Turkey overflowing with $36 billion in mystery funds

The pace of foreign currency coming to Turkey from unknown sources for the past 12 years keeps on climbing. Nobody says where the money is coming from. In the Central Bank’s “balance of payments” table these unregistered funds are shown under the item “net error and deficit.” Summary⎙ Print Inflowing money from unknown sources during Turkey's 12 years of AKP rule totals $36 billion. Author Mehmet Cetingulec Posted September 10, 2014 But all economists know that it is impossible to conceal such high amounts. Anyhow, they have learned to look under the “net error and deficit” column to follow the movement of mystery funds. This flow of funds from unknown sources is closely linked to political changes in Turkey in the last 12 years and to regional developments. Mahfi Egilmez, a former undersecretary of the Treasury, has prepared a detailed table which clearly shows that following the Justice and Development Party's (AKP) victory in the first elections it contested in November 2002 there has been a boom in mystery funds coming to Turkey. In 2002, $758 million exited Turkey but in 2003 $4.489 billion entered. The pouring in of mystery funds gained momentum in 2007, when the AKP also took over the presidency of the country, thus giving rise to confidence that AKP would be governing for a long time to come. While the incoming mystery funds were $517 million in 2007, in 2008 that increased sixfold to $3 billion. The year 2011 was a record-breaker, with $9.4 billion arriving in mystery funds. In the 11 years before the AKP, the unrecorded funds were flowing in the other direction. Between 1992 and 2002, $3.5 billion from unknown sources left Turkey. But a total reversal followed in the next 11 years under AKP. Between 2003 and 2013, a total of $29.3 billion entered Turkey. When you add the $6.4 billion from unknown sources in the first half of 2014, the total from mystery sources is $36 billion. This amount is expected to rise to more than $40 billion by the end of the year. Is it possible to classify such a huge amount as an “accounting error” and to cover it up as “net error and deficit”? Former Treasury undersecretaries Faik Oztrak and Mahfi Egilmez are calling on the Central Bank to disclose the source of this “net error and deficit” item, otherwise warning that these mystery funds will generate dangerous speculation about many ministers and bureaucrats. With an anticipated $15 billion coming in by the end of 2014, the record of $9.4 billion for 2011 will be broken. Monthly receipts this year are exceeding annual receipts of earlier years. Oztrak, now deputy chairman of the main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) told Al-Monitor that the current account deficit is being financed by money coming from unknown, mystery sources: “In the first six months of this year, $8.8 billion came to Turkey from unknown sources, while $2.6 billion exited Turkey from unknown sources. This means that in the first half of the year there was a net entry of $6.4 billion from unknown sources, which actually means that in the first half of 2014, a $26 portion of each $100 of the current deficit was financed by money from mystery sources. This is extraordinary and needs explanation.” So where is this money coming from? To discover the source of the mystery funds, Oztrak submitted queries to the parliament for Ali Babacan, the minister responsible for economic coordination, to respond. But to date, he hasn’t heard either from Babacan or the Central Bank. Oztrak said: “If $13.5 billion of mystery funds from unknown sources come to a country in one year [July 2013-June 2014] but no questions are asked why this money is coming and from what sources, then the seriousness and competence of our institutions will be subject to questioning.” Oztrak said the state has to give a satisfactory explanation of this phenomenon and warned that keeping silent will only fuel speculations about the source of these funds. Oztrak, however, provided some information on possible origin of these funds: “At one point Iran was cited as the source. Now the addresses are Syria and Gulf countries. The state must investigate this seriously and should not allow speculation." Former undersecretary Mahfi Egilmez also alludes to the same sources: "There are allegations that unregistered mystery funds are coming to Turkey from various countries, primarily from the Middle East. None of these claims have been verified, however.” Political scientist Mustafa Sahin, known to be close to the AKP, looks at the question from a different perspective. He said the AKP has discovered the importance of these unregistered funds and said: “The secret of how Turkey avoided the 2008 global economic crisis is in these mystery funds. The West suspects that Middle East capital is entering Turkey without records, without being registered. Qatar and other Muslim countries have money in Turkey. These unrecorded funds came to Turkey because of their confidence in Erdogan and the Muslim features of the AKP and the signs of Turkey restoring its historic missions.” What happened to the funds from unknown sources? Were they taxed? Oztrak answered: “It is not possible to tax entry of funds from unknown sources until that money enters the system. AKP governments legalized some funds from unknown sources with financial amnesties they offered. The state can tax these funds when they are spent. But these taxes on spending cannot legalize the sources of these funds.” Going back to the question of the origin of these mystery funds, Naki Bakir, economics writer of for the Gazeteciler Online website, makes this assessment: “The movements in the ‘net error and deficit’ account illustrate an ever-increasing inflow of money from unknown sources. They coincide with the data and documents strewn about following the Dec. 17 corruption operations. Clearly, considerable funds from unknown sources, primarily from Middle East countries, are coming into Turkey, thus making Turkey an important junction in black money traffic.” To conclude, the Central Bank has two options: Either it will give a detailed explanation to prevent speculation or it will continue to conceal the facts. But the numbers are growing. How much longer can they hide $36 billion? Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/09/turkey-central-bank-mystery-funds.html##ixzz3DFL04Bek

Strike call in Turkey as mine blast toll rises to 274

Soma is a key centre for lignite coal mining and is located around 480 kilometres (300 miles) southwest of Istanbul. AFP news agency (Agence France-Presse) Photographers take photos of a man in a wheelchair as Turkish riot police use water cannon to disperse protesters during a demonstration in memory of the victims of the Soma mine explosion. Anger was growing across Turkey as hopes faded for scores of workers trapped in a collapsed mine and the death toll hit 274. AFP Photo: Ozan Kose Latest story: http://u.afp.com/A3u ========================== . AFPBy Philippe Alfroy and Fulya Ozerkan in Istanbul | AFP – 22 hours ago.. Photographers takes pictures of a man in a wheelchair as Turkish riot police use water cannon to disperse protesters during a demonstration in memory of the victims of the Soma mine explosion, in Istanbul on May 14, 2014 View Photo . Photographers takes pictures of a man in a wheelchair as Turkish riot police use … .Turkish police arrest a protester in Ankara on May 14, 2014 during a demonstration after more than 200 people were killed in an explosion at a mine View Photo . Turkish police arrest a protester in Ankara on May 14, 2014 during a demonstration … .Protestors run away from tear gas during a protest on Istiklal avenue in Istanbul on May 14, 2014 View Photo . Protestors run away from tear gas during a protest on Istiklal avenue in Istanbul … .Protestors paint their faces as miners and a hold a newspaper at Istiklal Avenue on May 14, 2014 in Istanbul View Photo . Protestors paint their faces as miners and a hold a newspaper at Istiklal Avenue … Turkey's biggest union has called for a massive strike Thursday amid mounting anger over the country's worst mining accident, which claimed at least 274 lives with many more still trapped underground. "Those who keep up with privatisation... policies, who threaten workers' lives to reduce costs... are the culprits of the Soma massacre and they must be held accountable," Turkey's Public Workers Unions Confederation (KESK), which represents 240,000 employees, said on its website. Desperation and anger were rising as hopes fell for scores of workers still trapped in the collapsed coal mine in the western town of Soma in Manisa province. Thousands of protesters clashed with police in Ankara and Istanbul Wednesday, accusing the government and mining industry of negligence. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised investigations would be launched into the causes of the disaster but rejected claims of government culpability, saying that "such accidents happen". "We have witnessed one of the biggest work accidents in our recent history," Erdogan said after visiting the mine in the western town of Soma in Manisa province, where grieving relatives of the victims were calling for his resignation. - An electrical fault - Erdogan said figures remained uncertain but mining operators thought 120 workers were still trapped following an explosion Tuesday, caused by an electrical fault. Reports from rescue workers on the scene suggest the figure could be far higher. Most of the victims died of carbon monoxide poisoning. He also appeared to downplay the seriousness of the accident, comparing it to other mining disasters elsewhere, saying "204 people died in the UK in 1862 and 361 people in 1864". An electrical fault is believed to have set off a huge explosion in the mine on Tuesday. Hundreds of distraught family and friends gathered near the building where Erdogan gave his press conference were outraged, with some kicking his vehicle. Public anger also spilled onto the streets. Police used tear gas and water canon to disperse between 3,000 and 4,000 protesters in Ankara's downtown Kizilay Square, as well as thousands of demonstrators in Istanbul. Earlier in the day, they also used tear gas against around 800 students marching on the energy ministry, and 50 protesters who threw eggs at the mining research directorate in Istanbul, AFP photographers reported. The disaster has added to the political pressure on Erdogan, who faced mass protests last summer and a huge corruption scandal involving his family and key allies in recent months. "If the claims of negligence at the mine prove true, it will have a political price. Such a development would render corruption allegations targeting Erdogan's government more convincing," Professor Ilter Turan of Istanbul's Bilgi University told AFP. - 'No more hope' - Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said 274 workers had been confirmed dead but raging fires were hampering efforts by rescue workers still battling to find survivors. "Time is not working in our favour," he told reporters, adding that 196 bodies had been delivered to families. A miner from a different site who joined the effort, Murat Kurkoglu, told AFP: "We will try to save those who are still stuck one by one, but you know very well that there is no more hope. It's finished for them." Earlier reports said 787 workers were underground when the blast occurred. By late Wednesday, "close to 450" workers had been rescued, according to the mine operator, Soma Komur Inc, but accounts from rescue workers cast doubt over the numbers. "There are pockets of air, but it's only a glimmer of hope because so far... it's mostly the dead that we are bringing out," Erdem Bakin, a doctor with the Search and Rescue organisation, told AFP. "We don't go more than 100 metres from the bottom of the mine. It's impossible to go right to the bottom because of the risk of asphyxiation from the gas." Bakin said they found the transformer that exploded, triggering the collapse. Those between the transformer and the entrance of the mine -- around 70-80 people -- survived. "But those who were beyond were taken by the fire and they are all dead," he said. Harun Unzar, a miner at the site, said: "We are a family and today that family is devastated. We have had very little news and when it does come it's very bad." - 'Tired of funerals' - Explosions and cave-ins are common in Turkey, particularly in private mines, where safety regulations are often flouted. Turkey's previous worst mining accident happened in 1992 when 263 workers were killed in a gas explosion in a mine in Zonguldak. A lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) said it submitted a parliamentary motion 20 days ago to investigate work-related accidents at coal mines in Soma but it was rejected by the government. The CHP's Manisa deputy Ozgur Ozel told local media: "We receive tip-offs every day that workers' lives are under threat. "We lawmakers from Manisa are tired of going to miner funerals." Turkey's ministry of labour and social security said the mine had been inspected eight times in the last four years, most recently on March 17, and was found to comply with safety regulations.

But Oktay Berrin, a miner, said: "There is no security in this mine. The unions are just puppets and our management only cares about money."

Mining company Soma Komur said it had taken maximum measures to ensure safety. ============================ سائنس/صحت مزید خبریں سادہ و زود ہضم غذا کھائیں اور عمر بڑھائیں کھانا گیس پر پکائیں مگر احتیاط لازم غیر ضروری کولیسٹرول کو کم کرنے والی 6 غذائیں کالی مرچ کا استعمال، کئی بیماریوں کے لئے شفا نیند کی کمی کئی دماغی بیماریوں کا سبب بنتی ہے، تحقیق Pages: 1 2 … 42 تازہ ترین سلائیڈ شوز پی ٹی آئی اور پی اے ٹی کے کارکنان کی گرفتاری اور احتجاج سیلاب کی تباہ کاریاں لاہور میں مسجد کی چھت نمازیوں پر آگری قوم اپنے شہدا کو بھولی نہیں ۔۔۔ زمین کی گرین ہاؤس گیسوں کو جذب کرنے کی صلاحیت ختم ہوچکی ہے، سائنسدانوں کا انکشاف ویب ڈیسک منگل 9 ستمبر 2014 تبصرے صفحہ شیئر کریں صفحہ پرنٹ کریں دوستوں کو بھیجئے کاربن ڈائی آکسائیڈ اور دیگر گرین ہاوس گیسز میں 2013 میں ریکارڈ اضافہ ہوا ہے،سائنسدان فوٹو فائل نیو یارک: ماہرین موسمیات اور سائنسدانوں نے انکشاف کیا ہے کہ گزشتہ 30 سال میں کاربن ڈائی آکسائید کے اخراج میں تیزی سے اضافے کے باعث ماحول میں گرین ہاؤس گیسزکی سطح میں غیر معمولی اضافہ ہوا ہے جبکہ زمین ان گیسوں کو اپنے اندر جذب کرنے کی صلاحیت بھی کھو بیٹھی ہے۔ عالمی موسمیات کی تنظیم کے جنرل سیکریٹری مائیکل جراڈ نے واضح کیا ہے کہ 1984 سے لے کر اب تک 2013 میں سب سے زیادہ گرین ہاؤس گیسز کی سطح میں اضافہ ہوا ہے جب کہ دوسرے لفظوں میں کہا جائے تو ہماری فضا میں زہریلی گیسوں نے ڈیرے جما لیے ہیں۔ ان کا کہنا تھا کہ اس میں کوئی شک نہیں کہ آب و ہوا تیزی سے تبدیل ہو رہے ہیں، انسانی سرگرمیوں اور ایندھن کے بڑھتے ہوئے استعمال کے باعث موسم شدید تر ہوتا جا رہا ہے۔ رپورٹ میں خبردار کیا گیا ہے کہ کاربن ڈائی آکسائیڈ کے اخراج میں اضافے کے باعث ہمارے سیارے کی ان گیسوں کو جذب کرنے کی قدرتی صلاحیت ختم ہوتی جارہی ہے۔ سمندر میں تیزابیت تیزی سے بڑھ رہی ہےاور اس میں 1984 کے بعد سے مزید تیزی آئی ہے۔ تنظیم کا کہنا ہے یہ صورت حال عالمی سطح پر فوری ماحولیاتی معاہدے کا تقاضا کرتا ہے۔ رپورٹ کے مطابق 2013 میں ماحول میں اوسط کاربن ڈائی آکسائیڈ کی تعداد 396 پارٹس پر ملین تک پہنچ گئی ہے یعنی گزشتہ سال کےمقابلے میں 3پی پی ایم کا اضافہ ریکارڈ گیا گیا ہے۔ پی پی ایم ایک ایسی اکائی ہے جسے ہوا میں آلودگی ناپنے کے لیے استعمال کیا جاتا ہے عام طور پر 10 ہزار پی پی ایم ایک فیصد کے برابر ہوتا ہے۔ رپورٹ میں مزید کہا گیا ہے کہ ایک طرف تو کاربن کے اخراج میں اضافہ ہوا ہے تو دوسری طرف زمین کے بائیو سفیر میں اس اخراج کو جذب کرنے کی صلاحیت بھی کم ہورہی ہے۔ سائنسدانوں کا کہنا ہے کہ یہ نیا انکشاف ان کے لیے پریشانی کا باعث ہے اور اس کے زمین پر منفی اثرات مرتب ہوں گے۔ رپورٹ کے مطابق 1990 سے لے کر 2013 کے درمیان کاربن ڈآئی آکسائید، متیھین اور نائٹرس آکسائیڈ کے اخراج میں اضافے کے باعث درجہ حرارت میں 34 فیصد تک اثرات مرتب ہوئے ہیں۔ اقوام متحدہ کی دعوت پر 23 ستمبر کو عالمی رہنما نیویارک میں جمع ہو رہے ہیں اور اس بات کا امکان ہے کہ یہ رہنما عالمی ماحول کے حوالے سے کسی معاہدے پر پہنچ جائیں جو زمین کے مستقبل کے لئے انتہائی اہم ہوگا۔

Will Erdogan apologize to Turkey's Shiites?

Turkey's Erdogan 'closely following' legal case against rival cleric Sat, Dec 20 09:48 AM EST image By Ayla Jean Yackley ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday he is closely following an inquiry into a U.S.-based Islamic preacher and media outlets close to him and dismissed criticism that the case is politically motivated. Erdogan spoke a day after an Istanbul court ordered the arrest of Fethullah Gulen, whom Erdogan has accused of leading a terrorist plot to seize power and whose supporters the president has purged from the judiciary and police. The arrest warrant for Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, could test relations with Washington and raise questions about judicial independence in Turkey. A Turkish prosecutor has accused him of leading an armed terrorist group "I am closely following the legal process," Erdogan said in a speech broadcast live by NTV channel. "Everything is working according to the law. No one is being lynched." Once close allies, the two men's relationship ruptured in December 2013 when a corruption investigation by police seen as close to the cleric's Hizmet (Service) movement implicated Erdogan and some of his family members and cabinet ministers. The president has described the corruption case as a coup plot. The graft probe has since been formally dropped. The Alliance for Shared Values, a group representing Hizmet-affiliated organizations in the United States, said in a statement the arrest warrant "is nothing more than an attempt to shift public attention away from issues such as corruption." Authorities raided media organizations close to the Hizmet movement on Dec. 14 and detained executives and other employees, prompting sharp criticism from the European Union. "So what if those detained are journalists. Don't journalists commit crimes?" Erdogan said. "Journalism is being used as a disguise." The head of Samanyolu Television, which is close to Gulen, and three other people were remanded to custody on Friday. Eight others including Ekrem Dumanli, editor-in-chief of the Zaman newspaper close to Gulen, were released pending trial. "When the president talks about the case publicly, it's an intervention in the legal process, an effort to guide the judiciary," said Dumanli, accused of belonging to an armed gang. "It's also a message to the rest of the Turkish media to re-think the way they cover him," he told Reuters. (Editing by Tom Heneghan) ========================================================= Will Erdogan apologize to Turkey's Shiites? Author: Fehim Taştekin Posted March 16, 2014 It was Turkey’s Shiite (Jaafari) community's turn to be offended by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as he criticized the Gulen faith movement, which he holds responsible for revealing the corruption files. Talking about Gulenists on a TV program, Erdogan said,

"These people have three major characteristics. They practice taqiyya [religiously sanctioned dissimulation], they lie, they slander. As a result they are involved in sedition, malice. They are far ahead of Shiites. Shiites cannot compete with them.” Many news websites quoted Erdogan verbatim.

Summary⎙ Print Turkey’s high political tensions finally engulfed the Turkish Shiites (Jaafaris) who are furious with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for calling Shiites “liars, slanderers and hate mongers.”Author Fehim Taştekin Posted March 16, 2014 Turkey’s Shiites, who call themselves Jaafaris as a tribute to the sixth Imam Jaafar-i Sadek, are now expecting an apology. Civil society organizations of the Jaafaris, the Caferi-Der and Jaafari Wise Men Union (CABIR), declared that the prime minister had to be equidistant from the beliefs of all citizens and had to know that insulting any faith is a crime. Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) member of parliament Ali Ozgunduz, who represents the Jaafari community, said the prime minister had committed the crime of “provoking people to hatred and enmity” by libeling Shiites, and said, “Erdogan’s out-of-control discriminatory, racist and sectarian approach is threatening our social peace.” The protest demonstration Jaafaris had planned for Istanbul was canceled at the last minute. Caferi-Der Chairman Sinan Kilic explained why to Al-Monitor, saying, "The atmosphere at Okmeydani [Istanbul’s predominantly Alevi district] and the killing of Burakcan [Karamanoglu] showed us the intention of dragging Turkey [into] a dangerous process. In such an atmosphere, street actions can provide material to provocateurs. If a stray bullet kills one child, it will be impossible to hold back the Alevis and Jaafaris. The genie will be out of the bottle, and the country will suffer.” Journalist Mahmud Gok, also a Jaafari, told Al-Monitor, "The labeling of Jaafaris, true citizens of this land, as tricksters, slanderers and liars has inflicted serious injury. There is anger. Jaafaris have never been a community as described by the prime minister. To the contrary, Jaafaris are a faith community who sacrifice their own rights just to avoid discord. I don’t think the prime minister said that intentionally. This may well be a reflection of his prejudiced subconscious knowledge.” True, Erdogan’s accumulation of knowledge conditioned by the dictum “there are four just sects” can be damaging when it spins out of control. When Erdogan, who dismissed the Alevis — who wanted to open a cemevi (prayer house) at Istanbul’s Karacaahment district — said, “Cemevi is [a] festivity house. What permission [are they] talking about?” he was only yet the mayor of Istanbul. When the Alevis nevertheless opened that cemevi, Erdogan called it a “monstrosity.” He continues to step on more toes with his gaffes. In 2011, he referred to books about himself by saying, “To them we are Jews, Armenians and forgive me, Greeks.” In 2013, when accusing the Syrian regime of the Reyhanli bombing, he said, “Our 53 Sunni citizens were martyred.” Jaafaris, who have become more visible in recent years with the Ashura observances, have had problems with the state before, but direct confrontation with the government is a new phenomenon. It wasn’t long ago that Turkey was actually debating democratic options that would please the different faith groups in the country. Selahaddin Ozgunduz, the leader of the Jaafari community, was invited to an Alevi workshop in 2011. But since then, there has been rapid regression to discriminatory and damning policies, a tragic turn from a state that listens to one that suppresses. According to Gok, “Other groups outside the official ideologies are also denied their rights, just as Jaafaris are. They can neither easily use their mosques, nor have places where they offer religious education, or have no recognized holy days. The government simply considers them to be nonexistent.” Saga of getting organized To better understand the Jaafiri problems with the state, we have to rewind a bit. Made up of mostly Azeris living in the eastern provinces of Kars and Igdir, there are between 700,000 to 3,000,000 Jaafaris now scattered to western cities. Jaafaris, who earlier did not participate in civil society organizations other than to build and maintain mosques, made a new beginning with Caferi-Der in 2006. A local court decree closed down Caferi-Der, but the higher court overruled it with a new law on associations passed in 2004. After that episode, the number of Jaafari civil society organizations surpassed 20. Among the key problems of the Jaafaris is the status of their mosques and biased teaching in schools. Jaafaris are uncomfortable with the attitude of official, powerful Religious Affairs Department (RDA) that doesn’t recognize even all the Sunni sects but confines its interest only to Hanefis. The RDA wants Shiite mosques to come under its control. Jaafaris, however, insist that mosques and imams should be independent of state authority. In Turkey, there are about 300 Jaafari mosques and mesjids (smaller prayer halls), 70 of them in Istanbul. Now a massive complex that will include a mosque, library, auditorium, cafeteria and TV-radio studio is under construction in Istanbul’s Halkali district, where the Jaafari population is concentrated. According to Kilic, neither the local administration nor the government has contributed to its construction, which is financed by the community. Change that came with the Iranian revolution Jaafaris, like the Alevis, have always been ostracized by the state, But after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran that was followed by the Sept. 12, 1980, coup in Turkey, the state eased the way for Sunni religious schools and began to perceive Jaafaris as a threat. But, because of ethnic ties, Jaafaris are closer to Azerbaijan and as source of emulation recognize the Najaf house in Iraq instead of Qom in Iran. Nevertheless, in the Turkish state Jaafaris were vulnerable to Iranian influence — although it was the Sunnis who were most influenced by the Iranian revolution. The RDA was determined to minimize the Iranian influence by demanding all Jaafari mosques be handed over to its custody. A delegation under Selahaddin Ozgunduz met with the then-Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and secured the annulment of the decision. Jaafaris thought they would be more at ease under Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP), but strange incidents that wiped out initial optimism took place: Jaafaris were disturbed by the detention of some people on charges of spying for Iran. Kilic thinks that these operations can be attributed to Gulenist penetration of the police, whose adversity to the Shiite community is known as well as the government’s tolerance of this adversity. Kilic said to Al-Monitor, “For the past three years, pro-government media and dubious others have been saying that we are Iranian agents. We react but nobody listens.” "Sunnification" policy The AKP government tried to control houses of worship with the slogan of “there is but one mosque,” while implying to Jaafaris and Alevis: "Either become Sunni or call yourself another religion.” Kilic said a draft bill prepared by the RDA in July 2013 again called for placing all mosques under its control. But the bill was amended in parliament and the Jaafari and Alevi prayer places did not go under the RDA. There are still efforts. The RDA makes offers to Jaafari mosque such as, "Let us attach your mosque to the department, and we will pay the salary to the imam you choose.” Kilic explained why Jaafaris did not accept this offer: "They are trying to attach our mosque to the department by exploiting the hardships experienced by Jaafari mosques. But according to our beliefs, the mosque should be independent of public authority. This enables the imams to be just. Imams cannot be taking orders from the state or institutions. Moreover, the department is sending sermons to mosques based on Hanefi beliefs. But our sermons are always of two parts. The first part is on general religious affairs, and the second is on problems of the community.” Opening did not open anything In the Alevi workshop, Jaafaris came out with two demands: “[1] Change the structure of the Department of Religious Affairs. There should be chairs for other schools of thought. If there is equitable representation, than the Jaafaris could receive their part from the budget for their religious services. [2] Shiism should be taught properly in schools. The curriculum to be prepared by Jaafaris should be checked by the Ministry of National Education and introduced into the curriculum.” The first request was outright refused. The curriculum request, although accepted, was stalled with bureaucratic excuses. According to Jaafaris, the ministry’s own curriculum on Shiism is incomplete and inaccurate. Kilic thinks the government is not sincere. “The government is not searching for a true solution to the question. It is guided by political considerations and is downplaying the issues. If they had been serious, we could have solved all the problems in a month.” Political marginalization Jaafaris feel they are politically excluded. After eight years of staying out, in 2011 they succeeded in sending one parliamentarian each from the opposition CHP and Nationalist Action Party (MHP). But they have no meaningful position in the AKP. Although the attendance of then-parliamentary speaker Bulent Arinc at Ashura observances in 2007 and Erdogan’s own participation in 2010 had offered important opportunities to eliminate some of the prejudices, marginalization persisted. In 2011, despite an earlier promise, the AKP offered a Jaafari candidate on the Istanbul slate a slot that had no chance of winning in the elections. Jaafaris' rejection by the AKP exceeded that of earlier conservative parties. Kilic said they were not even allowed representation in the municipal council when Erdogan was the mayor of Istanbul. He doesn’t believe that their exclusion will change with the approaching March 30 elections. “Their sources of knowledge about Jaafaris are tainted. After we reacted, nobody called on us. We don’t think they will call. The prime minister is trying to consolidate his constituency, while pursuing a very dangerous policy of categorizing and separating society into segments.” It is a misfortune that Erdogan’s words were uttered at a time when sectarian tensions with the Shiite world of 200 million are escalating. Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/03/erdogan-gulen-jaafaris.html#ixzz2y1xe4RJa