Aydin Dogan says he won't back down in media row with Turkish PM

"This administration is very oppressive; they don't like pluralism," Dogan told Bloomberg News in an interview late on Tuesday. “Nobody can take from me what's rightfully mine. I'd go to court." Â

 

Erdogan has reached boiling point recently after a string of recent scandals involving him and other members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and launched a campaign against Turkey's largest media group, Dogan Group, over its publication of news on the fraud scandals.

 

Dogan said his energy unit Petrol Ofisi AS, co-owned with OMV, will pursue its plan to build a refinery at Ceyhan on the Mediterranean coast, where oil arrives by pipeline from Azerbaijan.

 

He said he "reserves the right" to apply to courts if regulators, who have not awarded a permit for the project, continue to block it, Bloomberg reported.

 

Dogan had earlier said Erdogan blocked his plans to build a refinery in Ceygan, saying they promised the investment to the pro-AKP Calik Group.

 

Dogan, who is chairman of Dogan Holding, said he has no plans to sell his stake in Petrol Ofisi and would be willing to buy out OMV if it decided to sell.

 

He also said pressure from the government would not affect his plans to bid for state-owned assets such as the national lottery and the power distribution grid in Istanbul that are due to be sold in the coming months.

 

A lawsuit was filed in a German court over the activities of a Turkish charity, in which the indictment said money collected was channeled to Erdogan's government and pro-AKP media organs.

 

Erdogan said that unless Dogan media stop carrying such reports within a week, he will reveal details of favors that Dogan unsuccessfully sought from the government.

 

CHEAP SHOTS

Dogan, who said he agreed with many of Erdogan's policies, including pursuit of European Union membership and the sale of state assets, described those comments as "cheap shots".

 

The Dogan Group got 62 percent of nationwide newspaper advertising and 41 percent of TV advertising in the first half of this year, according to company figures. Petrol Ofisi is the country's biggest fuel retailer.

 

Calik Holding AS, a company managed by Erdogan's son-in-law, has received permission for a refinery project similar to Petrol Ofisi's.

 

Calik is also competing with Dogan in media after buying the country's second-biggest television and newspaper group using loans from state banks.

 

Dogan said his company's expansion plans would not be affected by the dispute.

 

"Turkey is governed by the rule of law," he said. "Prime ministers can't do everything they want."