Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Thursday that problems of Turkey would be solved by raising democratic standards.
Gul, who visited Organized Industry Zone in Southeastern province of Diyarbakir, addressed businessmen and said, "if we try to solve the problems over ideological, ethnical and sectarian structures and through politics, then we will start to weaken our structure and begin to give damage to our own people."
"We are proud of the elements constituting richness of the nation. We are all the equal citizens of Turkish Republic. Different languages are spoken in some regions. There are some sociological facts and there are differences in religious understandings in some regions. However, all of us are the citizens of Turkish Republic. We are free to go wherever we want and make business in every city we wish. We are all one," Gul said.
"Certainly this country has problems. It is the duty of all of us to resolve those problems. Those problems can be solved when democratic standards of this country are raised. In many issues which we say ’this mistake should be corrected’, including Kurdish problem, should be considered from this point of view. Issues which were not even spoken a few years ago became a part of the agenda today. Those are the problems which can be solved in solidarity and by raising the standards. This is the country of all of us," he said.
Gul said, "There can not be job opportunities in places where there are not investment. Factories and business places, and image of that place should be good to attract investment. It is the duty of residents of Diyarbakir and media to ensure this. Potential of Diyarbakir is high throughout history. The city is one of the biggest centers of the Middle East."
President Gul said incentives were given to Diyarbakir, adding that particularly investments on transportation should continue.
Gul said the river Dicle (Tigris) has been flowing for thousands of years with its fertility, "we spent billions of dollars for GAP, but we have mistakes and negligence. One of them was irrigation. There are the mistakes of the past."
President Gul wanted residents of Diyarbakir to work hand in hand to revive this city.