Turkey’s southeast sees dramatic capital outflow due to terror: Businessman

DİYARBAKIR - Doğan News Agency

DHA photo

There has been a serious capital outflow from Turkey’s southeastern region due to escalating terror attacks, according to Alican Ebedinoğlu, the head of the Diyarbakır Association of Tradesmen and Craftsmen (DESOB). 

“Many entrepreneurs have left the region by selling their homes and closing down their businesses due to escalating terror attacks. This makes us very concerned. We not only face a mass workforce migration and ‘brain drain’ to the west, but also a dramatic loss in jobs. More than 100,000 young people are now employed by small businesses in Diyarbakır. The more small businesses are shut down, the higher number of young people will lose their jobs. This will bring us serious social distress,” he said. 

Ebedinoğlu noted the value of properties has seen a loss of around 20 percent in recent months.  

He noted the association contacted the General Directorate of the Confederation of Turkish Tradesmen and Craftsmen (TESK) and Turkey’s Mass Housing Administration (TOKİ) to discuss and resolve the issue. 

“A preliminary study has been launched to enable tradesmen without a house to buy properties under easier conditions. A total of three choices were presented to them. We’ll send the demands to TOKİ in coordination with the Diyarbakır Governor’s Office. Our aim is to realize this project by the first months of 2016. This project will be available for use in other eastern provinces,” he said. 

“As soon as the new cabinet is established, the [Kurdish] peace process needs to be revived and a number of economic measures need to be taken, as our region is under big risks amid the continuing conflicts,” he noted.