MHP Slams AK Party Gov't For Silence On German Spying

Opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Deputy Chairman Celal Adan has harshly criticized the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government for remaining silent regarding recent allegations that Germany has been spying on Turkey for many years.

German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Aug. 23 that Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND) was and still is spying on Turkey, citing a confidential 2009 BND document. On the same day, another German magazine, Focus, reported that the BND has been spying on Turkey for nearly four decades.
After the Der Spiegel report was published, Ankara lashed out at Berlin, summoning the German ambassador and asking German officials to provide satisfactory explanations. However, Turkey's top government officials have avoiding making any statement on the issue since then.

Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Adan said that the government has failed to react to the German spying allegations, adding: “While reports [are being released] saying that Germany has been spying on Turkey for a long time, the government and the AK Party's senior members are playing the ostrich man. Those who are as strong as a lion inside the country have become tongue-tied when it comes to this scandal.”

Adan said that the Turkish agenda had been occupied with the presidential election and, now that the election is over, other political developments have taken precedent. Thus, he said, the spying scandal has been overshadowed. He added that Turkey's politics have become an object of derision in the international arena.

The MHP deputy chairman also touched on the subject of the 49 Turkish hostages who were kidnapped on June 11 by the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist organization -- which has captured large swathes of Syria and Iraq. He said parliamentary deputies still don't know what kind of foreign policy Turkey has been pursuing regarding ISIL and the Turkish captives, who have been hostages for 78 days.

“We have not heard anything else regarding the incident from current Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, except the remark that ‘no one should attempt to test Turkey's power.' What has Davutoğlu done regarding the issue? … Turkey has been failing in its foreign policy. Its borders are [functioning like] a colander and it is certain that Turkey will face serious problems in the medium term,” Adan said, adding: “Unless our diplomats are released, full security cannot be ensured on the Turkish border. And unless those who are responsible for causing these problems [in foreign policy] are punished, it will be pretty difficult to take Turkey's foreign policy and those running this foreign policy seriously.”

Regarding the spying allegations, German officials have not denied the claims and have chosen to remain silent. Turkey is still waiting for a comprehensive and satisfactory explanation for the eavesdropping, which it labeled as worrisome. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu also characterized the possibility of Germany spying on Turkey as “unacceptable.”

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)