Turkey’s ultra-far-right, anti-West and racist politician Ümit Özdağ has been revealed as a long-time operative of Turkey’s “deep state,” a term that refers to secretive nationalist and neo-nationalist elements within the influential Turkish military, police and intelligence apparatus, which operate with impunity to manipulate public opinion and shape politics. Their methods often involve illegal, extrajudicial and at times brutal operations.
Özdağ, a 62-year-old politician who now leads the far-right Victory Party (Zafer Partisi), has a history of close collaboration with neo-nationalist generals from the once-powerful military. He has been reported to have ties to intelligence agency MIT and the National Security Council (MGK), commonly referred to as the shadow government that discreetly influences key policies in Turkey from behind a heavy veil of secrecy.
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At present, this relatively obscure politician is actively engaged in a clandestine mission on behalf of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. His mandate involves undermining the opposition, diverting the national agenda away from Erdogan’s adversaries, creating significant distractions for the public to take attention away from genuine problems such economic hardship, and striving to sow factionalism within Turkish politics. In essence, he is carrying out the directives of the nation’s strongman, Erdogan, while publicly maintaining the façade of opposition to his repressive rule.
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