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Última hora: El negociador de Turquía con la Unión Europea llama desde Bruselas a "nuestros hermanos musulmanes" a retirar sus fondos de los bancos suizos (vía Hürriyet)

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Bağış asks Muslims to abandon Swiss banks

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Turkey’s chief negotiator with the European Union has called on Muslims to withdraw their money from Swiss banks.

A Turkish economist said that if the call, which is in response to the “minaret ban” in Switzerland, is followed by action, Turkey may indeed manage to divert some of the bank accounts to itself.

Speaking on Tuesday about the controversial “minaret” ban, Egemen Bağış said he is sure that “the ban would be an opportunity for our Muslim brothers to review their decision to keep their money in Swiss banks.”

Replying to a question on whether such a move would create a backlash by encouraging “Christians to withdraw their money from Turkish banks,” Bağış said Turkey does not exercise any ban on Christian faith.

“There is no reason for Christians to do so,” he told journalists in Brussels. “All religions are freely practiced in Turkey. For 900 years, mosques, churches and synagogues in Turkey have been offering peace to humanity.

“Not only Turks, but many Muslims have investments and funds in Swiss banks. Last year, all global banks had losses or went bankrupt, but not even a single Turkish bank was at a loss,” he said.

“The Turkish banking sector showed its resilience in the 2008 crisis. Thus, I am giving a message to those who wish to review their investments in Turkey [by saying] that Turkey should be taken into account. Turkey is a safe harbor and the right address for investments,” Bağış said.

“In essence, Turkey is trying to attract Turkish investments in various countries in an effort to strengthen its foreign currency situation,” said economist Kerem Alkin in relation to Bağış’s statements.

“[What Bağış said] might be a wise tactic to widen the scope to all Muslims,” he said.

“However, if Muslims who have Swiss bank accounts are keeping their money there for different reasons, such as for less taxes or [because of] sound banking, attracting them might be difficult,” Alkin told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

“It may be necessary to follow these words with deeds, questioning why Muslims keep their money at Swiss banks,” he said.

Noting that Swiss banks did not do well amid the global crisis, Alkin said Bağış might be trying to seize an opportunity during a period when the image of Swiss banks is vulnerable.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=bagis-calls-on-muslims-to-withdraw-money-in-swiss-banks-2009-12-02