Industry Minister Ergün says judicial obstruction to be removed

“The only things that are expected from governments in Turkey are the construction of schools, roads and hospitals. Governments are not expected to deal with issues other than these. This amounts to being a construction supervisor,” Ergün told Today’s Zaman during his working visit to Nevşehir and Aksaray in Central Anatolia in relation to the Sept. 12 referendum on the constitutional amendment package.

Ergün said a country’s “development” is not only reflected by statistical figures and that real “development” is about developments concerning the rule of law and freedoms. Criticizing the judiciary, Ergün said that body has been acting like an opposition party rather than doing what it is supposed to do.

“Institutions that set themselves above society have told governments for years that they are the ones who should bring change, be it in the area of freedoms or human rights. They say they are the ones who should make a new constitution if necessary,” Ergün said.

However, he added that the government of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has challenged this approach. “The nation has given us the authorization to build the future of the Turkish Republic, and if necessary, make major changes to the constitution and laws. This is what we are doing,” he said.

The minister pointed out that Turkey has been a place where fears have been injected into people’s minds, and he added that Turkey “should get rid of its fears.” According to Ergün, those who say “no” to the constitutional amendment package desire an isolated Turkey. “Turkish people have been told for years that Turkey is surrounded by water and enemies. But our government has not accepted this cliché. With reforms in Turkish foreign policy, we have shown that these fears are false and that we can be friendly with our neighbors,” he said. As a result of this policy, he added that Turkey’s exports to some of its neighbors have risen tenfold. Ergün also said that some other fears that were supposed to influence Turkish society were related to “enemies inside.” “Turkish people do not deserve to be under a coup constitution. It’s a shame to be managed by a coup constitution in this day and age. It is not fair to our businessmen who are breaking the walls around an isolated country,” he said.

‘Even capitalists were labeled’

Blaming some Turkish institutions and the state, Ergün noted that the perception that there are “enemies inside” has been harmful to the society.

“Some citizens of this country, just because they are Alevi, just because they were born in Hakkari, just because they wear headscarves, or just because they established factories in Anatolia, were perceived as threats. Manufacturers and entrepreneurs were placed into opposing camps like red versus green, and secular versus anti-secular,” he said.

Ergün added that while society has been distracted by these “artificial fears,” some people have benefited from this environment and established gangs and engaged in illegal trade to get rich.

Referring to the changes offered by the new constitutional amendment package, Ergün said that one of them is about making those categorizations illegal.

“The constitutional amendment package consists of urgent and necessary changes. When we implement these changes, it will help to normalize the country. I believe the business world, which knows how difficult it is to operate in an abnormal environment, will support the package,” he said.

So far the İstanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO), the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (MÜSİAD), the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), the Free Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (HÜRSİAD) and the Anatolian Lions Businessmen’s Association (ASKON) have announced their support for the package in the upcoming referendum. However, Turkey’s “club of bosses,” the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (TÜSİAD), is on the verge of deviating from its stated principles by not lending support to a set of constitutional amendments.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has also pointed out the test of consistency that TÜSİAD is facing over the constitutional amendments, lambasting Turkey’s elite business club and calling on them to reveal their true stance. The prime minister also commended Anatolian businessmen for supporting the reforms.

Ergün also referred to Turkey’s development figures as the country’s exports increased from $36 billion in 2002 to $132 billion in 2008. “We even surpassed $100 billion in 2009 when there was a global financial crisis,” he said. “By 2023, we plan to increase our exports to $500 billion.”

Ergün’s growth expectations for Turkey are ambitious. He says that Turkey will be the 10th largest economy in the world by 2023. He noted that the Turkish economy grew by 11.7 percent in the first quarter of this year. “Many international institutions indicate in their reports that Turkey will remain stable and be an attractive investment center. While a number of countries face the risk of having negatives regarding their credit rating,Turkey expects positive developments in this regard,” he said.