Erdoğan Slams TÜSİAD Remarks Against Government

“TÜSİAD's statement was out of line,” Erdoğan told his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmakers during a weekly meeting at parliament on Feb. 19.

His comments came after TÜSİAD officials, speaking at an event in Istanbul on Feb. 13, criticized legal actions targeting journalists, politicians and businesspeople.

“Every real democracy and development move of Turkey has always disturbed the TÜSİAD mentality,” Erdoğan said.

“As we spread prosperity to the grassroots with many efforts, we encountered very serious resistance in this process. We were exposed to the operations of those whose rent taps we cut. TÜSİAD was one of the most prominent among them."

Erdoğan said “the old TÜSİAD mentality” was resurfacing but vowed not to yield to pressure.

“We don’t pay attention to the opposition figures who lined up after TÜSİAD's statement,” he said. “We have nothing to do with puppets. Our interlocutors are puppeteers.”

He pledged that his administration would not “surrender to the mischief makers.”

“If you want Turkey to become a weak market of global trade by giving up domestic and national production, we will never allow such a thing,” he said.

Erdoğan dismissed TÜSİAD’s concerns, saying they stemmed from a loss of influence rather than genuine systemic issues.

“It is not the system that has collapsed, as TÜSİAD claims, but their dreams of a golden age,” he said. “It is not the country that is demoralized, but the TÜSİAD fixtures who cannot share the state treasury as they wish.”

The president said his government had dismantled a system that once favored TÜSİAD, where business elites allegedly wielded undue influence over politics.

"The system in which they snub politicians and set the tone for politics with newspaper headlines has collapsed," he said.

“No one will be able to bring back the old system. Turkey is not your property; the nation is not your staff and politicians are not your employees.”

Erdoğan warned TÜSİAD to "stay within its limits."

“In the new Turkey, you will know your place,” he said. “If you are a businessmen's association, you will learn to act like a businessmen’s association. You will not try to put the judiciary under pressure.”

Source: HDN