TUSKON says systematic campaign of defamation is under way


Date posted: January 25, 2014

İSTANBUL

The Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists’ (TUSKON) has criticized what it said a systematic campaign of defamation against the business conglomolarete, stressing that its business activities that help contribute to Turkish economy should only be welcomed.

TUSKON said in a statement on Saturday that there are seven federations, 212 associations, 54,000 businessmen and more than 140,000 companies that are represented under its umbrella and that its founding goal is to help Turkish businessmen expand their trade to foreign markets.

TUSKON recalled that it estimates that more than $30 billion worth of trade deal was signed in the past eight years with the organization’s activities and that 70,000 businessmen, including 30,000 foreigners, participated in 19 “Turkey-World Trade Bridge” business forums since 2006. It added that it is a known fact that President Abdullah Gül as well as other state dignitories urged not only TUSKON members but also all other Turkish entreprenuers to invest in Africa.

It added that it is “absolutely normal” to meet with leading business circles and advise them about business opportunities in different parts of the world.

“We leave it to the conscience of the public to decide if these works should be criticized and turned into a defamation campaign or they deserve an applause,” TUSKON said in the statement.

The statement came a days after a voice recording surfaced on the social media, in which Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen and TUSKON Secretary General Mustafa Günay discuss business opportunities in Uganda. Günay also mentioned about gifts sent from Uganda, which include pineapples. For days, government officials, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, publicly made fun of pineapples. Erdoğan once said “we will not allow a pineapple republic in Turkey,” in reference to the phone conversation between Günay and Gülen, which was illegally wiretapped.

TUSKON said in the statement that it is the job requirement of Günay to help Turkish businessmen, no matter if they are member of the business organization or not, build commercial relations with Uganda.

During the phone conversation, Günay tells Gülen about a tender to manage an oil refinery in Uganda and Gülen advises him to inform Turkish companies about the opportunity.

The statement said it is saddening to see the efforts of Günay to make Turkish companies win the oil refinery tender has become subject of unrelated debates instead of appreciation.

The statement said the issue about pineapples is part of Turkish culture of giving out gifts, adding that the organization rejects making fun of the issue.

TUSKON condemned in the statement the illegal wiretapping of phone conversation between Günay and Gülen as well as defamation and smear campaign based on these recordings.

It added that the TUSKON has already launched legal complaints against this smear campaign.

Source: Todays Zaman , January 25, 2014

Tags: | | | |


Related News

UN asks Turkey to compensate businessman arrested in post-coup crackdown

The United Nations’ Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) has called on Turkish government to compensate a businessman who spent some 3 months in prison over his alleged links to the Gulen movement.

Islamic scholar Gülen rejects involvement with graft probe and wiretappings

“If among those who conducted the graft investigations were some people who might be connected to the Hizmet movement, was I supposed to tell these people, ‘Turn a blind eye to the corruption charges?’ It appears to me that some people were expecting me to do this. Did they expect me to do this? How can I say something that would ruin my afterlife? How else can I act?” Fethullah Gülen said.

Roundhouse Roundup: A Turkish Friendship Dinner

U.S. critics of Gulen claim that an extreme Islamic fundamentalist lies beneath his public statements and that he is someone who wants to bring Sharia law to both Turkey and the U.S. In Turkey, though, his enemies portray him as a Zionist puppet of the CIA and Israel.

TUSKON brings S. African, Turkish firms together

South African and Turkish companies that were present to build one on one business ties at the Turkey South Africa Trade and Investment Forum on Tuesday expressed that their main aim is to expand their businesses on the continent with partnership from both sides.

New Mother Detained Over Alleged Gülen Links Despite Doctor’s Objection In Turkey

Hatice Avan, who gave birth to a baby in the western Turkish province of Denizli on Thursday, was detained on Friday, despite her doctor’s objection, over alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement.

PM Erdoğan widens hostile stance to include more and more groups

Erdoğan has been trying to dodge the damaging impact of the corruption scandals by using Hizmet as a scapegoat. Gülen, an ardent supporter of transparency and accountability in government, was critical of Erdoğan government’s efforts to stall the corruption investigations. Speaking to the BBC on Monday, Gülen said that the massive corruption investigations that have shaken the government cannot be covered up no matter how hard the government tries to derail the probes — not even by blaming the scandal on what the prime minister has called the “parallel state,” a veiled reference to the Hizmet movement inspired by Gülen.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Yet another woman detained due to Gülen links shortly after delivery

Erdoğan’s accusation that Hizmet organized the coup attempt is noxious and absurd

Kimse Yok Mu cheers up Panamanian Orphans

Operation against whom?

Better late than never: Gülen’s Kurdish education initiative

Bulgarians Outraged at Deportation of Gulen Supporter to Turkey

Amnesty: 500,000 Kurds displaced in Turkey’s Southeast due to curfews, crackdown

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News