128 billion dollars and the picture of unhappiness

Street artists İzinsiz (Unpermitted) and Canavar (Monster) painted a mural in İstanbul's Kadıköy in memory of the people who have lost their lives due to economic hardships during the pandemic. They named the mural "The picture of unhappiness," apparently in reference to a well-known poem line by Nazım Hikmet Ran from the early 1960s, where he addresses his friend and painter Abidin Dino, asking, "Can you paint the picture of happiness for me, Abidin?" 

Here is bianet's weekly summary of important events concerning politics, the coronavirus pandemic, human rights and freedom of expression in Turkey:

The "banner wars" over the Central Bank reserves

The government had been under criticism for a long time over its unconventional economic policy to try to keep both interest rates and foreign exchange rates low, sloganized by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as "The interest rate is the cause and the inflation rate is the result."

Following a currency crisis in mid-2018, the government resorted to foreign exchange swaps and selling dollars in the Central Bank's reserves to keep the US dollar from further rising against the Turkish lira.

This policy continued until the resignation of Berat Albayrak, Erdoğan's son-in-law, as the finance minister and the replacement of the Central Bank governor in November 2020.

By that time, the bank had sold about 128 billion dollars and run out of foreign exchange reserves, according to estimates by economists. The exact figures are not known because the Central Bank hasn't been making relevant figures public since 2014.

The policy has proven unsuccessful as the US dollar trades at around 8.10 lira whereas it was about 5.50 lira at the start of 2019.

Over the past few months, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has turned the criticism over the Central Bank reserves into a campaign under the slogan "Where is 128 billion dollars?"

CHP deputies have persistently raised the question at the parliament and it has been on Twitter's trending topics more often than not.

Many pundits said the campaign was one of the most successful moves of the party in many years.

After the CHP began hanging banners that read "Where is 128 billion dollars?" on its buildings across the country, a "banner war" has started between the party and police with the latter removing banners every night, using cranes sometimes.

Prosecutors are investigating a CHP district organization for "insulsting the pesident" because of this banner showing the silhouette of the Presidential Complex behind the question "Where is 128 billion dollars?"

In several provinces, prosecutors have opened investigations into the banners, charging CHP organizations with "insulting the president" and issuing monetary fines on them for "misdemeanor." Yet the party members continue to hang banners again every day.

A survey by the Aksoy polling company released on Saturday (April 17) revealed that 66 percent of the people didn't think the banners contained an insult to the president. Strikingly, more than half of the voters of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the allies of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), also said they didn't consider the banners as an insult.

Mostly staying silent against the CHP's campaign, senior government figures have started responding to the allegations over the past week.

Central Bank Governor Şahap Kavcıoğlu admitted on Friday the currencies in the reserves were sold at market prices in accordance with a protocol made between the Prime Ministry Undersecretariat of Treasury and the Central Bank on February 21, 2017. He didn't disclose the amount of money that was sold.

Finance Minister Lütfi Elvan, the successor of Berat Albayrak, said on Monday that no foreign currencies were sold after he assumed office and called on the Central Bank to disclose the relevant figures.

The AKP's economy head, Nurettin Canikli, said on Monday that the country would go "bankrupt" if it didn't sell the money.

President Erdoğan on Wednesday explained how the money was spent, shortly after his Communications Director Fahrettin Altun released a video on Twitter, accusing the CHP of "telling a big and simple lie and repeating it."

Erdoğan said the amount of money depends on from what date the analysis regarding the Central Bank is started and added, "There is no such figure as 128 billion dollars in reality."

In the past two years, 30 billion dollars from the Central Bank resources were used to finance the current account deficit and 31 billion dollars were used for the outflow of foreign capital, he explained.

"Our citizens have bought foreign currency and gold equivalent to 54 billion dollars," he added.

Erdoğan said in late February that the bank had 95 billion dollars in reserves.

Read more on this topic:

CHP leader keeps asking about the fate of Central Bank reserves 

Police remove CHP banners asking 'Where is 128 billion dollars?' 

AKP deputy chair explains what happened to Central Bank reserves

Erdoğan has 'surrendered Turkey to the interest rate lobby'

'Has Turkey adopted a fixed exchange rate system?'

Two-billion-dollar move by Central Bank pushes back dollar by 0.01 Turkish lira

A teacher was killed during a protest against Erdoğan. His case started 11 years later

Retired teacher Metin Lokumcu lost his life after having a heart attack as he was affected by the pepper gas used by the police and the blows he received during the incidents that occured during and after the rally of the then PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Hopa, Artvin on May 31, 2011.

On the day of the incident, Lokumcu stood in front of the police with his hands behind his back, calling out to the police, "Come on, take me and save the country." This picture was then reported in the press.

Following Lokumcu's death, the then Prime Minister Erdoğan talked about him at the publicity meeting of the "Turkey is Ready, Target is 2023" project in İstanbul. "And, in the meantime, one of them had a heart attack... I don't know his identity... But I don't feel the need to dwell on it... He has died of a heart attack," said Erdoğan about Lokumcu.

The first hearing of the case was held today (April 21).

Read bianet's full coverage of the trial:

Metin Lokumcu's stream is free, it will flow free...

Request for recusal in Metin Lokumcu case

'Human smuggling' to Europe through municipalities

Last week, it was revealed that only a few of the dozens of people returned to the country after being sent to Germany as part of an environmental project organized by a district municipality in the eastern province of Malatya. Shortly after, it was understoof that it wasn't an individual case but a common practice.

According to reports, the scheme works as follows: District municipalities, in cooperation with non-governmentral groups, organize tours to European countries as part of various events such as environmental programs, cultural events or folk dance contests. With an application by municipalities, service-stamped passports are granted for those who participate in the programs. Within or without the knowledge of the municipalities, some people don't come back from the countries they go.

Speaking to media, some local administrators admitted that sending people to Europe with this way "had become a sector" whille others said they were "fooled" by the attendees of events.

Read more on this topic:

Do municipalities in Turkey organize human smuggling to Europe? Here is what we know

'They fooled us': Municipalities respond to human smuggling allegations

Number of coronavirus deaths quadrupled in a month

According to the official Covid-19 data announced by the Health Ministry on a daily basis, the number of Covid-19 deaths was 81 on March 18 while it was announced as 318 on April 18.

While the number of critically ill patients was 1,503 in Turkey on March 18, it increased to 3,275 on April 18.

124 people lost their lives due to Covid-19 on February 1. The number of deaths was decreasing in February. On the last day of February, the number of deaths was 66.

As of March 1, Turkey announced "gradual normalization" steps on a provincial basis. The data of the Health Ministry also show that the number of Covid-19 deaths started to increase as of March 2021. While 69 people lost their lives on March 1, 81 people died on March 18.

On March 21, the number of Covid-19 deaths increased to three-digit numbers. While 102 people died on March 21, 152 people lost their lives due to the virus on the last day of the month, on March 31.

The increase continued in April as well. While 176 people died on April 1, the daily number of deaths topped 200 on April 6 and was measured as 211. On April 18, 318 people lost their lives.

All coronavirus updates

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