The Turkish government is facing charges of arming and financing jihadists in Syria. These are the latest accusations that an exiled mafia boss is making on YouTube targeting the Turkish president.
One of the many accusations Sedat Peker is making on YouTube implicates the Turkish government in arming and buying oil from Syrian jihadists.
In one of his videos, Peker explains in detail how key aides to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ran the scheme. Mr Peker, who analysts say once had close ties to Turkish leaders, began airing weekly videos on Sunday on a YouTube channel, raising allegations against the government after being forced to leave the country.
Analyst Atilla Yesilada says the mafia boss has a growing audience.
“It is extraordinary. He is attracting an audience of over four and five million for each video. And everything he says is analyzed on opposition channels. So I would say that everyone knows what he is talking about. “Undoubtedly, the most harmful (for Erdogan) is the opening of the file of the 1990s, the extrajudicial killings”, says Yesilada.
Peker claims that former Interior Minister Mehmet Aga was the head of a shadow organization known as the “secret state”, which is said to have been responsible for a series of assassinations of prominent journalists dating back to the 1990s. closely associated with Erdogan, and his son Tolga is a member of parliament for the ruling AKP party.
Mr Aga has denied the allegations. Erol Onderoglu of Reporters Without Borders says the government must be transparent.
“First this should be part of a parliamentary investigation, but I think it will not be possible if the Turkish government does not release the names of some state actors. “So transparency should calm public opinion and show respect for the families of the victims,” said Mr Onderoglu.
But President Erdogan is dismissing the allegations. Speaking to his party’s deputies, the Turkish president said the allegations were part of an international conspiracy to overthrow him.
But Mr Packer’s allegations continue, accusing the son of Mr Erdogan’s confidant, former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, of smuggling cocaine and turning Turkey into one of the largest drug import and distribution centers in Europe.
Mr Yildirim denied the allegations. Analysts point out that Mr. Erdogan has experience in overcoming political storms. But analyst Yesilada says that unlike in the past, Turkey is in the midst of an economic crisis and record low support in polls for President Erdogan.
“All these are unmistakable signs of an armageddon for Erdogan. It would take a miracle to repair the damaged reputation of Mr. Peker’s videos. “The picture that emerges is that of a government that works for personal gain and for friends and that has completely lost interest among voters,” said Mr. Yesilada.
Peker has promised more videos on YouTube that he says will reveal more inner secrets he claims he has learned from two decades in the inner circles of the ruling party.
