Tapes Taken Down from the Shelves and the Betrayal of Friends

It is a fact that the course of politics in Türkiye is changing. People can raise their voices a little louder than before. Some, so to speak, are trying to abandon ship. Some are seized by the urge to be more democratic and more humane. Headline news, meanwhile, is spilling out not as the product of investigative journalism or intelligence work but because of the very “nothing will happen to me” attitude of the powerful camp.

From an adviser who uses cocaine to an award-winning police officer dealing drugs, we are witnessing shameful crimes involving state officials from almost every office. According to psychologist Süreyya Coşkuner, “Scandals are the mirror of society”. Scandals involving people in the public eye in particular are a kind of moral test for society too.

How thought-provoking it is that soldiers, police officers and civil servants come together with crimes such as drugs and prostitution. Even more thought-provoking is the disease of numbness the citizen has caught. The YouTube and Twitter posts of some journalists and of Sedat Peker, reaching millions, go no further than leaving a note for history. Fear and poverty play into the hands of shameless thieves.

In the country, behind almost every immorality a member of the protocol turns up. Is it a mere coincidence that perpetrators whose crimes are plain to see have photographs with the upper rungs of the hierarchy? One cannot help muttering, in Burhan Felek’s words, “So the spit inspector turned out to be a famous swindler.”

For example, the claim that there are tapes of Binali Yıldırım’s son Erkam Yıldırım was hardly discussed at all. Should the broken-backed people of Anatolia concern themselves with the tape of Erkam Yıldırım, a distant relative of the ruling class? Then an obscene social media conversation between the Prime Minister of the TRNC and a woman leaked. He too resigned, grumbling.

These days, especially on Twitter, strange footage and allegations about local administrators come out almost every day. The protagonists of these images usually claim that the footage is a montage and that a trap has been set for them. Some resign immediately, while others try to resist a little longer.

All these moves, despite some differences, can be assessed under the concept of the honey trap. In short: the use of obscene images for blackmail, pulling an opponent onto the desired line or eliminating him. But what is happening today also takes the form of betrayal by friends. That is, weaknesses archived while relations were good are served up when swords are drawn. “Thieves fight not while stealing but while sharing,” says an old saying. The prosperity brought by the years opens the door to new rivalries: new tenders, new posts, new opportunities. Even long-standing alliances can break for this. There is a small clique that keeps getting richer, but no one has buried their hatchets either. One day, inevitably, they fall out. The country being dragged into ever darker darkness also requires repositioning in the power struggle as it changes hands, and so new betrayals.

Let us end with an example from history: the alliance between British media mogul Robert Maxwell and MOSSAD. Robert Maxwell is MOSSAD’s man in the media. His tasks include discrediting targets, locating wanted persons through his media network and even stopping people who flee MOSSAD or who, after retiring, try to write books against Israel.

A rich media boss with so many services is undoubtedly cherished, protected and supported by MOSSAD. Received like a head of state on his visits to Israel, Maxwell is the permanent guest of honour at state banquets. But this intimate relationship does not prevent MOSSAD from taking precautions against its friend. One day the loyal friend Maxwell might fall out with “the institute (MOSSAD)” and reveal the dozens of dirty operations he took part in. Maxwell was a trustworthy supporter who had proved his loyalty many times, but MOSSAD had to take every possibility into account.

As a precaution, embarrassing footage of the famous media mogul has long since taken its place on the shelves. It will be seen that MOSSAD was right about its suspicions about Maxwell in the near future. In time, interests clash. Maxwell is now confident in himself. He is both a well-known media emperor and very rich. Unfortunately the risk arises that the media boss, regarded as a close friend, might reveal what he knows at any moment, and the blackmail tapes are taken down from the shelves. Thus the friendship of an era comes to a bitter end.

How well Cemil Meriç put it: “Be among the honest, and you will see how few you are.”