TODAY'S ZAMAN - A bitter polemic between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and owner of Dogan business and media group Aydin Dogan continued over the weekend, becoming increasingly heated despite an initial indication earlier in the weekend that both were toning down their rhetoric.
The mutual diatribe erupted between Erdogan and Dogan over the past week when newspapers belonging to Dogan published news reports alleging Erdogan's involvement in a case of fraud surrounding Deniz Feneri (Lighthouse), a Turkish charity based in Germany. The fight quickly became heated, with Erdogan accusing Dogan media of attacking at him and his government for his earlier rejection of some business favors Dodan had sought.
Prime Minister Erdogan, speaking at his party's Sisli branch congress on Sunday, called on the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) to prove its accusations that the government had been pressuring the Capital Markets Board (SPK) for the past 19 months to suppress a file on the conservative television station Kanal 7, some of whose members currently stand accused of having directed Deniz Feneri funds to the company. "You say I have given an order to the SPK president. He who fails to prove this has no honor, no dignity. I am wording this very clearly, very bluntly," he said.
He also continued slamming Aydin Dogan, who had said he was prepared to speak with him live on television. "Aydin Dogan, on top of all this, wants to appear on a television program with me. What is it? Do you need ratings?" he mocked Dogan's invitation for a live broadcast.
- TODAY'S ZAMAN