Speaking at the end of the meeting, Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) Chairman Rıfat Hisarcıklıoğlu said all the NGOs agreed on two common points in the meeting. “We firmly condemn terrorism, and we believe that violence cannot solve anything.
The second is that the government should not backtrack from taking steps to improve democracy and expand the democratic rights of individuals,” he said.
Representatives from 17 NGOs attended the meeting with Gül, which was held at the Huber Mansion in İstanbul’s Tarabya neighborhood. Among the participating NGOs were TOBB, the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (TÜSİAD), the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (KESK), the Turkish Tradesmen’s and Artisans’ Confederation (TESK), the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), the Union of Turkish Bar Associations, the Civil Servants’ Trade Union (Memur-Sen), the Confederation of Turkish Real Trade Unions (Hak-İş) and the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers’ Unions (DİSK). The meeting lasted almost three hours.
DİSK President Süleyman Çelebi also spoke to the press following the meeting and reiterated Hisarcıklıoğlu’s two points. “There cannot be peace in an environment where weapons do the talking,” Çelebi said.
TESK President Bendevi Palandöken made a statement following the meeting on TESK’s proposals on the issue. Stating that tradesmen and artisans are waiting for a solution to the escalation of violence along with all segments of society, Palandöken stressed that the problem of terrorism cannot be addressed by military solutions alone. Noting that military precautions should be backed by social and economic measures, he said public investment in the Southeast should increase. “It is necessary that a system of incentives specific to the region be developed. All investors willing to investment in the region should be encouraged,” he added.
Tension and violence escalated in Turkey recently after outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists attacked military personnel and civilians, bringing terrorism to the top of the country’s agenda. Gül met with senior military officers as well as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and top government officials earlier this week to discuss ways to prevent terrorism.
