Responding to questions whether Turkey had also been tapped by the US, President Abdullah Gül said Turkey has no reason to believe it was included in those countries whose top government officials were monitored in a large-scale snooping by the US on its allies. Gül said the fact that tapping took place among allies is embarrassing, adding that the mass US spying on European allies has not made the headlines in Turkey despite the fact that Europe has been “shaken” by the tapping issue.
The US spying scandal was brought to light by Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor who was granted asylum in Russia. Last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called US President Barack Obama after the German government became aware that Washington may have monitored Merkel's mobile phone. Columnist discuss intelligence services and whether Turkey is being tapped by the US.
Star columnist Sedat Laçiner writes that just after the tapping scandal, the US's relationships with Brazil, Germany and Spain have deteriorated to a great extent, which made President Obama apologize. Laçiner thinks that apart from those three countries, many countries may have also been tapped by the US, which had also listened in to its own citizens. With the developing technology, it is now impossible to protect our privacy, says Laçiner. According to the columnist, Turkey had also been tapped by the US intelligence services, with Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek's phone being monitored, which was proven by the Guardian in June with some documents belonging to the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).
Bugün's Gültekin Avcı says England, Germany, China, France, Denmark and the Netherlands are complaining about the spying by the US but those countries are also leading countries with developed intelligence agencies. According to the Guardian, the BBC has been tapping its workers by collaborating with intelligence agencies, writes Avcı.
M. EDİB YILMAZ
DENİZ ERGÜREL
MUSTAFA GERDAN
SEVGİ AKARÇEŞME
OĞUZHAN TEKİN
BEGÜM BURAK
LAURA MOTH
HAYAT ALVI
HALİL BİLECEN
ABDULLA HAWEZ
ALİ ZEYNEL GÖKPINAR
İSA ERASLAN
MUSTAFA GÜRBÜZ
LAMİYA ADİLGIZI
MAHIR ZEYNALOV
SİNEM CENGİZ
MEHMET SOLMAZ
ERDOAN A. SHIPOLI
ERGİN HAVA
FATMA DEMİRELLİ
E. BARIŞ ALTINTAŞ
ŞULE KULU
ESRA MADEN
ABDULLAH AYASUN
EMİRHAN YORULMAZLAR
HAROON MOGHUL
YUSRA GHANNOUCHI
JAMES KIGER
PINAR VURUCU