“Boycotting Turkey is not merely an attempt to economically
disrupt a billion-dollar business empire that profits from massacre, authoritarianism and intimidation. It is also an ethical stance against the exploitation, terrorization and annihilation of the Kurdish people and other communities, targeted by the nationalist state mentality of Turkey. Boycotting Turkey means saying NO to the normalization and white-washing of dictatorship and genocidal politics.”
– Dilar Dirik, Kurdish academic and activist –
FOUR REASONS TO BOYCOTT TURKEY
1. Turkey is a fascist state
The Turkish State was founded 100 years ago on the back of Armenian, Greek
and Assyrian genocides. Many of today’s Turkish elite made their fortunes from
the property of those who fled, or were massacred. In 2015, peace negotiations between the Turkish State and the PKK collapsed. The state attacked the civilian population with a ferocity not seen since the 1990s. The military attacked towns and villages, installed rolling military curfews during which anyone seen on the street would be shot. Whole neighbourhoods and villages were razed to the ground.
Since a failed coup attempt in July 2016, an ongoing crackdown has seen hundreds of thousands of people arrested and dismissed from work; over 180 media outlets were shut down and hundreds of journalists arrested. No dissenting voices are tolerated. Turkey now has more journalists behind bars than any other country on Earth. Turkish President Erdoğan has rewritten the constitution to give himself absolute power, and has imprisoned a large number of the political opposition.
2. The Turkish economy is highly dependent on tourism
In 2017, Turkey’s GDP amounted to around $851.52 billion USD, but this plum-meted to $713.51 billion in 2018. Unemployment is steadily rising. The economy reportedly contracted by 2.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2019. Still, the number
of foreigners visiting Turkey increased almost 22% from 2017 to 2018.
The Turkish economy is increasingly reliant on tourism. Tourism in Turkey
funds genocide, ethic cleansing and war. There is a direct relationship between
the tourist industry in Turkey, the Erdoğan regime and the arms trade. Money
spent on your holiday may be spent on killing Kurds. According to figures re-
leased by the Turkish Statistical Institute, in 2018 alone, tourism accounted for
an income of $29.5 billion USD and the same year Turkey’s military budget was
raised by 24% to $19 billion USD.
To put it bluntly: the more tourists enjoy Turkey’s beaches, the more Kurds will die.
3. Erdoğan’s power base is reliant on a stable economy
In May 2018, Forbes reported that “since Erdogan became President in August of 2014, the Lira has lost a stunning 56% of its value”, describing the Lira as Erdo-ğan’s ‘Achille’s heel’. Erdogan’s power and stability is based, among other things, on the distribution of a lot of money to his supporters and followers. When the economy goes down, support for Erdoğan also falls. As Kurdish activist Ercan Ayboğa points out, “When he is not able to give money to his followers any more, the whole system can break.”
4. Boycott campaigns have a history of success
The boycott of South African goods, and the cultural and academic boycott campaign that was active from the 1960s to the 1990s is widely acknowledged to have played a significant part in ending the apartheid system in that country.
[…]
“The boycott is important because the Turkish state finances
it’s war and repression of the Kurds in Bakur [Turkey] and Syria
with a lot of money. It’s very important that the Turkish State has less money for the repression of society and the Kurds, and for its wars.
We have to attack it wherever we can, and to make the
economy of Turkey as weak as possible.”
– Kurdish activist Ercan Ayboga –
BOYCOTT TURKISH COMPANIES AND PRODUCTS !
BOYCOTT ACADEMIC AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
SPONSORED BY THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT !
Nike, stop sponsoring turkish football !
Flyer: Boycott Nike in Colour and Black/White
Enough Support from FC Barcelona to the invasion in Rojava!
The inhabitants of Rojava, who appreciate FC Barcelona and who follow the news of Catalonia accurately, are asking themselves, why the football club is working with companies [like Beko], whose are maintaining the war in Rojava and whose are the murderers of their families and friends.
Boycott Turkey created a database of information on corporate complicity in Turkish state fascism. Please note, this is a work in progress and not a complete list. They listed holding companies, consumer brands, airlines, banks, tourism, turkish arms companies, restaurant chains, international arms companies, oil & gas companies and automobiles.
MORE INFORMATION: Boycott Turkey
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