İbrahim Eren, a schoolmate of Bilal Erdoğan, son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been appointed general manager of public broadcaster TRT following the resignation of Şenol Göka, T24 reported on Monday.
Reacting to the appointment, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Barış Yarkadaş said: “An institution [TRT] that has over 7,000 staff members, 14 TV channels and 16 radio stations has turned out to be a toy in the hands of the [Justice and Development Party] AKP. İbrahim Eren, who has had no experience at TRT, first was appointed deputy general manager, and now general manager.”
Yarkadaş claimed that Eren’s appointment to his previous and current position violated a regulation that requires 12 years of public service in order to become a deputy general manager in a public institution.
“This is a scandal. İbrahim Eren is a friend of Bilal Erdoğan’s from Kartal İmam-Hatip High School. It seems that he has more than the required conditions,” added Yarkadaş.
Following the resignation of state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) General Manager Şenol Göka last week, eight directors at TRT were removed from their posts on Monday. Göka announced his resignation last week, saying he was quitting his job out of necessity. He did not elaborate on the issue further.
TRT has long been criticized for acting like the mouthpiece of the AKP government and becoming a venue for AKP cronies.
The corporation also drew criticism last month when candidates who received high scores in an examination for employment at TRT were not hired, but people who received lower scores were employed. (turkishminute.com) May 16, 2017
