The Turkish government denounces the opposition calls for a collective commercial boycott Economy news

The Turkish government condemned the opposition calls for a collective commercial boycott in the wake of the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul Akram Imamoglu, who sparked protests at the country level, and these calls described today, Wednesday, as an “attempt to sabotage” the economy.

Two weeks after the mayor’s arrest, the main opponent (the Republican People’s Party) called for boycotting goods and services from companies that are believed to be linked to the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The scope of the invitation expanded today, Wednesday, to include the suspension of all shopping operations for one day, which prompted some stores to close in solidarity with those who criticize arrest.

“Try to sabotage the economy”

The Minister of Commerce, Omar Balla, said that the boycott calls are a threat to economic stability, and accused those who claim it to seek to undermine the government.

He added that this is “an attempt to sabotage the economy and includes a commercial and competitive unjustly. We see that it is a sterile attempt by parties that consider themselves the masters of this country.”

For his part, Turkish Vice President Jawdat Yilmaz said that these calls threaten social harmony and economic stability, and that they are “convicted of failure.”

A number of ministers and celebrities supporting the government used a Sama, meaning “not a boycott, but rather national harm” to emphasize their position.

These boycott calls were led by the head of the Republican People’s Party, Ozgor Ozil, who encouraged the protests.

Ozil posted a photographer on his account on the X platform yesterday, in which he wrote, “Stop all the shopping work! Supermarkets, online shopping, restaurants, fuel, cafes and bills, do not buy anything.”

As for President Erdogan, he described these protests as “evil” and said it would not last.