New Turkish Prime Ministry built against eavesdropping risks

Esra KAYA ANKARA – Hürriyet

The construction of the new Prime Ministry building equipped with counter-surveillance systems is continuing at Atatürk Orman Çiftliği area of Ankara. CİHAN photo

The new Prime Ministry building that has been constructed in the Turkish capital of Ankara is shielded with strict defensive measures against eavesdropping amid the increasing secrecy sensitivity of the government.

The building that lies on a 150,000-square-meter leafy area is being equipped with a number of high-technology systems aimed at precluding eavesdropping with bugs and wires.

Illegal eavesdropping has emerged as a highly sensitive debate after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made public on Dec. 21, 2012, that wiretapping devices had been found in his Prime Ministry office and home.

In order to prevent such incidents in the future, all vehicles entering through the door designed for the prime minister’s use will be screened with magnetic resonance (MR) technology at the newly constructed Prime Ministry building.

The building will have three separate buildings allocated for guests, high-ranking authorities and personnel.

The main security will be provided by 3,000 security cameras to be integrated into several parts of the building that is expected to become operational as of May.

The building will also house a special high-security room in which it will be impossible to place any bug systems for illegal eavesdropping.

The room that is designed for prime ministers to make their private calls will be also equipped with special systems and noise-making devices that will mask the sounds.

The room also will not have any sockets as the bugs discovered in Erdoğan’s office in 2011 were found inside the sockets.