Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government has faced near-daily leaks of audio tapes on the Internet, said the country may block access to websites including Facebook and YouTube to halt the postings.
Erdogan spoke in an interview with ATV television late yesterday, a day after saying that his administration may face a new threat from covertly recorded videos, which could include “the extreme of filming extramarital affairs, invading a family’s privacy and totally ignoring moral values.”
Turkey changed the law last month to allow the blocking of websites without a court order after leaks of phone conversations, many purportedly involving Erdogan himself, that began to appear on social media sites in January. The premier said in the television interview that he wouldn’t be deterred from taking action by possible international reaction.
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Blocking Facebook and YouTube was under consideration “because these people and institutions encourage all sorts of immorality, spying and espionage,” Erdogan said “There is no limit to this. There can’t be such understanding of freedom.”
Turkey’s corruption crisis began in December when scores of people with links to the government were arrested or detained on charges including gold-smuggling, bribery and bid-rigging -- allegations that have been described as an attempted coup by Erdogan.
Mass Dismissals
The government responded by removing prosecutors directing the investigations, restructuring a judicial body that selects judges and prosecutors, and by firing thousands of police officers. Since the investigation began Dec. 17, the Borsa Istanbul 100 Index has fallen by about 14 percent, while the lira has dropped by about 7 percent.
Accusations of graft took their toll on the support for Erdogan, whose approval ratings fell to 43.5 percent last month from 59.1 percent a year before the investigation became public, according to an opinion poll conducted by Ankara-based MetroPOLL.
The survey found about 37 percent of people would vote for Erdogan’s ruling party if general elections were held now, compared to the party’s 49.9 percent share of votes in the 2011 general elections. The survey, which has an error margin of 2.5 percentage points, was conducted before Feb. 24, when tape recordings of Erdogan allegedly telling his son Bilal to get rid of large amounts of cash were posted on the Internet.
Former Ally
Erdogan has repeatedly accused U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen -- a former ally -- and his supporters within the police and judiciary of illegally wiretapping phones and filming members of his party, government and their families. He faces local elections on March 30.
Erdogan said he has talked to U.S. President Barack Obama and told him the source of Turkey’s disquiet was in Pennsylvania, a reference to Gulen, who lives there.
“Many lawsuits” may emerge from investigations into Gulen, Erdogan said, adding that Turkey may seek an Interpol “red notice” for Gulen. The notices are based on national warrants, and are considered valid in some countries, though Interpol cannot demand arrests.
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Erdogan also criticized opposition parties and Turkey’s largest media group Dogan for collaborating with the Gulen movement as it seeks to undermine the government with illegal tapes.
Recordings being posted on social media sites including Facbeook amount to “insults” against Erdogan and his family, Lutfi Elvan, minister of transportation and communications, said today, according to state-run news agency Anatolia.
“Such acts will be tolerated in no country around the world,” Elvan said. “
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