Arrests of top officials continue in Turkey

It is the third day of anti-corruption arrests in Turkey. The head of the Ministry of Finance Mehmet Şimşek has announced that he would resign if allegations of corruption are put forward against him personally. Later it was reported that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan might have to act for ten ministers. Meanwhile, today the head of the Istanbul Police Hussein Chapkyn was dismissed, together with the heads of 11 departments.
Vestnik Kavkaza asked the renowned political scientist and journalist Cenk Bashlamyshly to give his comments on the current situation in Turkey and talk about the possible implications of these developments for the country. Bashlamyshly said it is too early to make any conclusions. 
The expert said that there might be some political agenda behind the arrests. He noted that it is no secret that there are disagreements between the government and the so-called jamia - a religious community living in the U.S. governed by the Turkish Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, who has a lot of power in the country. "A week ago, Erdogan talked about the elimination of the dershane training courses, which are the jamia's ideological center. It might have led to retaliation from supporters of Gulen," the analyst said.

Bashlamyshly also stressed that it is very hard to make any definite statements about the events. He did not rule out the fact that these arrests might weaken the position of the ruling party. 

Arrests of top officials continue in TurkeyIt is the third day of anti-corruption arrests in Turkey. The head of the Ministry of Finance Mehmet Şimşek has announced that he would resign if allegations of corruption are put forward against him personally. Later it was reported that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan might have to act for ten ministers. Meanwhile, today the head of the Istanbul Police Hussein Chapkyn was dismissed, together with the heads of 11 departments.Vestnik Kavkaza asked the renowned political scientist and journalist Cenk Bashlamyshly to give his comments on the current situation in Turkey and talk about the possible implications of these developments for the country. Bashlamyshly said it is too early to make any conclusions. The expert said that there might be some political agenda behind the arrests. He noted that it is no secret that there are disagreements between the government and the so-called jamia - a religious community living in the U.S. governed by the Turkish Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, who has a lot of power in the country. "A week ago, Erdogan talked about the elimination of the dershane training courses, which are the jamia's ideological center. It might have led to retaliation from supporters of Gulen," the analyst said.Bashlamyshly also stressed that it is very hard to make any definite statements about the events. He did not rule out the fact that these arrests might weaken the position of the ruli