Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy met with Minister of Culture and Tourism of North Macedonia Zoran Ljutkov in Ankara. During the meeting held at Ankara Republic Museum, topics regarding the protection of cultural heritage, increasing artistic collaborations and developing cooperation in the field of tourism were evaluated.

STRONG TIES BETWEEN Türkiye AND THE BALKANS WERE EMPHASIS

Minister Ersoy emphasized the ties between Türkiye and the Balkans during the meeting and said, “In addition to historical and cultural ties, we also have many familial ties between Türkiye and the Balkans.” Ersoy pointed out the importance of multifaceted relations with the Balkan geography.

Ersoy also touched upon the tourism potential of the two countries and continued as follows:

“While Skopje, Ohrid, Monastir and other historical centers have a strong attraction potential for Turkish visitors with their Ottoman period heritage, multi-layered cultural texture and natural beauties, Turkey also offers visitors from North Macedonia extensive opportunities in terms of history, culture, faith, gastronomy, health and sea tourism.”

CULTURAL COOPERATION AND JOINT PROJECTS WERE DISCUSSED

Reminding that they paid a visit to Skopje on April 7, 2023, Ersoy emphasized that they signed the Cultural Cooperation Agreement between the two countries within the framework of this visit and that this agreement is an important tool for sustaining, protecting and promoting common cultural values.

ASELSAN technicians Süleyman Cemre Kahraman (31) and İsmail Enes Can (26), who were martyred in the helicopter crash in Qatar, were sent off on their final journey after the ceremony held in Ankara.

The helicopter belonging to the Qatar Armed Forces, which was carrying out training activities within the Qatar-Turkish Combined Joint Force Command in Qatar, crashed into the sea due to a technical malfunction on the evening of March 21, according to initial findings. In the accident, 4 Qatar Armed Forces personnel, 1 Turkish Armed Forces personnel and 2 ASELSAN personnel and 2 technicians on the helicopter were martyred.

Farewell to the helicopter crash martyrs | Video

A ceremony was held in Qatar for Martyr Air Defense Major Sinan Taştekin and ASELSAN personnel Süleyman Cemre Kahraman and İsmail Enes Can. Then, the bodies of ASELSAN personnel Süleyman Cemre Kahraman and İsmail Enes Can were brought to Ankara.

A ceremony was held for ASELSAN technicians at Ahmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque. Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, Minister of Commerce Ömer Bolat, Minister of Health Kemal Memişoğlu, Minister of Internal Affairs Mustafa Çiftçi, Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, Ankara Governor Vasip Şahin and many people attended the ceremony.

Protocol members expressed their condolences to the families of the martyrs. Deputy President of Religious Affairs Hüseyin Harikalar performed the funeral prayer of the martyrs after the noon prayer. Then, the coffins of the martyrs wrapped in Turkish flags were carried to the funeral vehicles on the shoulders of the soldiers.

While İsmail Enes Can’s body was sent to his hometown Güdül district for burial, Süleyman Cemre Kahraman’s body was buried in tears at Cebeci Martyrdom.

It was stated that the body of Air Defense Major Sinan Taştekin will be buried tomorrow at the Canbulat Martyrdom in Famagusta, TRNC.

Ministry of Internal Affairs: “64 suspects were caught in the operations carried out by our gendarmerie against FETO in 32 provinces, and 41 of the suspects were arrested.” he said.

The statement made by the Ministry is as follows:

Under the coordination of the Gendarmerie General Command’s Anti-Terrorism Department and the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, operations were carried out in 32 provinces by the Provincial Gendarmerie Commands against the FETO Terrorist Organization.

Adana, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Aydın, Balıkesir, Bartın, Bolu, Bursa, Edirne, Erzurum, Eskişehir, Giresun, Gümüşhane, Hatay, Istanbul, Kahramanmaraş, Kastamonu, Kırıkkale, Kocaeli, Konya, Kütahya, Malatya, Manisa, Ordu, Osmaniye, Sakarya, Samsun, Tekirdağ, Tokat, Trabzon and 64 Suspects were caught during the operations carried out in Yozgat.

41 of the suspects were arrested, and judicial control measures were imposed on 4 of them. Others’ operations continue.

Suspects; It was determined that they were operating within the current structure of the terrorist organization, were in contact with responsible persons within the organization, knowingly and willingly helped the terrorist organization, provided finance to so-called aid organizations affiliated with the terrorist organization, made propaganda for the terrorist organization through their social media accounts, and attempted to escape abroad.

As a result of the operations, many organizational documents and digital materials were seized.

We congratulate our Department, our Heroic Gendarmerie, our Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and all those who contributed.

CHP Istanbul Provincial Chairman Gürsel Tekin made a noteworthy comment about the baklava box that came during the Eid celebration. Gürsel Tekin said, “The people saw that there was no money…”

Deputy Mayor Mehmet Engin Tüter, whose office was raided within the scope of the corruption and bribery operation against Manavgat Municipality, was caught red-handed while taking bribes in a baklava box.

Gürsel Tekin sending a ‘baklava box’ to CHP “Baklava boxes are very dangerous” | Video

“THESE BOXES ARE VERY DANGEROUS”

While the echoes of the scandal continued, Gürsel Tekin, who was appointed as the CHP Istanbul Provincial Chairman by the court, made a reference to “baklava boxes” during the Eid celebration.

When CHP Istanbul Provincial Chairman Gürsel Tekin saw the baklava box that came during the Eid celebration, he said, “These baklava boxes are very dangerous, so open them in front of the people. The people saw that there was no money…”

110 THOUSAND EUROS OF BRIBERY WERE REVEALED

Deputy Mayor Mehmet Engin Tüter’s office was raided by police teams. In the images reflected on the police camera; It was seen that Tüter was caught red-handed while taking a bribe of 110 thousand euros in a baklava box from a person named CC.

The police entered Tüter’s office in the municipality and stated that he was making an arrest and asked for the bag next to the table to be opened. Trying to find an excuse not to open his bag, Tüter said, “The friend came from abroad and brought whiskey and chocolate.” With his words, he tried to distract the attention of the police by pointing out that the contents of the bag were insignificant.

Tüter opened the bag when the police refused to insist on opening the bag. It was seen that there was 110 thousand euros in the baklava box that Tüter opened.

Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office completed the IMM corruption investigation on November 11 and prepared a huge 3,806-page indictment against a total of 407 suspects, 107 of whom were detained and 7 of whom were caught. Bribery and corruption in 143 actions were described as causing a public loss of 161 billion.

UP TO 2 THOUSAND 352 YEARS OF PRISON WAS REQUESTED FOR 16 CRIMES

In the indictment, Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was held responsible for 142 actions as the leader of the organization, was accused of “establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime”, “recording personal data”, “seizing and disseminating personal data”, “concealing criminal evidence”, “obstructing communication”, “damaging public property”, “bribery”, “publicly disseminating misleading information”, “extortion”, “fraud to the detriment of public institutions and organizations”, “devaluation of assets resulting from crime”. Up to 2,352 years of imprisonment was requested for the crimes of “laundering”, “tender rigging”, “deliberate pollution of the environment”, and violation of the Tax Procedure Law, Forest Law and Mining Law.

MANAGERS AND MEMBERS

Fatih Keleş, Murat Ongun, Ertan Yıldız, Murat Gülibrahimoğlu, Adem Soytekin and Hüseyin Gün were the managers of the organization. Suspects who are members of the organization include Yakup Öner, Emrah Bağdatlı, Resul Emrah Şahan, Necati Özkan, Tuncay Yılmaz, Mustafa Akın, Mehmet Pehlivan, Seza Büyükçulha, Hüseyin Köksal, Ali Nuhoğlu, Ali Sukas, İbrahim Bülbüllü and Melih Geçek.

VICTIM AND CUSTOMERS

The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Turkey, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Turkey, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Republic of Turkey, the Provincial Directorate of Environment and Urbanization of Istanbul, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and the Municipality of Şişli were listed as those damaged by the crime. While Adem Kameroğlu, Mustafa Keleş, Muzaffer Beyaz, Seyfi Beyaz and Mehmet Torun are included in the indictment as both complainants and suspects, the 16 complainants are Alaattin Kameroğlu, Avni Çelik, Fatih Erdoğan, Kaan Yücel, Murat Özyeğin, Sedat Kapıdağ, Abdulkerim Fırat, İlker Keleş, Münir Özkök, Nezih Barut, Salahattin Özgül, Ziya Yılmaz, Çetin Gül, Mehmet İlhan, Bahattin Uçar, Serbülend Danış took part.

EIGHTH DAY IN THE CASE

On the eighth day of the trial, before the hearing to be held by the Istanbul 40th High Criminal Court in the hall opposite the Marmara Closed Penal Institution, gendarmerie teams are carrying out security checks in and around the hall.

“MY MONTHLY INCOME IS 30 THOUSAND TL”

In the previous hearing, Ağaç A.Ş. General Manager Ali Sukas started his defense. Sukas stated that his monthly income was 30 thousand liras. Sukas, who was held responsible for 12 actions, said, “I did not instruct Ümit Polat to receive money from Tamer Gümüş. If there was a money exchange between the two, I did not see, hear or know. Ertan Yıldız said that an announcement regarding market cards should be made during Ramadan in case the companies volunteer. Within the scope of that announcement, this transaction took place for a couple of Ramadans.” Sukas admitted that they went on foreign trips with Taner Gümüş for fair purposes.

ALI SUKAS WILL CONTINUE HIS DEFENSE

The hearing will continue after the 4-day holiday. Ali Sukas will continue his defense.

The helicopter, which was carrying out training activities within the Qatar-Turkish Combined Joint Force Command, crashed and crashed into the sea due to a technical malfunction on the evening of March 21. In the statement made by the Ministry of National Defense, it was reported that 4 Qatar military personnel, Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) personnel Air Defense Major Sinan Taştekin, ASELSAN personnel technician Süleyman Cemre Kahraman and technician İsmail Enes Can were martyred in the accident.

SAD NEWS REACHED ISPARTA

The sad news of Major Taştekin, who was martyred in the helicopter crash, plunged his hometown Isparta into mourning. The sad news was given to the martyr’s parents, who reside in Gülcü District, by the authorities. While the Turkish Flag was hung on the house of the martyr’s family, citizens flocked to the house to express their condolences. It was learned that the martyr’s wife resides in Konya.

In the written statement made by the Ministry of National Defense, it was stated that “Four Qatar Armed Forces personnel, one Turkish Armed Forces personnel and two ASELSAN personnel, who were in the helicopter, were martyred in the accident. The exact cause of the accident will be determined as a result of the investigation to be carried out by the Qatar authorities.”

CONDOLENCE FROM PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN

The President issued a condolence message regarding the helicopter crash. Erdoğan used the following statements in his message: “I learned with great sadness that our Turkish Armed Forces and ASELSAN personnel and members of the Qatar Armed Forces were martyred in the helicopter crash that occurred in Qatar. I pray for God’s mercy on our heroic soldier, our ASELSAN personnel, and our friend and brother Qatar soldiers who were martyred in this tragic accident, and I express my condolences to their families. My condolences to our country, our nation and the people of Qatar.”

In the statement made by ASELSAN, it was said: “May God have mercy on our two ASELSAN personnel, our technicians and our Mehmetçik who were martyred as a result of the helicopter crash in Qatar, and we express our condolences and patience to their grieving families, relatives and our beloved nation. Our condolences to our nation. May our martyrs rest in heaven and their souls rest in peace.”