TÜSİAD calls for judicial independence, protection of individual rights

The association indicated that the situation paints a bad picture of the country and that it expects the investigation to be carried out in a way that would not harm the personal rights of individuals -- as was unfortunately seen previously in similar cases -- and that it should occur in a way that will strengthen trust in the rule of law in Turkey.

On Dec. 17, İstanbul and Ankara police staged dawn raids and detained as many as 52 people as part of a major investigation into claims of corruption and bribery. Among the detainees were bureaucrats, well-known businesspeople and the sons of three ministers.

Pointing out that the association works to improve democratic standards in the country, TÜSİAD President Muharrem Yılmaz said in the statement that “The end of efforts by the parliamentary Constitutional Reconciliation Commission made us feel sorry. Despite the commission's rich representation and reconciliation, it seems Turkey has lost an opportunity. Also, the election system and law on political parties are among the topics we are expecting a resolution on. The end of work to amend the constitution before the elections is puzzling. At least the election threshold should be increased to achieve public participation.”

Yılmaz also mentioned TÜSİAD's forecast for economic growth, which it predicts will be 4 percent in 2014 if price stability and macro-financial balance are present, while stressing that it will be difficult for the economy to finance the current account deficit (CAD) as a result of the recent US Federal Reserve (FED) policy lessening bond buying, which will decrease the availability of liquidity in global markets. “The economy must be careful. We must increase the domestic savings rate to 24 percent from its current 12 percent,” he said.

Another issue addressed in the statement was discomfort with inflation. The statement said the Central Bank of Turkey must focus its attention on inflation. “The stability present in the last 10 years was pleasing, but we are entering an 18-month period where three elections will take place. We need to support growth with domestic demand during this time of decreasing demand from world markets. This is required to go back to the achievements of structural reforms.”