Eurasia Press & News
TURKEY
Turkish Interior Minister Beşir Atalay on Wednesday visited chairman of the Union of Chambers’ & Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) Rıfat Hisarcıklıoğlu within the scope of government’s “democratic move” aiming to find a solution to Kurdish issue.
Speaking after the meeting, Atalay said, “believe me, this is not an issue that could be sacrificed to domestic policy polemics. Let us work together and solve the problem. Our intentions, wishes and sincere works aim at finding a solution.”
Atalay said the government continued talks to build and foster reconciliation ground for the work which they describe as “democratic move” or “Fraternity and Tranquility Project”.
Interior minister Atalay said TOBB was one of Turkey’s biggest roof organizations, noting that TOBB took economic life’s pulse.
Atalay said he expressed Hisarcıklıoğlu and council members the views and intentions of the government on “democratic move”, adding that the government sought for a broad consensus on the matter both under the roof of the Parliament and as all segments of the society, the NGOs, media, intellectuals, and those who exert efforts.
Atalay said the government was eager to assess the problem and search for ways altogether, noting that the government wanted to do its best on the issue.
“We want to have talks with everybody and listen to their opinions. We are not coming up with packages. We want to solve the problem of the country by reaching a consensus, and believe this will strengthen Turkey. We expect understanding, support and contribution from all segments of the society,” Atalay said.
Delivering a speech after the meeting, Hisarcıklıoğlu said TOBB believed that rights and freedoms of all the people living in Turkey should meet EU standards.
Hisarcıklıoğlu also said that a country’s development and democracy levels were related to each other.
“Therefore, Turkey should have a first-class, functioning, auditable and transparent democracy. The freedom of expression, religion, conscience and initiative of Turkish citizens should be secured,” he said.
Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently announced that his government initiated a move to deal with the Kurdish issue and the Ministry of Interior was assigned with the coordination of this task.
As a first step, Interior Minister Beşir Atalay held a press conference to inform the public about the government measures to address the so-called “Kurdish Issue”. He later met with a group of journalists at a workshop titled “Solution of the Kurdish Issue: Towards a Turkey Model”.
It was also announced that Atalay would visit all the political parties to ask for their contribution and support to the issue.
Atalay visited Democratic Left Party (DSP) chairman Masum Türker on Tuesday within the scope of “Democratic Move” initiative.
