29.10.2019 Ankara
Turkey - European Union (EU) Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) Turkey Wing Members and the the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) Board of Directors visited Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar. Taking part in the visit, during which the Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Güler was also present were: The Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), Turkey Tradesmen and Artisans Confederation (TESK), Workers’ Rights Confederation of Trade Unions (HAK-İŞ), Turkey Public Workers Unions Confederation (KAMU-SEN), Public Servants Confederation of Trade Unions (MEMUR-SEN), Turkey Employer Confederation of Trade Unions (TİSK), the Confederation of Labor Unions of Turkey (TURK-İŞ), Turkey Union of Chambers of Agriculture (TZOB) presidents and representatives as well as the TOBB Board Members.
- Hisarcıklıoğlu reiterated support
TOBB
President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu expressed his happiness to meet with Akar and
Chief of General Staff Gen. Güler during the visit.
“We
have supported and continue to support Operation Peace Spring targeting the
terrorists nesting in northern Syria,” said Hisarcıklıoğlu noting the statement
made by the Turkey-EU Joint Consultative Committee Wing regarding the campaign.
Noting
that, in response to the campaign launched abroad against Turkey after the
start of the Operations, they’ve penned a letter to their counterparts in 190
countries in 4 languages, Hisarcıklıoğlu also provided information on other efforts
and visits.
Hisarcıklıoğlu
stated that after Operations Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch and Claw by the
Turkish Armed Forces, Operation Peace Spring was carried out, “Under the
leadership of our president, the brave fight of our army against terrorist
organizations under your determined and sturdy command gives morale and hope to
our nation.”
Stating
with the successful completion of the operation Turkey's southern border will
be secured, Hisarcıklıoğlu said:
“Thus,
the elements that threaten Turkey across the border will not be given the
opportunity to develop. We, as all professional organizations here, would like
to thank you. We, my friends here, will continue to be at the disposal of our
nation, alongside our government, as in every national issue. We stand with our
government and all our soldiers with our prayers and with all our hearts. We
believe that we, together, will emerge victorious from this fight.”
- Message of support for the
operation
Members
of the Turkey-European Union Joint Consultative Committee Wing and TOBB Board
of Directors also described the successful Operation Peace Spring as the
country's honor.
Members
wishing fast recovery for to the veterans and the grace of Allah upon our martyrs,
said the operation completely eliminated the dream of establishing a terrorist
state.
The
members expressed their satisfaction with the use of domestic and national
defense industrial products in the operation and shared their support with the
words “It would not be conceivable that our proud army would remain alone in
such a fight.”
At
the end of the meeting, which was attended by Deputy Minister Muhsin Dere, Hisarcıklıoğlu
presented the file consisting of their statements to Minister Akar.
- National Defense Minister Hulusi
Akar
National
Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said, “There is no question of Turkey and our
Armed Forces, stopping, slowing down or underestimating the fight against Daesh,
because Daesh can never represent Muslims and Islam.”
Expressing
his pleasure to meet with such an important delegation on the 96th anniversary
of the founding of the Republic of Turkey, Akar thanked the business world,
workers and civil servants' representatives for their support to Operation
Peace Spring.
Noting
that a sensitive period is underway, Akar emphasized the importance of unity
and solidarity.
Stressing
that Turkey's operations are defensible all over the world, Akar said, “We have
no ambitions on anyone's land, nor are we looking for unfair profits. What
we're trying to do is maintain the security of our borders, our people, the
unity and integrity of our country. We've said from the beginning that we won't
allow the formation of this corridor of terror at the very border of our
country. At the same time, we have repeatedly stressed that we respect
everyone's territorial integrity.”
- “Consciously distorted”
Pointing
out that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statements against the terrorist
organization are being consciously distorted by the Western press to falsely
accuse it of being an operation against the Kurds, Akar said:
“There's
no such thing. We don't have a problem with our Kurdish brothers. We have shared
national, spiritual values from the thousands of years of shared history. We
are a nation of 82 million, the nation of Turkey. This includes everyone.
Religious origin, ethnicity, sect may be different. We embrace them all. Political
views, sect, way of life may be different, but we all have the same roots.
We're 82 million, we're brothers. In our fight against terrorists in Syria, there
can never be a question of fight with Kurdish, Arab, Chaldean, Arami, Assyrian
or other ethnic groups, but the foreign press deliberately distorts it. Our
only target is terrorists. Other than that, we have no goals.”
- “There are no chemical weapons in
the TAF inventory”
Akar,
touching on the rhetoric of “ethnic cleansing,” which was put forward with the
start of Operation Peace Spring, “It is not possible for our soldiers to shoot
without receiving fire or identifying the terrorist.”
Emphasizing
that there could never be firing at innocent people, Akar said, “They also put
forward the lie of chemical weapons. There are no chemical weapons in the
Turkish Armed Forces inventory.”
Addressing
the false allegations that, “TAF is not fighting against Daesh terrorist
organization,” Akar said:
“This
is a lie most contemptible and base. As TAF, we are the only army fighting
against Daesh. We have neutralized more than 3,000 Daesh in northern Syria and
700 the edge of Mosul. There is no question of Turkey and our Armed Forces,
stopping, slowing down or underestimating the fight against Daesh, because Daesh
can never represent Muslims and Islam. So we've done more than anyone else, and
we're continuing to do it.”
Akar
said that around 1000 terrorists were neutralized within the scope of the
Operation Peace Spring and that 500 large and small settlements were cleared
from terrorists. “Right now, IEDs are being cleared, food is being distributed,
mobile health services have started, people have started to open their
businesses. We are making our best contribution to security, comfort, peace and
prosperity of the region.”
Akar
emphasized that the expressions of the humanitarian crisis in the Western press
do not reflect reality, Orada “There is security provided, health, food, water,
all basic needs; AFAD, Red Crescent is there, roads are open. Where is the
crisis? They are attempting to confuse public perception through willful
obfuscation of facts.”
- “This
is contemptible.”
Stating
that they are showing consideration for not only against innocent people, but
also against the environment, history, religious structures, both in the planning
and execution of the operation, which no country shows Akar, “These treacherous
terrorists have shelled our provinces, districts and villages over a thousand times
in one weak with mortars and rocket launchers. 20 people lost their lives,
including a 9-month-old baby, 187 were injured, this is a contemptible.” Akar
also pointed out that there was no comment from Western countries regarding
these events.
Stating
that President Erdoğan's emphasis on the defense industry, the point reached on
the issue of indigenousness and nationality is important, Akar pointed out the
importance of raising this to even higher levels.