Light can be deceptive at times—it makes small men’s shadows appear large. Darkness, on the other hand, is always misleading; the great and the small become indistinguishable. Many who seemed powerful and wise under the veil of mystery turn into dwarfs when exposed to light. This is what Turkey’s shadowy figure Hakan Fidan is facing today.
Former 4 star general Çevik Bir, the strongman of late 90’s, is at the forefront of such figures. The moment he stepped out from under the shadow of his uniform and military tutelage, his luster faded. At the very first step of his presidential candidacy, he spoiled everything and was forced into seclusion. Hakan Fidan appears to be heading toward a similar fate, albeit not as rapidly. The aura he once carried as the head of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) is beginning to dissipate.
According to General Bir, the reason why the film is playing in slow motion this time lies in key differences. Unlike Bir, Fidan has had a career deeply entangled with politics, making him more cautious and prepared. Having served as Deputy Undersecretary to the Prime Minister, he has rubbed shoulders with political power brokers, which makes him less vulnerable to being toppled by a sudden blow. But what he is currently experiencing is unprecedented in his career. As journalist Cevheri Güven put it, he has been “brought down from an untouchable, unreachable pedestal to the realm of mere mortals,” and now accusations about him are being openly discussed.
Serious allegations revolving around Halil Falyalı, a murdered casino owner and money laundering kingpin in Cyprus, were first brought up by Sedat Peker four years ago. Yet, Fidan’s name was never mentioned. To prove he had obtained copies of certain tapes, Peker released a segment supposedly belonging to then-Cypriot Prime Minister Ersan Saner through the “Deli Çavuş” account. Everyone who was familiar with the dirty network in Cyprus, including Peker, went out of their way not to mention Fidan by name.
So what changed? Why are the 45 tapes in Cyprus now being discussed with Hakan Fidan and his son Halit Fidan at the center?
The controversies surrounding Fidan don’t end there. His son’s commercial ties with Israel, the failure to get the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) recognized by other Turkic states, and Nuh Yılmaz prompting Jeffrey Sachs to expose Turkey’s proxy role in Syria all unfolded within just two weeks.
The TRNC and Syria may be just the tip of the iceberg, but they have caused a significant loss of image for Fidan. The declaration by four “brother” Turkic republics that they would recognize the Greek Cypriot government instead of the TRNC is a defeat and disaster for a Foreign Minister. What’s worse, his response to a related question—”We don’t talk about family matters in public”—was clumsy and amateurish. Instead, he should have emphasized determination and further effort. Like Erdoğan, who hasn’t held a press conference for nearly 15 years, Fidan seems to be a victim of hollow overconfidence, just like Çevik Bir.
Jeffrey Sachs, meanwhile, became a symbol of Erdoğan’s regime scoring an own goal. At the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Sachs stated that the Syrian civil war was launched by the U.S. to secure Israel’s safety, and that a jihadi group trained and armed by the U.S. was meant to take power.
According to then-President Trump, he tried to offload the responsibility onto Turkey by handing the “baby” to Erdoğan. Though initially reluctant, Erdoğan eventually agreed under pressure to take guardianship of the new regime in Syria. The public revelation of something known privately among insiders caused panic, prompting the immediate deletion of those posts.
The core question being asked in the power struggles within Ankara—exposed through the Falyalı tapes—is this: Who holds the missing tapes? Is it the Serim family, or did Hakan Fidan himself keep them instead of handing them over to MİT? More importantly, who leaked the information that tapes were missing? Only two offices know the full story that led to Ambassador Ekrem Serim’s recall within just seven months: President Erdoğan and his family, and MİT chief İbrahim Kalın.
Three names are being discussed for the post-Erdoğan era: Bilal Erdoğan, Hakan Fidan, and İbrahim Kalın. Fidan, in a Turkey that has transformed into an intelligence-driven regime, is losing the power he once held as head of MİT and the advantage of being untarnished by remaining in the shadows.
Whoever stands to gain from his downfall is the one who leaked the “five tapes missing” information.
