By AYLIN SAGTUR MUTLU

About the Author

Special Report for EurasiaNews

Ankara, December 31, 1998

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Among many others, Turkey had another shock after an MP disclosed a cassette in which infamous Mafia figure Alaattin Cakici and businessman Korkmaz Yigit were talking on how to eliminate the other bidders from a major privatization tender.

The sound cassette, which came by post to Fikri Saglar - a member of social democrat Republican People’s Party, who is known for taking personal initiatives against irregularities, was then handed by him to TV channels which immediately aired it. In the various phone conversations recorded in this casette, Alaattin Cakici and Korkmaz Yigit were discussing the privatization bid of state-owned Turkbank and Cakici was saying "Businessmen who want to remain alive, should rather not enter this bid!"

Korkmaz Yigit, a recently-emerging business mogul, eventually purchased the 84.52 % shares of Turkbank from the Saving Insurance Fund for 600 Million Dollars. However, after being arrested in France on August 19, on charges of infiltrating the country with a forged passport, Mafia leader Alaattin Cakici started producing cassettes recording his conversations with businessmen and government officials, including a cabinet minister who had to resign after the disclosure. Cakici who does not want to be extradited to Turkey, is apparently implementing a plan either to justify his seeking asylum from France or acting in vengeance.

After buying the Turkbank, Yigit’s star started to shine and he bought TV Channel E, Channel 6 and then Yeni Yuzyil and Ates newspapers. He also signed a contract to buy reputable daily Milliyet.

Acting upon the TV broadcast of Yigits conversation with Cakici, the Treasury cancelled the bid of Turkbank and the Board of the Saving Insurance Fund decided to report crime against Yigit on October 14. A few days later, Yigit decided to withdraw his shares from the media and initially cancelled the sale contract he had drawn with Milliyet’s owner Yalcin Dogan. However, just before being detained, the businessman who seemed to sliding downwards, had a video cassette of himself aired by Channel 6 and Channel E on November 10. In the cassettte, Yigit said that it was Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and State Minister Gunes Taner who had encouraged him to enter the Turkbank bid and that the two had talked the other bidders out of the bid, so that he can win it. In his one-hour-long statement, Yigit said that he was being subjected to a "summary execution" by the state.

According to Yigit, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and some other government members knew that Alaattin Cakici was involved in this bid. Yigit also alleged that another businessman Kamuran Cortuk had threatened him, warning him not to enter this bid, saying that "Both the President and Cakici are supporting me; do not dare to enter this bid!"

At the end of his statement Yigit had said "I did not need Cakici’s help to win the Turkbank bid. I tried to keep him apart from this bid but pretended that he was in it. But I did not allow him to talk to anyone for me. All my family life, prestige and honor have been destroyed with this scandal. I myself have fallen very hard; my family and employees did not deserve this. .. I am a person who had no commercial relations with the state, and no political expectations until May 1998 and was not involved any wrongdoing. After that day I was involved in the Turkbank bid and had to contact Cakici, under heavy threats."

Yigit went on to say that Central Bank Governor Gazi Ercel had advised him to offer an amount above 400 million dollars to buy the Turkbank and businessman Kamuran Cortuk assured him that "We shall enable you to buy the bank for 380 million dollars but you wiill try to buy Genc TV channel and hand it later on to us." Then, according to Yigit, he was able to buy the bank only at 600 million dollars and the Prime Minister had offered him financial help to cover the sum.

As Korkmaz Yigit was arrested the next day by the State Security Court, on grounds of buying the Turkbank through dark affairs, Turkey entered a deep government crisis. Its stock exchange suffered a 15 % fall, and interests on bonds rose by 15 points. Prime Minister Yilmaz, appearing in a live program on famous Arena talk show program said he will not resign and claimed that all these things happening, were nothing but a plot designed by the "Gang" to hit himself.

On November 19, the coalition government led by Motherland Party of Mesut Yilmaz was removed by Parliament, after a censure motion launched by opposition Virtue, True Path and Republican People’s Parties. 311 deputies voted for and 213 against the censure motion.

The reason for the removal was, the alleged illegalities of the government in the Turkbank privatization bid.

The censure motion launched by Virtue (FP), True Path (DYP) and Republican People’s Parties (CHP) after businessman Korkmaz Yigit made revelations about PM Yilmaz, was adopted on November 25 by Parliament.

Parliament which first cast a vote of no-confidence to State Minister Gunes Taner, then ended the 16.5-month coalition led by Mesut Yilmaz and which included his Motherland (ANAP) Party and the Democratic Left (DSP) and Democratic Turkey Parties (DTP).

After Parliament Speaker Hikmet Cetin announced, "The government has been removed, let it be good for all," Mesut Yilmaz took the floor, to say that the longest-surviving minority government of the Turkish history has ended. "I feel relieved. Now, the ones who removed (us) will be thinking."

314 deputies voted in favor of the motion and 214 against it, in the voting. One plus, half of the number of seats at Parliament are sufficient to adopt a censure motion. There are 550 seats at Parliament. 276 votes are necessary to remove a government, under the Constitution.

Ecevit, the Deputy PM and leader of DSP, said "The government was removed because of its success.

The day after the vote, Pm Mesut Yilmaz handed his resignation to the President. However, throughout December 1998 he continued to act as the prime minister because his assistant Bulent Ecevit was unable to form a new government.