Turkey Premier Lashes Out Over Arrest
of Allies
Erdogan Calls Dawn Raids Part of Plot to Topple Government
By JOE PARKINSON And EMRE PEKER, WSJ, Dec. 18, 2013
ISTANBUL—Turkey’s prime minister said a graft probe that has snared dozens of his political allies was part of an internal plot to topple his government, and promised to retaliate against those responsible as a new round of elections nears.
Authorities on Tuesday detained 52 people, including the sons of three cabinet ministers, for questioning in a case involving charges of bribery and zoning-law violations.
In his first direct response, Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan characterized the arrests as part of a criminal conspiracy involving the higher echelons of the bureaucracy, which he accused of misconduct and abuse of power.
…The premier didn’t identify the alleged masterminds, but his comments signaled a deepening conflict within the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP.
After a decade in power, the Islamist-rooted party has become increasingly split between supporters of the premier and a faction loyal to a U.S.-based cleric, Fethullah Gulen…