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Turkish opposition leader downplays claims about high-rise in NYC mayor’s indictment, sparks backlash

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The leader of Turkey’s main opposition party has attracted a storm of criticism and anger for standing behind the Turkish government despite claims of its involvement in corrupt dealings with the mayor of New York City and for denying that the Turkish government might have used the mayor’s influence to speed up the opening of a high-rise in New York.

Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel, who was in New York on Thursday to attend an international meeting, visited Turkish House (Türkevi), a 36-story building opened in 2021 by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It houses the Turkish Consulate General as well as multiple Turkish diplomatic missions.

Özel’s visit to Turkish House came on the same day as an indictment against New York City Mayor Eric Adams was unsealed by Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, following an investigation that started in 2021.

Adams faces charges of bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy and soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals including at least one Turkish government official.

In addition to accusations of accepting free airline tickets and upgrades, lavish hotel stays and illegal campaign donations from Turkey, Adams is also accused of — upon a request from a Turkish official — pressuring the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) to facilitate the opening of Turkish House without a fire inspection, in time for a high-profile visit by Erdoğan.

“At the time, the building would have failed an FDNY inspection. In exchange for free travel and other travel­ related bribes in 2021 and 2022 arranged by the Turkish Official, ADAMS did as instructed. Because of ADAMS’s pressure on the FDNY, the FDNY official responsible for the FDNY’s assessment of the skyscraper’s fire safety was told that he would lose his job if he failed to acquiesce, and, after ADAMS intervened, the skyscraper opened as requested by the Turkish Official,” the indictment says.

According to Özel, who spoke to reporters following a visit to Turkish House with a delegation from his party, Turkey is not a country that would need to pay bribes to ensure the opening of a skyscraper.

“If a gesture was made to us in the opening of this building, I’m sure we made an even bigger [gesture] by granting that wonderful plot of land for the US embassy building in Ankara,” said Özel.

The CHP leader said Turkish House is “a source of pride for all of us,” adding that his party will hold all of its events in New York at Turkish House from now on.

Özel also ignored criticism of the high cost of the building that was leveled even before the investigation into Adams was launched.

The high-rise cost Turkey $291.2 million to build amid criticism that the money could have been put to better use, especially at a time when university students in Turkey were protesting high dormitory fees and rent in September 2021. It was inaugurated by Erdoğan with a lavish ceremony on September 20, 2021.

Özel attracted harsh criticism for defending the alleged government corruption behind the opening of the building and for failing to act as a real opposition leader but rather appearing to be a government “spokesman” at a time of such serious allegations.

Veteran journalist Yavuz Baydar said if the main opposition leader does not distance himself from the allegations of bribery and corruption, “delivering instead cheap shots in the name of populism, and defending rot,” this helps explain why Turkey today is sadly seen as a “lost case” by its allies.

Many people think the lack of a real opposition in Turkey which questions the way the government runs the country reveals that its alleged corruption, rights violations and handling of the economy are the main reasons for the democratic and economic deterioration in the country.

Although the CHP came in first in the March 31 local elections, Özel, who was elected party leader last November, has been moderate in his criticism of Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Under the pretext of a normalization in Turkish politics, Özel and Erdoğan paid visits to each other and avoided any harsh criticism, with detractors accusing Özel of yielding to Erdoğan

US-based journalist Adem Yavuz Arslan likened Özel’s statements to a “joke” given the fact that the US has been shaken by the allegations of corruption and bribery against the New York City mayor in his relations with the Turkish government.

“A main opposition leader who calls bribery a ‘gesture’ in front of the building at the center of the investigation,” he tweeted, referring to Özel.

Adams is the second Black mayor of New York and the first sitting mayor of New York City to be charged with a federal crime. The indictment against him was widely covered in the US media after it was unsealed on Thursday.

Vedat Demir, a professor of communications, said on X that Özel knows nothing about politics, international relations or diplomacy, made clear by his remarks about the Turkish government’s intervention in the opening of Turkish House.

Journalist İrfan Aktan also said on X that even if one assumes that Özel did not want to “criticize” the government while on US soil, one wonders why he made a statement like a spokesman for the government instead of questioning the “dirty relations established with the mayor of New York.”

Despite the backlash, Özel remains committed to his strategy of normalization. Critics have long accused the CHP of doing politics within the boundaries set by Erdoğan and failing to put up strong resistance that could challenge the president’s ruling AKP.

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