Journal of Turkish Weekly
March 28 2015

Turkish PM’s advisor denies corruption claims

AA
28 March 2015

Turkish PM’s chief advisor Etyen Mahcupyan tells MPs at House of
Commons meeting that the AK Party’s ‘good actions are more than its
mistakes.’

Allegations of corruption and interference into the judiciary against
Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party are not true, the
Turkish prime minister’s chief advisor has told British members of
parliament in the U.K.

Etyen Mahcupyan told a roundtable meeting at the UK’s House of Commons
on Friday that it would not have been possible for the AK Party to
have repeatedly won elections in the country if allegations against it
were true.

At the meeting entitled; “Understanding Change: The AK Party Period in
Turkey,” he said: “We live in a very unstable region, but the AK Party
has managed to keep Turkey in a stable position. Despite all the
accusations the government has been very successful.

“If such allegations were true, we would see the results — however,
the government has repeatedly won elections.”

– ‘Beneficial practices’

Mahcupyan said only the AK Party had transformed Turkey.

He said: “I am not saying that AK Party has not been making any
mistakes; in fact, they have made mistakes, but they still get votes
from citizens.

“The result shows that something is very solid, politically.”

“The AK Party does good things and bad things but, when we count AK
Party actions, its beneficial practices are more than its bad
actions.”

– Armenian allegations

Referring to the 1915 Armenian incidents in the Ottoman Empire, he
said: “I feel myself Ottoman rather than Armenian. I’m not a
nationalist.”

During the First World War, the Ottoman Empire approved a deportation
law for Armenians amid their uprising, with the help of the invading
Russian army.

As a result, an unknown number of people died in civil strife.

Turkey’s official position against allegations of “genocide” is that
it acknowledges past experiences were a great tragedy and that both
parties suffered heavy casualties, including hundreds of Muslim Turks.

Turkey agrees that there were Armenian casualties during World War I,
but that it is impossible to define these incidents as “genocide.”