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| Disturbing article on the AKP and Saudi funding |
| 2005-02-23 |
| Recep Tayyip Erdoðan's Justice and Reconciliation Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi, AKP) swept to victory in Turkey's parliamentary elections on November 3, 2002. More than two years later, the Islamic-oriented party finds itself more popular than ever. But while the AKP came to power on the strength of its image as fresh and honest amid a sea of corrupt establishment parties, the AKP's own finances have become murky and worrisome. At best, it appears that AKP leaders have blurred the distinction between business and politics. More troubling yet is the pattern of tying Turkish domestic and foreign policy to an influx of what is called Yesil Sermaye, "green money," from wealthy Islamist businessmen and Middle Eastern states. Where goes the AKP? Is Erdoðan's party a threat to Turkish secularism, or the product of it? Does the AKP represent an Islamist Trojan horse, or the benign Islamic equivalent of Europe's numerous Christian Democrat political parties? While the political signs are contradictory, the financial indicators are consistently troubling. On winning a majority, Erdoðan and the AKP leadership articulated a moderate policy. Erdoðan declared after the AKP's election victory, Secularism is the protector of all beliefs and religions. We are the guarantors of this secularism, and our management will clearly prove that.[1]Indeed, the AKP's 2002 election victory prompted much optimism. "AK Victory Heralds New Dawn for Turkey," headlined the Daily Telegraph.[2] "Turkey Takes the Plunge: Islam and Democracy Combine Forces" opined an editorial in The Guardian.[3] Official U.S. government reaction was cautious. "Let's not speculate on the future of the Turkish government, but let us at this point congratulate the Justice and Development Party on its electoral success," suggested State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.[4] |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |