Ankara (AA) -- Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz has said that he did not give Central Bank President Gazi Ercel any instructions for the Turk Ticaret Bank to give businessman Korkmaz Yigit $380 million. In addition, Yilmaz disclosed that at his meeting with Korkmaz Yigit at the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Yigit gave retired Admiral Guven Erkaya’s name as a reference.

Yilmaz participated in the "Arena" program on Kanal-D and replied to the allegations Yigit leveled in his videocassette. Istanbul Deputy Cefi Kamhi and businessman Kamuran Cortuk, whose names were also mentioned in Yigit’s allegations, participated in the program by telephone. Yilmaz was reminded that Yigit had said that "Kamuran Cortuk sent me a message through Cefi Kamhi in which he said ‘the president, the prime minister, and Cakici are with me. I will not help him even if he wins the tender’." Yilmaz responded:

"I had nothing to do with these meetings. I have known Kamuran Cortuk for a long time. He had undertaken some tenders in Pakistan and Iran. He called on us for assistance with regard to the countries in question. We met on several occasions within this framework. I do not know how Cortuk was implicated in this affair.

"I did meet with Korkmaz Yigit on 30 June, however, at Mr. Cindoruk’s request. Kamhi was also present at this meeting. We held a quick meeting that lasted for about 15 minutes. Cindoruk told me that Yigit had offered a partnership to Cortuk, who rejected the offer."

Recalling that at the meeting, which Cefi Kamhi also attended, Yigit had sworn on his honor, family, and children that he was in no way connected to Alaattin Cakici, Yilmaz said that "he said he had nothing do with him except for selling him an apartment. He said that Cakici was not connected to this tender."

Upon being reminded of Yigit’s remark that "I told you to cancel the tender," Yilmaz said the following:

"This is a lie. On the contrary, he said that portraying him as involved in the Cakici affair was nothing but an effort to weave a plot against him. He said that he had no connection whatsoever to Cakici and told me ‘Give me a chance to take part in the tender. I do not wantanything else. I will make the highest bid’."

Cefi Kamhi, in turn, concurred with Yilmaz’s remarks and added: "That is exactly so. I admire your memory."

Special Situation [subhead] When asked "Is it normal for a prime minister to take so much interest in the privatization of a bank or is there a special situation here?" Yilmaz replied that this was a special situation. Yilmaz explained that the previous government had attempted to privatize the Turkbank twice but that both times the tender was postponed because of threats or assassination attempts. Recalling that the bank faced a financial crisis and that the Central Bank had acquired a large share of the stocks through the Insurance

Deposit Fund in 1997, Yilmaz added that he closely followed this issue to prevent Mafia involvement and keep the bank from being sold at a cheap price. Explaining that the General Security Directorate had received information on a connection between Korkmaz Yigit and Alaattin Cakici, Yilmaz said that he called State Minister Gunes Taner in this regard and relayed this information to him. Yilmaz continued:

"I told Taner that Cakici is behind this man [Yigit]. I asked him to prevent Yigit from taking part in the tender. Taner said he will do what is necessary. This man then called me several times. He went to my brother and asked him to arrange a meeting with me. He also used other persons as intermediaries. I, however, did not meet with him.

"Mr. Cindoruk then phoned to tell me that Yigit had explained certain things to him. He said it would be beneficial if I, as the prime minister, was also aware of these things and added that we should arrange a meeting. They arrived at my office at the Assembly. Yigit told me that he had nothing to do with Cakici, that he had only sold him a house but had never met with him. Moreover, he said that he had sold him a house worth $1 million and that the next day a woman with a headscarf had brought him $300,000-350,000. He said ‘I would have given the house free of charge. I am afraid of these persons.’ He recounted that he offered partnerships to Cingillioglu and Cortuk and that they, in turn, had refused him. He said I should ask Adm. Guven Erkaya, whom he knew for 20 years, about him.

"I got confused after this. In view of the reference he had given me and after he had sworn so profusely, I started to think that perhaps I was doing an injustice to this man. When I met him at the entrance to parliament, I told him that he could also submit a proposal. I called Gunes Taner and told him ‘I told Yigit he can submit a proposal’ and that I would review the issue."

Recounting that the next day he asked the National Intelligence Organization [MIT] and the Security Directorate officials to prove the existence of a direct connection between Yigit and Cakici, Yilmaz said that he later asked Guven Erkaya "What kind of a man is Yigit" and that Erkaya, in turn, replied: "I have not seen him do anything wrong." Yilmaz explained that when asked whether Yigit is connected to Cakici, Erkaya said "I do not think so; however, let me look into it." Yilmaz added that he did not give any instructions to Ercel for the Turkbank tender to be fixed at $380 million.

Yilmaz recounted that he had asked Ercel how much the Turkbank would be sold for and that when Ercel said $400 mil ion, Yilmaz responded that the Insurance Deposit Fund had deposited funds amounting to $485 million in the bank and that, therefore, it could not be sold for less.

Kamhi

Cortuk

Yigit’s remarks. Explaining that he was in no way interested in the tender put out for the Turkbank, Cortuk said Yigit had offered him a partnership and that he refused it. Recounting that Yigit had also offered him partnerships in some television stations and property, Cortuk added that negotiations were held for the purchase of Genc TV and that Yigit had purchased this television station.

Cortuk stated that he was in no way connected to Cakici and that he had never met him.

Noting that reports that the television channel was given away as a gift were also false, Cortuk added that the claim that the tender was going

to be put out for $380 million was nothing but hearsay. Yilmaz recounted that he issued orders to prevent Yigit from getting any credit or letters of guarantee from public banks after he won the Turkbank tender, adding that Alaattin Cakici pressured Yigit into participating in the tender.

Asked whether an investigation was conducted into where Yigit was going to find the funds for the tender, Yilmaz said he called Cortuk on the phone to tell him that the Turk Ticaret Bank should not be sold for less than $500 million and should not be sold to Yigit if he was connected to Cakici. Recounting that Cortuk told him that there were no such connection, Yilmaz added that the bids for the tender were presented on television in front of the public and that Yigit won the tender by offering $600 million.

Noting that the final decision on the tender will be made by the Central Bank Insurance Fund, Yilmaz added: For this reason, the tender is not officially concluded. No one was eliminated in advance because all the bids submitted for the tender were from bankers.

Asked whether there were initiatives under way to have the public banks pay the deficit which will emerge once the Turk Ticaret Bank isprivatized, Yilmaz said:

"Yigit Announced It During His Meeting With Aktas" [subhead] Yilmaz explained that he was careful to prevent the involvement of the Mafia in the privatization of the Turk Ticaret Bank and to ensure the flow of money into the bank. Pointing out that Yigit visited Interior Minister Kutlu Aktas three months after his meeting with him, Yilmaz continued:

"During that meeting, he clearly stated that he frequently meets with Cakici, that he paid him protection money, and that, actually, most businessmen do this.

"The minister asked him ‘Would you repeat this to the prosecutor?’ and he said ‘No.’ He also offered the interior minister a bribe, saying ‘Let me give you an apartment’."

Yilmaz recounted that during this meeting, Yigit said he was forced to give Cakici money when the latter handed him the address of his children.

Yilmaz said:

Yilmaz said: "Where did this pressure come from? Who forced him to participate in the tender? His reply was that it was the head of the Mafia."

Pointing out that what distressed him the most in this whole affair was the failure to prove the connection between Yigit and Cakici, Yilmaz noted that there was no decision to tap Yigit’s telephones. Yilmaz declared that he learned of the existence of a cassette confirming this connection from a journalist and again alerted the General Security

Directorate in this regard. Yilmaz added that on 8 October in Antalya, he received a note that also included some of the information contained in the cassette uncovered by Fikri Saglar.

Gurbuz Yigit, Korkmaz’s brother who took part in the program by telephone, asked that the program be repeated to allow his brother to have a say. He posed various questions to Cortuk regarding the payment for the purchase of a television station and whether he used credit from Turkbank to this end.

Yilmaz noted that in the wake of Yigit’s revelations, "the plot to topple the government" has succeeded, adding: "Cakici ad the team under his command have attained their goal of creating a government crisis in Turkey."

Yilmaz stated that Yigit phoned his office and left a note with his private secretary saying that his bank "was experiencing difficulties."

Explaining that Yigit sought his help, Yilmaz said that he called State Minister Gunes Taner and informed him of the situation. Pointing out that later on, while he was at a meeting, he was given a note from Yigit saying that he wanted to "discuss a vital issue," Yilmaz added that on the phone Yigit again told him that his bank was in a difficult situation.

Yilmaz said that on the phone he reminded Yigit that Yigit had told him that he had no relations with Alaattin Cakici apart from the sale of a flat, adding:

"I asked Yigit: ‘Now, after these cassettes have surfaced, it is clear that you lied. Is this true?’ He replied ‘You are right’ and hung up."

 

Yilmaz stated that he got the impression that after this conversation, Yigit was highly "demoralized." Yilmaz continued:

"This incident occurred around mid-October, probably around 7 October. In his videocassette, Yigit claims ‘I am making this video cassette on 24 October. Today is 24 October.’ I believe that he later sat with his lawyers and devised a scenario. The incidents he has mentioned are not entirely figments of his imagination. It is true that he came to me. It is true that he met with me twice. It is also true that he called me a few times. Probably his meeting with Gunes Taner is also true. "

"They have doctored the conversations that took place, however, in a bid to create a crisis of confidence in the government. In my opinion, this plot has achieved its goals. On the evening of 10 November, even before the broadcast of the cassette was over, Baykal immediately called me to tell me that he was canceling his appointment with me and that the government has come to an end. The other parties made similar statements within the hour."

"I believe that Cakici has achieved his goal. Cakici and the team under his command have attained their goal of creating a government crisis in Turkey. The goal here was to undermine this struggle [against the gangs]. The only way to undermine it was to topple the government. Let them come and topple the government."

Cakici Was To Receive a Share

"These relations are not that easy. People who once stood side by side can later oppose one another. It is such a complex picture that to solve it, one sometimes needs specialists."

Pointing out that he has been dealing with this issue for the last year and a half, Yilmaz continued:

"The Nesim Malki and Yener Kaya murders are the key incidents to all these dark affairs. When these incidents are clarified, these dirty relations will, to a large extent, be resolved."

Noting that he exerted intense efforts to resolve the Malki murder and that he initiated an investigation through various different channels, Yilmaz co ntinued:

"I have solved the case and exposed all the hit men, the middlemen, the planners, and the protectors. More time is needed, however, to solve the illegal money connections of the case.

Yilmaz was asked:

Gunes Taner’s Statement

Noting that Yigit, while making his revelations, behaved as though he were a "stage actor" and that a large part of his allegations do not reflect reality, Taner added:

"I told him: ‘Are you making fun of us? The allegations against you are sky-high.’ He then told me, as he did most theatrically in his videocassette, ‘I swear on my children’." Pointing out that he tried to keep Yigit away from the state, Taner said: "I do not like this man today, nor will I tomorrow. I like keeping such people away from the government."

Noting that he did not conduct any conversation with Yigit prior to the tender and that, in principle, he avoids discussing such issues, Taner said that Yigit’s claim that he used Cortuk as a middleman because he was in financial difficulty after the tender and was waiting for a letter of guarantee does not reflect the reality.

Taner continued: "I saw Kamuran Cortuk only two times in my life. I had no other meetings with him. As a matter of fact, I do not discuss such issues with anyone."

Taner concluded by saying that Yigit’s claims that "he sought Taner’s help in meeting the difference between $380 million and $600 million in the tender" were "figments of his imagination."

Yilmaz stated that the "plot" against the government was hatched in a bid to prevent it from struggling against the gangs, adding: "I will not facilitate their business by resigning."

"In the Cakici-Yigit relationship, I am yet to understand who was the boss. If you listen to the first conversation, Yigit is giving Cakici instructions, but if you listen to Yigit’s videocassette broadcast on 10 November, Yigit says that he is terrified of Cakici." Pointing out that this is not an easy situation to assess, Yilmaz continued: "What was important for us was to determine whether the Mafia had a hand in this business. It became evident, however, that the Mafia not only had a hand in the deal but was fully immersed in it."

 

Baykal

"At my news conference this evening, I said that I would not resign. The institution of resignation is not such an anomaly for me. I have resigned in the past on matters of principle. The institution of resignation is a very democratic one. I believe, however, that given the current conditions, this plot was hatched to directly obstruct the struggle we have been waging against the gangs. I will not facilitate their business by resigning."

In reply to a question on "whether he meant that Baykal was influenced by this manipulation," Yilmaz said he cannot know what motivates Baykal. Noting that he has great difficulty assessing Baykal’s behavior, Yilmaz continued:

Pointing out that he came to power with the determination to fight the gangs and the Mafia, Yilmaz continued:

"I might be led in the wrong direction in this struggle; I might have received insufficient information. I am saying, however, that I have never lied in this struggle. I have never been guided by political or other interests. It is being claimed that the struggle is being waged by the state, that I have no role in it....

"Did the NSC [National Security Council] not exist during his term in office? Why could they not find the perpetrators of the Nesim Malki affair? Why could they not find the perpetrators of the Yener Kaya incident? Why did they close the files? Have a look at the privatization of the banks. It is disgraceful. I am not here to rake up the past, but I would like to draw attention to the injustice of the accusations leveled against me.

"No one can tell me that I intentionally erred in the Turk Ticaret Bank incident. I have just said that I was not informed in time. There are claims that I forced and involved the state, that I issued warnings, that I forced individuals and institutions to supply me with information. What happened in the end? The bank was valued at a price not even considered by anyone. It was valued at $600 million." (more) 120116 ce/becher 12/1656z Nov 865 WC

 

"When you take on such a struggle, it is impossible to advance without sustaining injuries and damages along the way. The people you are facing are dealing with black money to the tune of trillions. They have infiltrated into the state. They have become a force within the state. You must be ready against all kinds of malice when you fight these people. We have made small mistakes here and there. I have made mistakes, as have my colleagues. We are not experts in fighting the Mafia and the gangs, nor do we have any experience in this field. If the state pulls itself together in this regard, if it stops harboring them, if some people within the state stop turning a blind eye to them, there will not be any Mafia or gangs in Turkey. I set the state right to a small extent—perhaps 10 percent, perhaps 20 percent—on this issue. Now, we are beginning to get the fruits. Eight Mafia leaders are in prison. Thousands of people have been captured. Cases are being resolved one after another. These are not results attained by the state without any help, as Mr. Baykal thinks.

 

Also participating in the program by telephone, DYP [True Path Party] Istanbul Deputy Hayri Kozakcioglu said that during his term as Istanbul governor, Korkmaz Yigit and Nesim Malki came to him and told him that they were threatened over the telephone, and he recommended that they go to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Noting that Yigit’s statement explains how this conversation was related to Cakici, Kozakcioglu said that it transpired that after the meeting, Malki telephoned Erol Evcil and gave him information.

Yilmaz described the criticism leveled against him by Baykal as "cheap demagoguery."

Responding to criticism leveled against him by CHP leader Deniz Baykal, Yilmaz said:

"Baykal may not be aware, but the matter will be referred to the judiciary on the basis of the investigation conducted into Yigit and the suit he will file against him." Yilmaz added: "Baykal is trying to distort the matter through demagogy."

Yilmaz said that he exerted efforts for three months to find evidence of the connection between Cakici and Yigit.

Yilmaz recalled that for the time being, Yigit is the person who placed the highest bid for the privatization of Turk Ticaret Bank. The prime minister noted that in investigating Yigit’s situation, he did not resort only to the relevant state institutions, and added: "We saw what happened in the past when only the state organs were used." Pointing out that he was amazed to hear that a person like Deniz Baykal, who has claims to the post of prime minister, called for his resignation on the basis of an allegation, Yilmaz declared that he is in favor of uncovering all aspects of the affair.

It has become clear that Baykal’s allegation that he met with Erol Evcil is not true, Yilmaz remarked and criticized Baykal for canceling his appointment with him. Yilmaz declared:

"Mr. Baykal is complaining about politician-Mafia links, but he has not even lifted a finger in this regard. He canceled the appointment because of the publication of the cassette. By canceling the appointment, he is eliminating the opportunity to hold a discussion on the enactment of the laws that will strengthen the judiciary in fighting the Mafia."

Yilmaz stated that Baykal does not have "a sense of justice" and that he passed judgment before this program and signed the interpellation motion.

The prime minister said his government activated the state on the subject of fighting the gangs and the Mafia and established new organizations. Asking why these institutions failed to wage a struggle, Yilmaz said:

"He is saying that in the past he served as deputy prime minister for five months. A bank was privatized during those five months. The person who owns that private bank is at the center of this affair." Yilmaz went on to say that he instructed the new organization within the police not to accord any privileges to anyone on this matter. Yilmaz said that Baykal’s remarks are very contradictory and his assessments lack a legal basis.

Pointing out that Baykal decided like a judge with regard to the affair concerning Eyup Asik, Yilmaz said:

"Our colleague Eyup Asik resigned from the Assembly because of this. The matter is now at the judiciary. I find Baykal’s attitude strange."

Noting that Baykal signed the interpellation motion without waiting to hear his explanations, Yilmaz said:

"Moreover, he is saying that my statements confirm these allegations; however, none of the people who participated in this program confirmed the events mentioned in the cassette."

"I Am Not Resigning"

"I am not resigning or anything. I am a minority government. Furthermore, there is no question of my resisting. If Mr. Baykal withdraws his support, the government ceases to exist. We will see who will ultimately bear the responsibility for such an act."

Yilmaz remarked that the struggle against illegalities will suffer as a result of a government void, adding:

"I am fighting on three fronts at one and the same time. They are separatist terrorism, reactionary terrorism, and Mafia terrorism. I was ready for everything when I embarked upon this struggle. There are currently six investigation motions against me in the Assembly. My assets are being probed with a fine-tooth comb. There is no leader in Turkey who has been investigated as closely as myself."

Stressing that he received threats but dismissed them, Yilmaz stated:

"There is no other prime minister who has so many investigation motions submitted against him, but I will not be intimidated by them and will not relinquish the fight. Neither will I resign or anything like that."

 

Asked about the kind of experience he acquired regarding the struggle against the Mafia during his term in office, Yilmaz replied:

"This is what I meant when I said we learned a lot: We realized that the issue is of much greater proportions than we had ever thought. We saw that these dirty ties have enveloped the business world, politics, and a significant part of the state."

Yilmaz explained that he asked to hold a meeting with the aim of soliciting the parties’ support for the enactment of the laws to conclude this struggle, but Baykal canceled the appointment using the pretext of Yigit’s allegations. Pointing out that society wants the politicians to find a solution, Yilmaz said:

"I had planned to say all of this, but Mr. Baykal went ahead and signed the interpellation motion. It is wrong to drag Turkey into a government crisis on the basis of such trivial causes and this edited cassette. What Baykal terms serious allegations are ones that have been concocted for the purpose of blackmail. The existence of such a cassette was conveyed to Gunes Taner before the assets of Bank Ekspres were confiscated.

"We confiscated Bank Ekspres despite this. The fact that the bank was defrauded was reported to the Prosecutor’s Office, and the Prosecutor’s Office started the legal process by issuing the arrest warrant." Declaring that he will not resign and that he will continue his struggle, the prime minister concluded as follows:

"Mr. Baykal presented the portrait of a typical CHP prime minister: a statist prime minister who is removed from these affairs, who does not get involved in these matters, who does not get eroded, who does not sustain any injuries, who fears that he might be injured or eroded if he does get involved in these matters, and who always remains aloof. I will not be that prime minister."