Head of watchdog denies resignation
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 30, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - President of the media watchdog denies claims over his resignation saying Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç did not ask him to resign but asked him if he was thinking of resigning after corruption allegations emerged
The president of the state-run media watchdog refuted claims over his resignation from the post, speaking to daily Habertürk on Friday. Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç previously claimed he asked Zahid Akman to resign because of his alleged involvement in Lighthouse e.V. fraud case.
"Arınç did not ask me to resign. He just asked me if I was thinking to resign but I replied no," Akman said, adding that thinking about resigning shows one’s guilt. "I am not guilty," he said.
Citing his meeting with Arınç, Akman said nobody had discussed his resignation until today. "I told Arınç I would not run as a candidate for the post after my tenure ends since RTÜK [Supreme Board of Radio and Television] is trying to be worn down through the accusations against me," Akman said.
He said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has always supported him. "How could I stay in office if he had not backed me?" Akman was reported as saying in daily Habertürk. But Akman's lawyer issued a statement on Friday to deny statements attributed to the RTÜK president about Erdoğan's support.
In response to corruption accusations, he said he would tell everything when the time came. "Then, it will be revealed that I suffered wrongly," Akman said.
In the Germany-based Lighthouse e.V. fraud case, which includes illegal money transfers to Turkey in order to fund certain businesses, a German court ruled that the real culprits were in Turkey and marked 16 people as individuals involved in the scandal. RTÜK President Akman is one of the names.
Meanwhile, the Parliament on Thursday elected three new members for the RTÜK board. Davut Dursun and Hasan Tahsin Fendoğlu from the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and Esat Çıplak from the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, were elected for the emptied seats. The new members will take office July 15.
"Arınç did not ask me to resign. He just asked me if I was thinking to resign but I replied no," Akman said, adding that thinking about resigning shows one’s guilt. "I am not guilty," he said.
Citing his meeting with Arınç, Akman said nobody had discussed his resignation until today. "I told Arınç I would not run as a candidate for the post after my tenure ends since RTÜK [Supreme Board of Radio and Television] is trying to be worn down through the accusations against me," Akman said.
He said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has always supported him. "How could I stay in office if he had not backed me?" Akman was reported as saying in daily Habertürk. But Akman's lawyer issued a statement on Friday to deny statements attributed to the RTÜK president about Erdoğan's support.
In response to corruption accusations, he said he would tell everything when the time came. "Then, it will be revealed that I suffered wrongly," Akman said.
In the Germany-based Lighthouse e.V. fraud case, which includes illegal money transfers to Turkey in order to fund certain businesses, a German court ruled that the real culprits were in Turkey and marked 16 people as individuals involved in the scandal. RTÜK President Akman is one of the names.
Meanwhile, the Parliament on Thursday elected three new members for the RTÜK board. Davut Dursun and Hasan Tahsin Fendoğlu from the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and Esat Çıplak from the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, were elected for the emptied seats. The new members will take office July 15.