Special Operation Had Nothing to Do with TIKA (UPDATED)

 Turan clarified the circumstances of the special operation carried out in the center of Baku in Rashid Behbudov Street on September 6 in the evening.

 As it turned out, the operation had nothing to do with the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).

 From reliable sources it became known that the actual operation was conducted in a private apartment located in the same building, where the TIKA office is situated. As for the detainees, they are not citizens of Turkey, but those of Azerbaijan.

Generally TIKA has no relation to the activities of Turkish businessmen in Azerbaijan. TIKA is an organization of technical assistance under the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkey. In Azerbaijan TIKA collaborates with government agencies, including the Ministry of Economic Development and others. -0-

2013 September 07 (Saturday) 13:14:30

Baku/07.09.13/Turan : The night before,  people armed with automatic weapons, dressed in black clothes and black face masks  conducted an operation in the office of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA)  in R.Beybutov street (next to the  Song Theatre.)

Eyewitnesses told Turan, that several  people who were in the office  were detained during the operation. They  were put in a car and driven away to an unknown destination. However, the police did not confirm the fact of the operation, and the head of the Public Relations Center  of the MNS, Arif Babayev, told  Turan,  that the agency "detained nobody."

The press service of the Interior Ministry also had no information on the matter. Telephones in the  TIKA office did not answer.

 Previously it was reported on September 2 that the police declared wanted a Turkish businessman Turgay Erdogan on charges of  large-scale tax evasion. Several Turkish businessmen are wanted on similar charges.

It is possible that the operation of the TIKA  office was conducted to detain these Turkish businessmen.

* TIKA is a structure associated with the government and the Turkish Foreign Ministry and operate in 30 countries. Representation has been functioning in Baku since 1992. The structure coordinates the activities of Turkish companies and businessmen. –05B06-