News & Comment
The Valid Reserve for Every Election; IMF

News

President Erdoğan reminded in a TV show he joined that the debt owed to the IMF when they came into office was 23,5 billion dollars, and that the foreign exchange reserve of the Central Bank was 27,5 billion dollars, upon the presenter asked him to evaluate the state of the economy.

Erdogan said, “At this point, in May 2013, we covered our debt to the IMF. But this IMF has always been placed before us. Well, okay, we didn't start this. We found it in our lap, but we would solve this matter, we solved it, and it is over.” (AA / Hürriyet 15.02.2019)

Comment

Erdogan, who made evaluations regarding the asked question by starting with IMF, stated that the debt of 23,5 billion dollars is paid off and they found the process which they have not started themselves in their lap, and even pointed out to the fact that the IMF asked to borrow 5 billion dollars from Turkey a few years ago. He was trying to present the economy as steady as a rock. This is something that cannot be explained by anything other than cunning.

Unfortunately, President Erdoğan's fixed habit in TV shows and election speeches before every election, to present the covering of the debt to the IMF as a victory, has not changed. Although this is a false victory, it was unthinkable for the President to stay away from transforming such a material, which is the valid reserve in every electoral period, into the ballot box.

If indeed there is an economy strong enough to end the debt to the IMF, why did you pay around 800 billion TL interest to 13 national and international chartered banks, which are the leftovers of IMF, during your rule? And why do you still pay the new interests that increase incrementally? Albeit it is said we got rid from the IMF before every election, the fact that around 700 billion TL is paid to the interest barons due to borrowing with heavy interest, and hundreds of billions TL new interest payments will be paid, invalidates your arguments. Now that you have saved the people from this IMF-trouble, why does the treasury continue to borrow from these banks and people every year with the highest interest rates in the world? Even in Greece, one of the world's bankrupted economies, the debit interest of the treasury is 1 percent. While Turkey’s debt stock is almost 500 billion dollars, and more than 20 billion dollars of resources are only saved for interests, the resulting picture makes one say, “how could you get rid of the IMF in this way”.

IMF is gone. But banks, barons, who are IMF’s different versions, are still present. And acting as if you are not the one who keep these interest barons here is quite astonishing. If the people truly got rid of these bloodsuckers, I think the fact that the people even have difficulty in reaching staple food products is enough to prove how “strong” the economy is!

I wonder if you will continue with the slogan “we have finished the IMF” for the continuation of your political interests, with your conscience that is not pricked when giving the heavy taxes you collected from the people, the endless hikes, the billions of dollars you collected from the people through oppression, to chartered banks and interest barons.

If IMF has been sent away, the money spent by these people should have been less, their earnings should be more, and the welfare level should be higher. Why is the situation different? The money spent by these people is more, their earnings are less, and their welfare is lower. This matter cannot be solved by saying we have sent the IMF away. The IMF may have left this country but being in business with those who act on its behalf contradicts your word. The actions you made and the interests you gave are the most obvious indication that you keep this mentality here.

If you had been truly sincere about driving out this mindset, you would have driven them out together with their system. You would have stayed away from interest, which is prohibited by Allah (swt), and made efforts for the re-establishment of the Khilafah Rashidah on the method of the prophethood, instead of democracy which is a cruel and criminal system. And this is what’s valuable and precious in the world, as well as in the hereafter.

If you don’t do it, you will be one of the fools, who work for the IMF but with different names. Actions speak louder than words: it’s enough to look at the figures, I think.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Ahmet SAPA