ISTANBUL
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his criticism of high interest rate policy on Sunday, terming it as a form of 'cruelty against common people.'
"The government's strong stance against setting high interest rates irritates the interest-rate lobby," Erdogan said after a traditional 'iftar' dinner hosted by the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association in Istanbul.
Turkish premier frequently accuses a group of financial speculators that he calls the interest-rate lobby for seeking to curb Turkey's growth.
“Turkey is no longer a country that gets directives of certain people to set its economic policies”, he said. “A Turkey that breaks its chains disturbs some domestic and international power elites.”
Erdogan and other government officials have repeatedly criticized the central bank for maintaining high interest rates, calling it a limiting factor for economic growth.
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