Turkish entrepreneurs in Romania defend the Erdogan regime

Several associations of Turkish businesspeople in Romania, along with the Romanian-Turkish Chamber of Commerce, have condemned yesterday the attempted coup that happened in Turkey, against the Recep Tayyip Erdogan regime, stating it was "an action that was conducted outside the law and against the democracy of the Turkish state".

The officials of those associations gave the following statement yesterday, in a press conference: "On the evening of July 15th, in Turkey, a part of the terrorist group called FETO embedded itself inside the Turkish army and tried to execute the coup first of all against the president elected through the votes of the Turkish people (...)

We condemn this illegal action directed against the democracy of the Turkish state. The sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation, we fully believe in this principle and therefore we are protecting our democracy".

They have expressed their conviction that "the will of the nation will win" and they said that they support "the elected government and the principles of democracy", and that they have "full confidence in the Turkish state, as well as in the government and the parliament".

"Democracy has defeated the coup", the companies' representatives have added.

The representatives of Turkish entrepreneurs in Romania have said that sometimes, the reports in the Romanian press concerning the situation in Turkey have sometimes been "contrary to reality". "Please stop criticizing a president elected through the will of the people. Romania is a country that exemplifies friendship in the Balkans".

The Turkish businesspeople in Romania also claim that their country's economy has not been affected by the attempted coup, and that there was no negative reaction "worthy of being notice" in the markets, respectively.

Aksoy Raif, the president of the Romanian-Turkish Chamber of Commerce, said: "Turkey is a powerful country. In the last six months had an economic growth of 5.3%, all the hotels are still full. No foreign investors have withdrawn their money, there is no rise in the exchange rate, thus Turkey is a country that inspires confidence both economically and in tourists".

The Turkish businesspeople have told Romanians that want to go on holiday to Turkey that they can do so in full safety.

• Inpolitics.ro: Andreea Marin and Turcescu, on Erdogan's blacklist

Mind-blowing accusations were brought today by Turkish businesspeople in Romania against some domestic journalists, whom he claims that they have been paid by the enemies of president Erdogan to support their cause and to discredit the Ankaran regime, scrie inpolitics.ro.

According to the source, those targeted are Andreea Marin and the vice-president of the PMP party, Robert Turcescu, apparently.

According to the source, a leader of the Turkish community said that there are journalists in Romania which are allegedly paid by the putschists in Turkey to support their cause and to denigrate Erdogan. Several journalists were allegedly taken on trips across Turkey, and even the Romanian state television was mentioned among the entities accused, according to RTV.

"There is an extension of this faction in Romania (the organization of the Gulen cleric - ed. note). I have always respected the Romanian press, which is a free press, but a few times there have been some people put on buses and taken to Istanbul. Gifts have been made. On the Romanian television it is found that people who have been invited to Turkey are trying to make Turkey known as an undemocratic country. This country has a president elected with 51% of the votes, who cannot be called a dictator", said a leader of the Turkish businesspeople of Romania.

The source writes that even though the businesspeople mentioned no names, they were referring to an event that took place three years ago, when a group of 31 journalists, including Andreea Marin, Robert Turcescu, Cristina Herea, Sorin Duţoiu or Roxana Iliescu were taken on a trip around Turkey in a project supported by International School of Bucharest, a prestigious school where the daughter of Andreea Marin studies.

The problem is that ISB is part of the "Light of the educational institution", the famous network backed by Fatulleh Gulen, the major opponent of the Erdogan regime, whose extradition is being asked, after the so-called putsch on Friday, by the regime in Ankara, according to Inpolitics.ro.

Robert Turcescu immediately reacted to the accusations of the Turkish businesspeople, according to ştiriperurse.ro: "I had almost forgotten about this event from three years ago. It was just one day in Istanbul. I find it hilarious and a bit retarded to come out and say this about an invitation which was made three years ago which had nothing to do with Erdogan. I've only heard of this Gullen now. This whole thing is some hallucination from some businessman (...) This whole thing is insane. I have not commented on these events at all. I am saying it in no uncertain terms. What is happening in Turkey right now has nothing to do with democracy. For the event of three years ago it cannot be anything else but a fantasy of that businessman".