Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, who found himself at the heart of a controversy due to his reference to the Turkish people in an allegedly insulting way, has denied the claims, saying his remarks were distorted.
Şimşek has come under fire for allegedly referring to the people of Turkey as “locals” in a speech in English at an international forum in Washington, D.C., last week, a commonly used term in English whose translation into Turkish can have a negative connotation.
Şimşek, who spoke to the state-run Anadolu news agency on Tuesday, defended his use of the term, saying that it was not meant to convey any negative implications.
Şimşek last week spoke at the Global Outlook Forum, an event organized in Washington by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) in conjunction with the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings, outlining Turkey’s policy priorities and providing insight into the Turkish economy.
“We just have to convince locals that inflation is going to fall,” the minister said in his speech in English.
Some politicians and journalists said Şimşek’s referring to the Turkish people as “locals” was disturbing because its Turkish translation, “yerliler,” is often used to denote the native inhabitants of a region living under colonial rule.
Şimşek told Anadolu that he used the word not in the sense of “local people” but rather in the sense of “local investors.”
The minister expressed surprise at the distortion of the word “locals,” which he argued had a clear and non-derogatory meaning.
“Apparently, there are malicious circles at play. … This [word], as used in reports and speeches, absolutely does not carry the negative connotation portrayed on social media or articulated by the opposition,” Şimşek said.
The minister’s statement came after being targeted not only by numerous opposition politicians and journalists but also by Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s far-right ally.
Bahçeli harshly criticized Şimşek in a statement on Monday, accusing him of having a “evil mindset.”
“It is impossible to tolerate the efforts aimed at portraying our country as under occupation. No one can deny that the evil mindset, which serves to devalue the Turkish nation with the expression ‘local people,’ is the prime culprit of the scandals we have been subjected to in recent days,” Bahçeli said.
Bahçeli’s harsh criticism targeting Şimşek have led to comments as to whether the political alliance between the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the MHP was crumbling, given the fact that both parties lost significant public support in the local elections on March 31.