ESİDEF: Targets doubled despite intimidation


Date posted: February 25, 2014

ANKARA

Federation of the Aegean and Mediterranean Industrialists and Businesspeople (ESİDEF) President Mustafa Çelik said anti-democratic rhetoric and intimidating speeches against the business world in Turkey have motivated them to double their targets.

Speaking in a conference held in Afyon on Monday, Çelik criticized the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government’s pressuring of businesspeople and said that money does not come to countries that lack an environment of trust. ESİDEF, a member of one of Turkey’s leading business associations, the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), comprises 12,500 businessmen and industrialists, and is one of the biggest regional civil society organizations.

“The target of ESİDEF and TUSKON for this year is to start business partnerships in every country,” said Çelik. He also put an emphasis on the increasing importance of civil society groups in a constantly developing and changing world and emphasized that the aforementioned groups should carry out their activities with that in mind. TUSKON President Rızanur Meral, Zaman daily writer Turhan Bozkurt and over 250 businessmen and industrialists attended the meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, Meral pointed out that one of TUSKON’s aims is to integrate its members into world markets; to this end, he said, Turkish businessmen have increased their speed in opening up to world markets.

“We are moving forward toward our aims with trade bridges we have established, trade forums held in Turkey with the participation of the head of other states and business trips abroad. We believe that every one of our members in the world can contribute to our country and produce surplus value,” added Meral.

In late January, TUSKON criticized what it called a “systematic campaign of defamation against the business conglomerate,” stressing that its business activities, which contribute to the Turkish economy, should be welcomed. The statement came just days after a voice recording surfaced on social media in which Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen and TUSKON Secretary-General Mustafa Günay discussed business opportunities in Uganda. Günay also mentioned gifts of pineapples sent from Uganda. For days, government officials, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, publicly made fun of the pineapple reference. Erdoğan even said, “We will not allow a pineapple republic in Turkey,” in reference to the illegally wiretapped phone conversation between Günay and Gülen.

Source: Todays Zaman , February 25, 2014


Related News

Editorial: Expulsion of Turk Teachers from Pakistan

The point is that Turkish teachers have not committed any crime in Pakistan. Abrupt exodus of those teachers would destroy teaching system in Pak-Turk schools in Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif should have considered the interest of citizens of Pakistan before submitting to unfair requests of Turkish government.

As it happens:Turkey’s graft investigation and PM Erdoğan’s response

The rift between the two players [ the AK Party and the Hizmet movement] has been growing since the last general elections in 2011. Since then, the Hizmet movement has become increasingly critical of the AK Party government on a number of fronts, including the lack of progress on the drafting of the new civil constitution and the alienating style and substance of AK Party politics.

Another AK Party deputy, Muhammed Çetin, resigns in protest

Çetin reportedly asked AK Party deputies Volkan Bozkır and Ali Aşlık about their shoebox numbers. His joke prompted other deputies to tell the incident to the party administration, which outraged with the joke and referred Çetin to the disciplinary committee with request of expulsion.

Prep school students dominate LYS university entrance exam

FEM, Körfez and Maltepe dershanes associated with faith-based Hizmet Movement (also known as Gülen Movement) dominated top spots in this year’s exams. Ö. Furkan Parmak, who received the highest score in the TM (Turkish-Math)-1, TM-2 and TM-3 categories in the LYS exam, studied for the exam at the Maltepe prep school in Ankara.

Gülen’s lawyer: New arrest warrant for Gülen is unlawful

The lawyer for Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, Nurullah Albayrak, in reaction to Turkish media reports on Tuesday of another arrest warrant being issued for his client, said in a statement that according to the law on criminal procedure, it is unlawful for a court to issue an arrest warrant unless the accused has been appropriately called to appear before the court.

Turkey’s New Constitution Would End Its Democracy

In practice, a revised constitution would make it much easier for Erdogan to consolidate power entirely, taking Turkey out of the democratic column and making it into a dictatorship, pure and simple.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Greece Warned Turkey Hours before the 2016 Coup Attempt

Gulen Charter Schools Myth

‘Parallel state’ and ‘theft of national will’

Fethullah Gülen backs peace talks between government and PKK

Prof. John L. Esposito’s keynote at the Gulen Movement conference, Chicago

South Africa welcomes International Festival of Language

Fethullah Gülen’s Message of Condolences for the El Paso and Dayton Attacks

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News