ref:topbtw-3015.html/ 3 Luglio 2021/A
Erdogan: ma quando mai andrà in pensione ?
New York
Turkey now internationally known as narco-state, says former economy minister Ali Babacan
Turkey's reputation has shifted to a narco-state with recent accusations of drug trafficking from Latin America,
giving leeway to those who trade in illicit substances and turning a blind eye to their affairs,
former economy minister Ali Babacan said in a party congress held in southern Antalya province on Thursday,
Karar news website reported.
"We fought for years to make this country a state under the rule of law, said Babacan, who resigned
from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2019 to establish his Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) last year.
"If this country loses its character with the rule of law, it will go down a path of becoming a narco-state."
Turkish mafia leader Sedat Peker, as part of his tell-all videos where he makes revelations of corruption and criminal
activity within the state, accused government officials of direct involvement in establishing trafficking routes
for cocaine between Latin American countries and Turkey.
Colombian authorities confiscated some 4.9 tonnes
of cocaine headed to Turkey in June last year, while another shipment of cocaine travelling from Ecuador
to Turkey was interrupted in Panama in May.
Peker said recent operations in Turkey, where one tonne of cocaine was confiscated in the southern port
of Mersin, were aimed to cover up the rest of the activities.
As the country goes further down the path of narcotics, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
"keeps talking about the successes when we were running the economy," Babacan said.
"Mr Erdogan, those days are gone. We opened the golden age for the economy, and now you can't once we are gone."
The foundation for a good economy is the law, the former AKP heavyweight said.
"Justice is the most important issue.
Without justice, there can be no economy, no prosperity, no wealth."
( GAGRULE )