The head of one of the top business bodies in the country called on Thursday for development and economic revival amid the "terror-free Türkiye" initiative, recalling substantial losses that occurred in a decades-long campaign of the PKK terrorist organization.
"This newly opened door is a light of hope not only for Türkiye but also for Iraq, Syria and all our neighboring geographies," said Burhan Özdemir, the head of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (MÜSIAD).
Speaking at the event in southeastern Diyarbakır province, which in the past was one of the regions that suffered from terror, Özdemir called on business organizations and civil society to be a part of the initiative.
Türkiye has been battling the PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the European Union for four decades.
The initiative for a terror-free Türkiye was launched by government ally Devlet Bahçeli, head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who called on the PKK’s jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan to appeal to the PKK to lay down arms last year.
Earlier this year, the PKK announced through a declaration a formal dissolution and termination of its armed campaign, which is seen not only as a historical turning point in the political history of Türkiye but also as a significant economic opportunity. The officials have said that the peace dividend of the disbandment would be huge in terms of channeling resources to more productive areas for development and progress.
This view was echoed by Özdemir, who, during the event dubbed "Terror-Free Türkiye Gathering," said that the "direct and indirect cost our country has borne in this struggle exceeds $2 trillion."
"This figure is not a simple economic cost – it means the wealth that could have emerged from these fertile lands has been stolen from the tables not only of the people of this region but of the entire nation," he noted.
"Today, our country’s gross domestic product (GDP) could have exceeded $3 trillion; our per capita income could have risen above $30,000," he maintained.
He also pointed out to relatively low contribution of the region to total national income despite its vast agricultural riches and potential, in addition to the young population.
“It is time to use this vast resource not for defense against terror, but for an offensive in development. This newly opened door is a light of hope not only for Türkiye but also for Iraq, Syria, and all our neighboring geographies," he furthered.
"At this historic turning point, as MÜSIAD, we are taking on a responsibility and making a call from here to all of Türkiye: Especially to the umbrella organizations of our business world, and to all civil society organizations, trade unions and chambers – let us not be mere spectators of the 'terror-free Türkiye' vision. Let us become its architects, its agents of revival," he added.
"Let us shoulder this historic responsibility together," Özdemir said.
