TÜSİAD reacts strongly to the appointment of trustees: It is not the dismissed executives who are being punished, but the elected public.

The Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen's Association emphasized that the appointment of trustees affects local governments and that practices that restrict freedoms should be avoided. The statement noted that freedoms should be prioritized for the strengthening of democracy and the rule of law.

RESPONSE FROM TÜSİAD TO TRUSTEE APPOINTMENTS

After the Esenyurt Municipality in Istanbul, trustees were appointed to the Mardin Metropolitan Municipality, Batman Municipality, and Halfeti Municipality in Şanlıurfa. Following these decisions, the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (TÜSİAD) issued a written statement.

"WE MUST AVOID PRACTICES THAT RESTRICT FREEDOMS"

The statement expressed that to overcome social and economic problems, regulations and practices that restrict freedoms should be avoided. The written statement from TÜSİAD included the following remarks: "To overcome the significant social and economic issues ahead of us, we must avoid regulations and practices that restrict freedoms. The strength of our country's influence in the fields of politics and economy in the world will be determined by the robustness of its democracy and the rule of law. Laws are binding for all citizens and institutions.

"IT IS THE PEOPLE WHO ARE PUNISHED"

Moreover, each political development or legislative change that comes to the agenda has a significant impact on perceptions and expectations. Therefore, each of our steps should serve the expectations for the improvement of democracy and the security environment. The practice of appointing trustees to local governments ultimately results in depriving citizens living in those cities and districts of an elected local government. In the context of trustee appointments, it is not the local administrator who is removed from office that is punished, but the people who elected them. The person who will replace the removed local administrator should be determined through democratic means, and the criminal investigation regarding the removed local administrator should also continue in its own course.

Additionally, the uncertainties contained in the amendment to the Turkish Penal Code, which has recently come to the agenda of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and is known to the public as "influence agency," could lead to contradictory and debatable practices and impose disproportionate limits on rights and freedoms. In its current form, the new crime definition, which contains numerous uncertainties regarding which actions of NGOs, the press, researchers, and academics could constitute a crime, poses a risk of creating an unsafe and unpredictable environment for everyone. To overcome the significant social and economic issues ahead of us, we must avoid regulations and practices that restrict freedoms and ensure legal security and predictability.