[Event of the week]
HSYK drives appointments into deadlock with ‘pirate list’

The HSYK’s plan to change 100 judges and prosecutors in Turkey’s most important legal cases -- including the Ergenekon, Sledgehammer, Poyrazköy, Cage and Temizöz cases -- was recently made public. The board prepared an additional list for the replacements and submitted it to the Ministry of Justice for approval. According to most observers, the list -- also known as the “pirate list” -- is aimed at facilitating the release from prison of dozens of suspects, charged as part of these cases.

The ministry is, however, cold to the replacement of the judges and prosecutors in the country’s most important criminal cases. A statement released by the ministry on Wednesday said the appointment list had been “withdrawn” due to a lack of consensus between the ministry and the board. According to the statement, the HSYK moved to change the judges and prosecutors working in courts in İstanbul, Erzurum and Diyarbakır. “It is obvious that such a change would be a direct intervention in ongoing investigations and cases,” the statement added.

The HSYK was reportedly hoping to influence the verdict in the cases by appointing their own judges and prosecutors. The board is known to be staunchly opposed to the ongoing investigation and trials that are revealing Turkey’s dark past -- including coup plots, unsolved murders and the assassination of political figures. Officials from the ministry stated that they may decide to prevent the release of the appointment list until after the Sept. 12 public referendum on the constitutional amendment package. The announcement is a strong indication for most observers that the ministry will not bow to HSYK pressure to unduly influence the outcome of several high-profile legal cases.

 An Italian court conditionally released a senior figure within the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), despite Turkey’s call to extend the terrorist leader’s period of detention to 40 days. A Venice court ruled that Nizamettin Toğuç, 58, who also heads the PKK-mouthpiece the Confederation of Kurdish Associations in Europe (KON-KURD), does not pose a threat to society and could be conditionally released until the court rules on the case of extraditing Toğuç to Turkey.

Aug. 15 Sunday

 A voice recording allegedly between two top jurists revealed interference by the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) in a number of critical judicial cases. One of the speakers said to be featured on the voice recording is HSYK member Ali Suat Ertosun. Ertosun said the board interfered in a number of judicial cases and planned to change the judges and prosecutors overseeing certain critical cases, which has caused a public outcry. “They are asking about the reason behind a delay in this year’s appointment list of judges and prosecutors. As I said before, we interfered in a number of judicial cases. We planned to change the judges and prosecutors of some cases. They are crying out as if we stepped on their tails,” the voice believed to be Ertosun says in the recording.

 A historic mass at the Sümela Monastery in the Black Sea coastal province of Trabzon -- a first in republican history -- was marked by peace on Sunday contrary to widespread concerns that the religious service would be the target of an act of provocation by Turkish ultranationalists. Three-thousand Orthodox Christians gathered for the mass at the ancient monastery early in the day, which came after the government granted permission for a church service to be held there once a year in a gradual loosening of restrictions on religious expression.

 Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek continued a series of accusations against Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, saying he made the Social Security Authority (SGK) lose millions of dollars when he was its general manager. “Kılıçdaroğlu appears to have paid $2,450 for a heart stent, which actually cost $25 at the time. He also appears to have purchased a cardiovascular device for $4,000 though such a device cost only $900. Now I am asking him: How did you allow the SGK to buy a stent for 100 times more than it actually cost?” the mayor said on Sunday.

Aug. 16 Monday

 President Abdullah Gül said he ordered bureaucrats to begin an investigation into allegations that the military failed to act against terrorists in Hantepe despite intelligence provided by Heron unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to 30 security units during every second of an attack on an outpost in the area in July.

 President Gül said Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was assassinated because of a lack of precautionary measures, as reactions over language used in the government’s defense at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) grew, arguing that Dink’s death was a result of his own actions.

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began Israel’s highest-level visit to Greece in a sign that Israel is looking beyond its troubled alliance with Turkey for other strategic Mediterranean partners. Netanyahu’s two days in Athens came a month after a groundbreaking visit to Israel by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, and followed a May Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that killed eight Turks and one Turkish-American, souring Israel’s ties with Turkey.

 State Minister Faruk Çelik stated that his government has resolved to meet the demands of Turkey’s Alevi and Bektaşi communities, promising that the status problem of Alevi houses of worship will be solved. The Alevi and Bektaşi communities want the cemevi -- a place of worship -- to be given legal status. The government has so far refused to do so, saying it might offend members of mainstream Muslim denominations.

 In a strong pledge to keep promises about drafting a brand new constitution, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said the new government to take office after the 2011 parliamentary elections will do what falls on its shoulders for the replacement of the current Constitution, drafted under military rule, with a civilian document. The prime minister’s remarks came during a live television program broadcast on Habertürk.

 Turkey and Azerbaijan made a key deal on strategic partnership on Monday, a sign that Turkey is keen to increase its strategic and security cooperation with the oil-rich former Soviet republic. Turkey and Azerbaijan concluded a Strategic Partnership and Mutual Assistance deal on Monday during President Gül’s two-day visit to Azerbaijan at the invitation of his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev.

 Col. Cihat Kalfa, from the İstanbul Naval Training Command, is suspected of having committed suicide on Monday in the Marmaris district of the Aegean province of Muğla. The 48-year-old officer, who was reportedly on a vacation with his family at a military facility at the Aksaz Naval Base, reportedly shot himself in the head whilst near his automobile.

Aug. 17 Tuesday

 A total of 40 army officers, including eight women, testified in an investigation into a prostitution gang, reports said. Some officers testified as plaintiffs and victims, sources said.

 A document containing information about the affair that led to the resignation of former Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal was found on the computer of a suspect who was arrested as part of the investigation into Ergenekon, a terrorist organization accused of plotting to overthrow the government, the Star daily reported.

 The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) devoted its final observations with regards to a recent two-week meeting on Turkey to the controversial ban in the country on the use of Islamic head coverings in the public sphere, asking Turkey to end its discrimination against covered women. The request came on Tuesday after a CEDAW session on Turkey.

 Victims who were killed in the devastating Marmara earthquake of Aug. 17, 1999, were commemorated across the provinces worst hit by the disaster 11 years after the tragedy.

 Four more military officers arrived at the Beşiktaş Courthouse to testify before civilian prosecutors as part of a probe into several websites set up by the General Staff to back alleged propaganda campaigns against civilian groups. The names and ranks of the officers were not made public.

 Prime Minister Erdoğan said the power of the “bureaucratic oligarchy” in Turkey must be curbed and that this will be achieved if a constitutional reform package is approved by the nation on Sept. 12. The prime minister was speaking at a fast-breaking iftar sponsored by the Association of İstanbul Friendship Groups on Tuesday. Noting that Turkey has been developing steadily in recent years, Erdoğan said the current Constitution is the biggest hurdle to Turkey’s progress.

 Aug. 18 Wednesday

 Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek said Turkey will lose its chance to get a brand new constitution if the constitutional amendment package is not approved by the public in the Sept. 12 referendum. “If a ‘no’ vote comes out of the referendum, the existing situation in the country, about which everyone keeps complaining, will continue. In such a case, it will not be at all easy to create a new constitution,” he told a reporter from the Anatolia news agency on Wednesday.

 Prime Minister Erdoğan opened an exhibition at İstanbul’s Sultanahmet Square showcasing many scientific achievements made throughout history in the Muslim world that have left their mark on contemporary civilization.

 With the emergence of a covert plan by the HSYK to unduly influence the outcome of several trials by replacing judges and prosecutors overseeing high-profile cases, the Justice Ministry decided to leave the negotiating table and withdrew the draft for the yearly appointment list for around 300 judges and prosecutors.

 The families of soldiers killed in attacks by the outlawed PKK launched a criminal complaint against the General Staff. The families of eight soldiers killed in clashes, led by the Jurists’ Association, came together in front of the İstanbul Prosecutor’s Office where they filed the complaint and read out a press statement.

Aug. 19 Thursday

 News stories and comments suggesting that the AK Party government has spoken with the terrorist PKK’s jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, or other PKK officials to negotiate a cease-fire are untrue, a statement released by the AK Party said. The statement released by the party’s Media and Promotion Administration said it was out of question for the AK Party or the AK Party government to sit down with an illegal organization and negotiate terms.

 Outgoing Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ attended his last National Security Council (MGK) meeting, where Turkey’s commitment to counterterrorism efforts was once again underlined. Thursday’s MGK meeting was chaired by President Gül and attended by Prime Minister Erdoğan, Gen. Başbuğ and top commanders as well as some ministers.

 Leading trade and businessmen’s associations from the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, a stronghold of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), which had asked its constituents to boycott the Sept. 12 referendum, issued a joint declaration on Thursday to say they approve of the constitutional amendments.

Aug. 20 Friday

 A voice recording suggested that former Justice Minister Seyfi Oktay had a hand in the preparation of an appointment list by the HSYK to replace numerous judges and prosecutors currently working on some of Turkey’s most important criminal cases. The recording allegedly featured a conversation between Oktay and Ali Hadi Emre, a lawyer.