Turkey PM Erdogan challenges rivals over massive graft probe

Turkey's prime minister threw down the gauntlet to his rivals on Sunday, warning he will "break their hands" if they use allegations of high-level corruption to undermine his rule. "Everyone will know their place," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a boisterous crowd of supporters of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the Black Sea province of Giresun. "Whoever dares to harm, stir up or set traps in this country, we will come to break those hands," he said. His heated remarks came as riot police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of anti-government demonstrators in Istanbul calling for the government's resignation. Many were protesting against grandiose urban development projects, but some held up shoe boxes to show their anger over recent claims of widespread bribery by members of Erdogan's Islamic-leaning government. The mass graft probe has shaken Turkey's political establishment, exposing a bitter feud between the AKP and influential Muslim scholar Fethullah Gulen whose followers hold key positions in the police, judiciary and secret services. Twenty-four people have been charged so far in connection with the investigation, including the sons of Interior Minister Muammer Guler and Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, as well as the chief executive of state-owned Halkbank. Police also reportedly seized $4.5 million in cash hidden in shoe boxes in Halkbank CEO Suleyman Aslan's home, local media reported last week. Erdogan has described the sweeping corruption probe, which comes ahead of crucial March municipal polls, as a smear operation against his government. A day after judges charged their sons with acting as intermediaries in order to give and take bribes, the interior and economy ministers broke their silence to deny the accusations. "It is out of the question for us to be involved in any unlawful affairs," Guler wrote on Twitter on Sunday, while Caglayan railed against a "big trap" set for the AKP government. Observers have linked last week's police raids targeting scores of people to tensions between Erdogan and followers of the Gulen movement which boiled over when the government announced plans to shut down a network of private schools run by the Islamic cleric, a major source of revenue for the group. Gulenists were previously key backers of the AKP, helping it to win three elections in a row since it first took office in 2002. "Let's not become one of those who shoots his brother, let's not become one of those who plays with his brother's honour," the Turkish premier said, apparently referring to the Gulen movement. 'We will emerge stronger' Erdogan has responded to the mass detentions by sacking dozens of police officials, including the Istanbul police chief, for cooperating with the investigation without permission. Local media reported on Sunday that another 25 police chiefs had been fired in the fast-moving saga. A lawyer for Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the US state of Pennsylvania, has denied that he was involved in the graft investigation, and Gulen himself has lashed out at those responsible for the police purge, saying that the assault was aimed at "finishing off" his Hizmet (Service) movement. Erdogan, who has said he is battling "a state within a state", on Sunday again blamed international plotters and "very dirty alliances" for attempting to create chaos and stood firm behind the ministers named in the probe. "It is not all about corruption," he said. "The nation will respond to those who attempt to set traps in order to tarnish ministers." Erdogan, whose image was already bruised by massive anti-government protests in June, is facing a key test as the country braces for an election cycle next year starting with the local polls in March. "The nation will win on March 30, democracy will win," he said. "We will emerge stronger as long as we remain united." In the midst of the worst scandal of his 11-year rule, the premier is due to leave the country late on Sunday for a two-day official visit to Pakistan.