Mayor Demirtaş’s Harsh Response to Çıralı: “He Should Apologize to Fethiye’s Business Owners”

Kamil Mutlu Demirtaş, President of the Fethiye Chamber of Tradespeople and Artisans, issued a statement regarding the formal notices sent to 50 tradespeople by the Fethiye-Seydikemer Mixed Industrial Park Cooperative, expressed strong opposition to the remarks made by Osman Çıralı, President of the Fethiye Chamber of Commerce and Industry, regarding himself and the Chamber of Tradesmen and Artisans.

President Demirtaş argued that certain statements in Çıralı’s remarks were condescending and mocking, noting that this approach targeted not only him but also the thousands of tradespeople he represents.

Demirtaş noted that the Fethiye Chamber of Tradespeople and Artisans represents approximately 7,000 tradespeople, stating, “The people at the helm of these institutions come and go. What truly matters is benefiting the members we represent and Fethiye itself, and preparing our institutions for the future. For this reason, I believe the statements used were not directed solely at me, but also encompassed the business owners we represent. Mr. Çıralı must apologize to the business owners of Fethiye,” he said.

“Allegations Must Be Clarified in Concrete Terms”

Noting that the statements used by Osman Çıralı in his announcement—such as “It’s being dictated to someone, a message is being conveyed to someone, or someone is being made to say it”—need to be clarified, Demirtaş requested that the allegations made in public be supported by concrete information.

Stating that it must be clearly specified who or whom Çıralı was referring to with these words, Demirtaş posed the following questions:

“Who are you referring to when you say ‘someone is being made to write this’? What was written for whom? When you say ‘messages are being conveyed to certain people,’ what message are you referring to, and who conveyed this message to whom? When you say ‘certain people are being made to speak,’ who are the people you are referring to, and what connection do these people have to me or the Chamber of Tradesmen?”

Demirtaş also requested clarification on Çıralı’s statement that “This was the same with the Chamber of Tradesmen before the election, and it’s the same after the election.”

“Which of Your Requests for a Meeting Was Rejected?”

President Demirtaş also responded to Çıralı’s claims that he had refused to meet with him, asking that the public be informed about the specific issue on which a meeting was expected to take place.

Demirtaş asked, “Which of your requests for a meeting did I reject? What was the issue that bothered you before the election? What is the issue that bothers you today? Which of my statements or initiatives regarding cooperative dues prompted you to make such a harsh statement?”

Emphasizing that inter-institutional relations should be conducted not through personal disputes but within the framework of official meetings, correspondence, and institutional practices, Demirtaş stated that their primary objective as the Chamber of Tradespeople and Artisans is to defend the rights and interests of Fethiye’s tradespeople.

Demirtaş concluded his statement by saying, “We will not take sides in personal disputes. However, we will not leave any statement that targets the reputation of the merchants we represent or the integrity of our institution unanswered.”