'Shaking Erdoğan's Hand Means Accepting Obedience To Him'

On Thursday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended a meeting held by the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (TÜSİAD) in İstanbul. TÜSİAD's invitation and Erdoğan's participation was a surprise to many, because relations between the two have been tense for a long time, especially since Erdoğan -- then prime minister -- called former TÜSİAD head Muharrem Yılmaz a "traitor" in January, referring to the latter's remarks on the importance of the rule of law in Turkey for foreign investors.
Due to government pressure and a government-backed smear campaign targeting his companies following the incident, Yılmaz was soon forced to resign from his post. Announcing his resignation, Yılmaz said he was ready to take personal responsibility and that he could not risk TÜSİAD's reputation being damaged as a result of the claims being made against him, and he had therefore decided to resign. Yılmaz's remarks on the rule of law, which led to him being labeled a "traitor," had been a reaction to a series of highly controversial government-drafted laws that passed shortly after the Dec. 17 and Dec. 25 corruption scandals, which implicated some government officials.
Hasan Cemal, a columnist for the T24 news portal, wrote a Friday piece titled “There is no reconciliation or shaking hands for Erdoğan, but only seeking obedience.” According to Cemal, Erdoğan's rhetoric in his speech at TÜSİAD signaled that nothing about him has changed since his election as president. “Did you really expect him to change?” Cemal asked, adding that Erdoğan had repeatedly intimidated the businesspeople present before Thursday's meeting. Cemal explained that Erdoğan had accused certain business circles of supporting military coups, including the Feb. 28, 1997 coup, many times in the past.
During the nationwide Gezi Park protests in summer of 2014, Erdoğan, who was prime minister at the time, harshly slurred certain businesspeople for supporting the movement and also slammed them on many other occasions, Cemal added. Erdoğan also forced business circles to take his side against any opposition, which he called “a network of betrayal,” according to Cemal. “Since 2011, when Erdoğan managed to gain around 50 percent of the vote, he has been attempting to create one-man rule. Hence, 'opening a new page with Erdoğan,' or 'shaking his hand,' actually means accepting absolute obedience to him,” Cemal commented.
The Milliyet daily's Serpil Çevikcan wrote on Friday about TÜSİAD Chairman Haluk Dinçer, who called on Erdoğan in his speech at the TÜSİAD meeting to end the polarization in society. Dinçer warned that the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and civil rights organizations should not be excluded from the ongoing settlement process between the Turkish government and the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Çevikcan said. Dinçer also noted that the current 1982 Constitution should be amended in order to improve democracy in Turkey, Çevikcan wrote.

GÜNAY HİLAL AYGÜN (Cihan/Today's Zaman)