18By Nebojsa Malic, senior writer at RT
Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park, London (January 2015 FILE PHOTO) © REUTERS/Stefan Wermut
After a woman was brutally attacked at Hyde Park’s Speaker’s Corner, reports about the incident focused on what she wore, begging the question whether free speech is no longer sacred to people who run London and the UK.
A graphic video making rounds on social media shows a man, reportedly dressed in a black robe with a hood, punching and stabbing a woman on Sunday afternoon, then being chased away by police. He somehow evaded the authorities and disappeared, leaving the knife behind.
Reports about the incident spoke of a 39-year-old woman, who suffered “a minor slash injury to her head” that was described as not life-threatening after treatment at a local hospital. The papers revealed no identifying information about the attacker and dutifully quoted the Metropolitan Police urging Londoners to come forth with evidence.
“I would ask people not to speculate on the motive for the attack until we have established the full facts,” the police spokesperson concluded.
Seriously!
That did not stop the media from pointing out that the woman wore a “Charlie Hebdo top,” and reminding the public that the satirical French magazine was targeted by “Islamic extremists” in January 2015 over its cover depicting the Prophet Muhammad. The implication is clear: the woman wore a provocative shirt that offended Muslims somehow, and therefore had the stabbing coming.
The story only gets more troubling when some of the missing details are filled in. Even a cursory glance at the video and stills from the incident shows the woman wearing a top printed with a Charlie Hebdo cover – but not the one depicting the Muslim prophet. Instead, it showed a homosexual kiss between a CH cartoonist and a Muslim preacher, captioned “Love stronger than hate.”
While the authorities did not name the victim, bloggers and activists identified her as Hatun Tash, 39, who fled Turkey after renouncing Islam for Christianity. She now preaches in Hyde Park on behalf of Defend Christ Critique Islam Ministries.
In countries practicing Sharia Law – such as Saudi Arabia – apostasy from Islam is a crime punishable by death. Turkey is nominally secular still. So is the UK. Which is why the British authorities ought to be alarmed by this attack, but they don’t seem to be.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who once infamously said terrorist attacks were “part and parcel of living in a big city,” did not even acknowledge the incident. Instead, he demanded that police investigate a speech by an “anti-vaxxer” former nurse.
According to one blogger, Tash has been a fixture at Speakers Corner, facing “intimidation, threats, sexual assaults and physical assaults” in recent years. In October 2020, she was apparently assaulted and knocked unconscious. On another occasion, the blogger said she was detained by police and held for 20 hours without an explanation.
Focusing on Tash’s choice of clothing comes perniciously close to blaming her for “provoking” the attack somehow. Her top, or her words for that matter, may have been offensive to some Muslims, but they were not in violation of the law.
One would expect the British public to show some solidarity with a woman attacked by a knife-wielding man, in broad daylight, for speaking at a place dedicated to free speech. There have been no calls for curfew on men this time, however.
Worse yet, violence is increasingly becoming the norm at Speakers Corner. It has reportedly seen multiple clashes in recent months, between Shia and Sunni Muslims. Indeed, in one of the videos that captured the attack on Tash, the speakers in the foreground can be heard discussing Islamic theology.
There is nothing wrong with that as such, so long as everyone understands that the laws, customs and traditions of Speakers Corner, London and the UK take precedence over those they brought with them from abroad. Otherwise what’s next, practicing suttee in Kensington Gardens in the name of diversity and inclusion?
Are hundreds of years of free speech at Speaker's Corner coming to an end because governments are more concerned with Muslim sensitivities than free speech?
Second judoka quits Tokyo Olympics before facing Israeli opponent
who Algerian refused to meet over Palestine conflict
26 Jul, 2021 09:42
A second judoka who was due to face an Israeli opponent has withdrawn from the Tokyo Olympics© Mandi Wright / USA Today Network via Reuters
Sudanese judoka Mohamed Abdalrasool weighed in but did not appear for his clash with Tohar Butbal in the round of 32 at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday, leaving the Israeli without an opponent again after Fethi Nourine was sent home.
Algerian Nourine drew praise and criticism after refusing to take on Butbal, explaining that "the Palestinian cause is bigger than all of this" before being suspended by the International Judo Foundation (IJF).
The federation has not immediately declared why Abdalrasool did not participate, and the Guardian said that the governing body and Sudanese Olympic officials had not provided an immediate comment on the situation.
Abdalrasool, who has a 73kg world ranking of 469, would have been a sizeable underdog against seventh-ranked Butbul, who also saw Nourine quit a bout against him at the 2019 world championships.
Abdalrasool was due to meet Butbal as a result of Nourine's premature exit. "Sudanese athletes also won't face Israelis," speculated one sports writer.
Despite the nature of Abdalrasool's withdrawal being unclear, he was swiftly savaged by some on social media, with Nourine also copping fury.
"Fethi Nourine and Mohamed Abdalrasool should be banned for life in every Judo association," said one angry respondent. "Such blatant anti-semitism has no place in sports and should be severely punished."
Others described Abdalrasool as "another coward", with one writing: "I want to say that I can't believe they hate Israel so much that they're willing to ruin their entire career over competing fairly with an Israeli athlete, but anti-semitism is just like that, isn't it?"
In a statement, the IJF said it had taken its decision to punish Nourine because it would not tolerate "discrimination" and wanted to foster the "respect and friendship" at the heart of its moral code.
Nourine said he had been motivated by a desire not to "get his hands dirty", while his coach insisted the decision to pull out had been the right one.
I would be willing to bet that this is all about pride and racism. The pride comes in as both Muslim wrestlers were likely afraid of losing to a Jew. Put them up against a Jew and they run.
‘Mossad cell’ arrested over plans to provoke violence
during ongoing protests in Iran, Tehran claims
27 Jul, 2021 13:56
FILE PHOTO: Iranian security forces during drills. © Reuters / WANA
Members of an armed cell who allegedly worked with Israel’s Mossad spy agency and planned to provoke violence during protests in Iran have been detained, Tehran’s Intelligence Ministry has told local media.
The group, which allegedly had access to a heavy shipment of weapons and ammunition, was recently apprehended after entering Iran through its western border, an official from the ministry told the Fars news agency.
The official didn’t elaborate on the size of the unit or the nationality of those arrested, but they insisted that the suspects were acting in cooperation with Mossad, the Israeli spy agency.
The weapons seized from the alleged agents included pistols, grenades, rifles, shotguns, and ammo. The arms were being brought into Iran to be used during “urban riots and assassinations,” according to the ministry official.
The announcement comes after several weeks of demonstrations in Iran against water shortages in the southwest of the country, caused by severe drought. The unrest has resulted in at least five deaths among the protesters.
The Intelligence Ministry representative also claimed that Israel had been intending to carry out “acts of sabotage” during the Iranian presidential election in mid-June, which was won by hardline candidate Ebrahim Raisi. The country’s security forces prevented those activities, he added, and “dealt a blow to the Mossad terrorist network.”
He also thanked Iranians for their “constant vigilance,” while urging the public to remain wary of any "suspicious offers," particularly if made online.
Tehran has long accused Israeli intelligence of undertaking malign activities on Iranian territory in an attempt to undermine the country’s stability and derail its nuclear program.
The two blasts that rocked the Natanz nuclear site in April 2021 and July 2020, as well as the assassination of a top scientist in Iran’s nuclear program, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, in November 2020, have been linked to Mossad by Iranian officials.
While the Israeli government has not claimed or denied responsibility for those incidents, recently retired Mossad chief Yossi Cohen implied last month that his agency could well have played a part in them.
In a bombshell TV interview, Cohen remarked that the Natanz facility didn’t “look like it used to” after the explosion crippled its centrifuges, and confirmed that Fakhrizadeh had been a target for intelligence-gathering by Mossad “for many years” because Israel was “most troubled” by his work.
It's curious how the cell members entered Iran from its western borders. Its western borders are shared with Iraq and Turkey. To get to Iraq or Turkey, anyone from Israel would have to cross Syria or Jordan. Iran's western borders are about 1000 km from Israel.
Could this be a case of Iran blaming their interior troubles on Israel? Could it be a pretext for war, which would redirect the anger of Iranians from their hapless government?
I don't doubt that Israel's Mossad and IDF had much to do with the Natanz bombing and the Fakhrizadeh assassination. Israel has to disrupt Iran's nuclear program or Israel will disappear.
A woman was stabbed in Hyde Park. Media and authorities are acting
as if she had it coming for wearing a Charlie Hebdo shirt
26 Jul, 2021 20:18
By Nebojsa Malic, senior writer at RT
Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park, London (January 2015 FILE PHOTO) © REUTERS/Stefan Wermut
After a woman was brutally attacked at Hyde Park’s Speaker’s Corner, reports about the incident focused on what she wore, begging the question whether free speech is no longer sacred to people who run London and the UK.
A graphic video making rounds on social media shows a man, reportedly dressed in a black robe with a hood, punching and stabbing a woman on Sunday afternoon, then being chased away by police. He somehow evaded the authorities and disappeared, leaving the knife behind.
Reports about the incident spoke of a 39-year-old woman, who suffered “a minor slash injury to her head” that was described as not life-threatening after treatment at a local hospital. The papers revealed no identifying information about the attacker and dutifully quoted the Metropolitan Police urging Londoners to come forth with evidence.
“I would ask people not to speculate on the motive for the attack until we have established the full facts,” the police spokesperson concluded.
Seriously!
That did not stop the media from pointing out that the woman wore a “Charlie Hebdo top,” and reminding the public that the satirical French magazine was targeted by “Islamic extremists” in January 2015 over its cover depicting the Prophet Muhammad. The implication is clear: the woman wore a provocative shirt that offended Muslims somehow, and therefore had the stabbing coming.
The story only gets more troubling when some of the missing details are filled in. Even a cursory glance at the video and stills from the incident shows the woman wearing a top printed with a Charlie Hebdo cover – but not the one depicting the Muslim prophet. Instead, it showed a homosexual kiss between a CH cartoonist and a Muslim preacher, captioned “Love stronger than hate.”
While the authorities did not name the victim, bloggers and activists identified her as Hatun Tash, 39, who fled Turkey after renouncing Islam for Christianity. She now preaches in Hyde Park on behalf of Defend Christ Critique Islam Ministries.
In countries practicing Sharia Law – such as Saudi Arabia – apostasy from Islam is a crime punishable by death. Turkey is nominally secular still. So is the UK. Which is why the British authorities ought to be alarmed by this attack, but they don’t seem to be.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who once infamously said terrorist attacks were “part and parcel of living in a big city,” did not even acknowledge the incident. Instead, he demanded that police investigate a speech by an “anti-vaxxer” former nurse.
According to one blogger, Tash has been a fixture at Speakers Corner, facing “intimidation, threats, sexual assaults and physical assaults” in recent years. In October 2020, she was apparently assaulted and knocked unconscious. On another occasion, the blogger said she was detained by police and held for 20 hours without an explanation.
Focusing on Tash’s choice of clothing comes perniciously close to blaming her for “provoking” the attack somehow. Her top, or her words for that matter, may have been offensive to some Muslims, but they were not in violation of the law.
One would expect the British public to show some solidarity with a woman attacked by a knife-wielding man, in broad daylight, for speaking at a place dedicated to free speech. There have been no calls for curfew on men this time, however.
Worse yet, violence is increasingly becoming the norm at Speakers Corner. It has reportedly seen multiple clashes in recent months, between Shia and Sunni Muslims. Indeed, in one of the videos that captured the attack on Tash, the speakers in the foreground can be heard discussing Islamic theology.
There is nothing wrong with that as such, so long as everyone understands that the laws, customs and traditions of Speakers Corner, London and the UK take precedence over those they brought with them from abroad. Otherwise what’s next, practicing suttee in Kensington Gardens in the name of diversity and inclusion?
Are hundreds of years of free speech at Speaker's Corner coming to an end because governments are more concerned with Muslim sensitivities than free speech?
Second judoka quits Tokyo Olympics before facing Israeli opponent
who Algerian refused to meet over Palestine conflict
26 Jul, 2021 09:42
A second judoka who was due to face an Israeli opponent has withdrawn from the Tokyo Olympics
© Mandi Wright / USA Today Network via Reuters
Sudanese judoka Mohamed Abdalrasool weighed in but did not appear for his clash with Tohar Butbal in the round of 32 at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday, leaving the Israeli without an opponent again after Fethi Nourine was sent home.
Algerian Nourine drew praise and criticism after refusing to take on Butbal, explaining that "the Palestinian cause is bigger than all of this" before being suspended by the International Judo Foundation (IJF).
The federation has not immediately declared why Abdalrasool did not participate, and the Guardian said that the governing body and Sudanese Olympic officials had not provided an immediate comment on the situation.
Abdalrasool, who has a 73kg world ranking of 469, would have been a sizeable underdog against seventh-ranked Butbul, who also saw Nourine quit a bout against him at the 2019 world championships.
Abdalrasool was due to meet Butbal as a result of Nourine's premature exit. "Sudanese athletes also won't face Israelis," speculated one sports writer.
Despite the nature of Abdalrasool's withdrawal being unclear, he was swiftly savaged by some on social media, with Nourine also copping fury.
"Fethi Nourine and Mohamed Abdalrasool should be banned for life in every Judo association," said one angry respondent. "Such blatant anti-semitism has no place in sports and should be severely punished."
Others described Abdalrasool as "another coward", with one writing: "I want to say that I can't believe they hate Israel so much that they're willing to ruin their entire career over competing fairly with an Israeli athlete, but anti-semitism is just like that, isn't it?"
In a statement, the IJF said it had taken its decision to punish Nourine because it would not tolerate "discrimination" and wanted to foster the "respect and friendship" at the heart of its moral code.
Nourine said he had been motivated by a desire not to "get his hands dirty", while his coach insisted the decision to pull out had been the right one.
I would be willing to bet that this is all about pride and racism. The pride comes in as both Muslim wrestlers were likely afraid of losing to a Jew. Put them up against a Jew and they run.
‘Mossad cell’ arrested over plans to provoke violence
during ongoing protests in Iran, Tehran claims
27 Jul, 2021 13:56
FILE PHOTO: Iranian security forces during drills. © Reuters / WANA
Members of an armed cell who allegedly worked with Israel’s Mossad spy agency and planned to provoke violence during protests in Iran have been detained, Tehran’s Intelligence Ministry has told local media.
The group, which allegedly had access to a heavy shipment of weapons and ammunition, was recently apprehended after entering Iran through its western border, an official from the ministry told the Fars news agency.
The official didn’t elaborate on the size of the unit or the nationality of those arrested, but they insisted that the suspects were acting in cooperation with Mossad, the Israeli spy agency.
The weapons seized from the alleged agents included pistols, grenades, rifles, shotguns, and ammo. The arms were being brought into Iran to be used during “urban riots and assassinations,” according to the ministry official.
The announcement comes after several weeks of demonstrations in Iran against water shortages in the southwest of the country, caused by severe drought. The unrest has resulted in at least five deaths among the protesters.
The Intelligence Ministry representative also claimed that Israel had been intending to carry out “acts of sabotage” during the Iranian presidential election in mid-June, which was won by hardline candidate Ebrahim Raisi. The country’s security forces prevented those activities, he added, and “dealt a blow to the Mossad terrorist network.”
He also thanked Iranians for their “constant vigilance,” while urging the public to remain wary of any "suspicious offers," particularly if made online.
Tehran has long accused Israeli intelligence of undertaking malign activities on Iranian territory in an attempt to undermine the country’s stability and derail its nuclear program.
The two blasts that rocked the Natanz nuclear site in April 2021 and July 2020, as well as the assassination of a top scientist in Iran’s nuclear program, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, in November 2020, have been linked to Mossad by Iranian officials.
While the Israeli government has not claimed or denied responsibility for those incidents, recently retired Mossad chief Yossi Cohen implied last month that his agency could well have played a part in them.
In a bombshell TV interview, Cohen remarked that the Natanz facility didn’t “look like it used to” after the explosion crippled its centrifuges, and confirmed that Fakhrizadeh had been a target for intelligence-gathering by Mossad “for many years” because Israel was “most troubled” by his work.
It's curious how the cell members entered Iran from its western borders. Its western borders are shared with Iraq and Turkey. To get to Iraq or Turkey, anyone from Israel would have to cross Syria or Jordan. Iran's western borders are about 1000 km from Israel.
Could this be a case of Iran blaming their interior troubles on Israel? Could it be a pretext for war, which would redirect the anger of Iranians from their hapless government?
I don't doubt that Israel's Mossad and IDF had much to do with the Natanz bombing and the Fakhrizadeh assassination. Israel has to disrupt Iran's nuclear program or Israel will disappear.
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