Reactions have been pouring in one after another in response to the calls for a shopping boycott made today to protest the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu and students. Ministers were out shopping to show support for the shop owners. Criticisms of the decision also came from the business world. AK Party Spokesperson Ömer Çelik shared his visit to shop owners with the title “good luck with the business.” Trade Minister Ömer Bolat was also shopping in Ankara. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya was also shopping, stating, “We will continue to stand by our shopkeepers.” CHP Chairman Özgür Özel said that boycotting is a constitutional right. “We supported a one-day boycott call for the arrested students and we will participate in the boycott today, tomorrow we will win the hearts of those shop owners again,” he said.
The President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, said that companies should not be involved in political controversies. Hisarcıklıoğlu stated, “Targeting producing, providing employment, and investing companies and making boycott calls are wrong. Our companies should be kept out of political debates.” The President of the Confederation of Turkish Tradesmen and Craftsmen, Bendevi Palandöken, thanked Minister Bolat for empowering the shopkeepers by visiting them. Palandöken said, “In this economic hardship, we should support the shopkeepers and craftsmen trying to serve their customers, and trade should not be halted.” The President of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry Board of Directors, Erdal Bahçıvan, shared the message, “I believe that acting within the limits of democracy and laws instead of disturbing and destroying the balances in production and trade life will be beneficial for our country.” The President of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, Şekib Avdagiç, said, “We should not allow Turkey’s companies, Turkey’s economy, and the production accumulation created by the sacrifice of 86 million citizens to be the losers.” The President of the Ankara Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Gürsel Baran, warned, “Boycotting would be like planting a mine under the local and national production, trade, employment, and tax revenues.” The President of the Ankara Chamber of Industry, Seyit Ardıç, drew attention to economic independence by stating, “We should avoid any action and boycott that poses a risk to our companies that provide production and employment.” The President of the Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (MÜSİAD), Mahmut Asmalı, criticized the boycott decision, stating, “It is an open attempt to weaken our local and national capital and open a way for global capital.”