Erdogan attends communication forum in UAE

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to deliver a speech in the 2nd Al Sharika Communication Forum as the guest of honor. Deputy Premier Bulent Arinc, Food, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Mehdi Eker, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy leader Mevlut Cavusoglu and AKP deputy parliamentary group leader Mustafa Elitas accompanied Erdogan during his visit. Speaking at the Ash-Sharikah Communication Forum in the UAE, Erdogan said that Turkey would not remain a mere spectator to the killing of women and children in Palestine, Gaza and Syria, criticizing Syria's embattled President Bashar al-Assad for continuing a bloody military campaign to root out insurgents. "I want everyone to know this: While lifeless bodies of children and women fall in Palestine and Gaza, we will not be among those who are silent. We won't be among those who keep silent when innocent children, women and the elderly are killed en masse in Syria every day. We will not remain silent towards Syria's despotic dictator, who has been silent and not reacted to the occupiers of his country's territories for decades but is conducting ruthless massacres against his own people," Erdogan said. Erdogan also defined those who remain silent in the face of injustice as "mute devils" and called Syria's Assad a "mute devil," Erdogan noted. Touching on the importance of communication, Erdogan said that politicians who managed to make use of communication tools effectively and at the right time are preferred by voters. Stating that governments and states which are able use communication tools effectively are better at solving problems and establishing better ties with their people, Erdogan said that even though technological devices were important in communications, they cannot diminish the importance of talking and a heart-felt speech. "Communication is an activity that should be done from the heart," Erdogan said. As part of his visit to the UAE, Erdogan met with Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid al-Nuaimi, Amir of Ajman, and returned to Turkey last night.