Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Mr. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, Chairman of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), expressed his pleasure in being in the city of Diyarbakır and said, “Let the world witnesses that they can’t divide us.”

Pointing out that while some people are sowing the seeds of hate in the country, while others are trying to resurrect their foiled plans of a hundred years ago, Hisarcıklıoğlu went on:

“But we have faith in the hearts of all the people of this nation, especially the people of Diyarbakır. We are not afraid; we will not be afraid; we will not step back. They try to tear us apart but we will work together to unify our country. Those who rendered Sur uninhabitable have seen a very determined nation and state stand against them. You denied them shelter. It is now time to rebuild Diyarbakır. We will accomplish this in the shortest time through public-private sector cooperation.

- “Let’s protect our unity and our solidarity”

President Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that everyone should be vigilant against sectarianism, racism and terrorism, and that sectarianism has done great damage to the Islamic world.

“The second cause is racism. We are all descended from Adam and Eve,” Hisarcıklıoğlu said and went on:

“Thirdly, Islam and terrorism are used side by side; this is embarrassing for Muslims. Daesh, FETO and PKK: none of them have any connection with Islam. It is haram for Muslims to steal from, murder or rape Muslims. We are hopeful for the future. We've been stood in the most difficult region of the world for a thousand years. We will do better. We will protect keep our unity and our solidarity. Hopefully, together we will write another success story of revitalized economy and reforms from this year.”