The recent statements by Etyen Mahcupyan, the Istanbul-Armenian journalist and writer who was recently appointed as the Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister of Turkey, have caused discontent among the MPs of the country’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The Office of the President of Turkey and the AKP deputies have expressed complaints to PM Ahmet Davutoglu and demanded that he sack Mahcupyan, reported Sozcu daily of Turkey.

The ruling party MPs were very concerned by the PM senior advisor’s statements, according to which the people believe that AKP members were involved in the 2013 corruption scandal in Turkey.   

On December 17, 2013, simultaneous operations were conducted in several locations in Turkey, and it came to be called the Grand Bribery Operation. AKP ministers’ sons, businessmen, and officials were detained during the operation and, subsequently, many of them were arrested.