In Sivas, Erdogan lambastes TUSIAD statements

Speaking at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new housing project built by the Turkish Housing Development Administration (TOKI) in Sivas, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday criticized recent statements by Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) Chairwoman Arzuhan Dogan Yalcindag and top official Mustafa Koc suggesting the government could do more to protect Turkey from the global economic crisis. "Turkey isn't feeling the crisis like the US and Europe are," he said. "We're giving this our complete attention." He added, "I don't understand some people. There are people in my country adding fuel to the fire. We're taking measures. We don't provide opportunities to those who seek them, whether it's a non-governmental organization (NGO) or a public group. It's a grave error to say such things while there's no such danger in Turkey."