Turkish Prime Minister — and
presidential hopeful — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sparked an outcry on Wednesday, August 6, 2014
after using what critics said was a racist slur against Armenians in a
television interview.
During a live interview on the private NTV channel late Tuesday, Erdoğan complained that the opposition was carrying out a smear campaign
against him by claiming that he was from another ethnic origin.
“They called me a Georgian. Pardon me for saying this, but they said
even uglier things: They called me an Armenian!” Erdoğan said.
“As far as I have learned from my father and grandfather, I am a Turk,” he added.
His comment that it was ugly to be called an Armenian drew anger on
social media, further inflaming tensions days ahead of Sunday’s
presidential election where Erdoğan is hot favorite to become head of
state.
“Excuse me, but please go and become the president of another
country,” wrote prominent Turkish-Armenian columnist Hayko Bagdat in an
angry response to Erdoğan.
Melda Onur, a lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People’s
Party (CHP), asked: “Is there any ethnic group who could escape Erdoğan’s hate speech?”
Critics accused Erdoğan of playing the sectarian and the ethnic card in the run-up to the presidential elections.
“Is it ugly to be an Armenian or is it a shame? Please explain now!”
demanded Nevsin Mengu, an anchorwoman at the private CNN-Turk
television.
Turkey’s Armenian minority — the remnants of a much greater community
that lived during the Ottoman Empire — numbers around 70,000 people,
most of them living in Istanbul.
They often complain of being considered second-class citizens in a country where “Armenian” is often considered a curse.
CHP deputy Hurşit Güneş filed a criminal complaint against Erdoğan on the same day. Güneş announced his plan to take legal action on his Twitter
account, saying Erdoğan had violated Article 10 of the Constitution and
Articles 122 and 216 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) against
discrimination.
In remarks to show his reaction, Güneş said: “Look at this disgrace.
Erdoğan said being Armenian is ugly on NTV. What a shame! Calling a
person Armenian, even if it is untrue, is not “ugly.” Seeing this as
such is a low form of racism! Erdoğan doesn’t hear what he says. If he
becomes president, Turkey will not have only chosen a tyrant, but at the
same time a racist.” He also appealed to Turkey’s citizens of Armenian
descent not to be offended. “His mind isn’t in the right place,” he
said, adding: “The world should know this is a racist person. He has
defined the claim that he is Armenian as ‘ugly’ slander. His name is
Tayyip Erdoğan.”
He also said Erdoğan’s mentality was what caused the death of
journalist Hrant Dink, who was assassinated by an ultra-nationalist
teenager in 2007.
Shortly after announcing his intention on Twitter to file a criminal
complaint, Hurşit Güneş went to the Ankara Courthouse and did so.
Turkey Congressional Caucus Warns Erdoğan on Harsh Rhetoric
The Congressional Caucus on US-Turkey
Relations and Turkish Americans (Turkey Caucus) has warned Prime
Minister Erdoğan in a letter that his recent rhetoric is
increasingly damaging Turkish-American relations and that it is becoming
harder to defend Turkey’s interests in Washington.
In a sharply worded letter, Democrats and Republicans who’ve led
House efforts to advance US-Turkish relations warned Erdoğan last week
about what they considered to be his anti-Semitic comments. They told
him that he risked damaging ties between the US and Turkey.
The Turkey Caucus is a bipartisan platform in which members of the US
Congress focus on US-Turkish relations and issues that concern
Turkish-Americans. It was established by Rep. Robert Wexler, a Democrat
from Florida, Rep. Ed Whitfield, a Republican from Kentucky, and
Republican Congresswoman Kay Granger of Texas in March of 2001.
Turkey has been among the most outspoken critics of Israel recently
for its military operations in Gaza. Erdoğan has accused the Jewish
state of “barbarism surpassing Hitler.”
“Remarks you have made recently have been widely viewed as
anti-Semitic and are most definitely anti-Israel,” the House letter to
Erdoğan states, adding that these remarks have made it harder to
“communicate in a positive way about Turkey.”
Erdoğan’s comparison of Israel to Nazi Germany is “historically
inaccurate and provocative,” the lawmakers write in the July 29 letter.
They lament that Turkey had at one time contributed to peace efforts in
the Middle East, while the prime minister’s recent comments “do nothing
to end the violence, but rather could serve to instigate further
hatred.”
Speaking at a rally on Sunday in Istanbul, Erdoğan once again harshly
criticized Israel for its attacks on Gaza and said, “Israel is seeking
the same thing Hitler did, to create a pure race.” Then he said that he
had received a letter recently from the Turkey Caucus.
“They think they are threatening me. They will receive the same kind of answer,” Erdoğan said.
The letter bears the signatures of all four caucus co-chairs:
Whitfield, Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina, and
Democratic Congressmen Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Gerry Connolly of
Virginia. Some members of the Turkey Caucus expressed surprise that
Erdoğan had mentioned the letter publicly.
Erdoğan’s remarks targeting Israel have recently attracted heavy
criticism from the US. Department of State officials have cautioned
Erdoğan not to use “inflammatory” or “offensive” language about Israel,
adding that Erdoğan’s remarks only damage Turkey’s international
standing. Erdoğan shot back that no one has the right to tell him what
to say.
Amid growing concerns over Erdoğan’s condemnation of Israel, the
American Jewish Congress (AJC) recently asked Erdoğan to return an award
given to him in 2004.
“Attempts to depict Prime Minister Erdoğan’s legitimate criticism of
the Israeli government’s attacks on civilians as expressions of
anti-Semitism are an obvious distortion,” said the Turkish ambassador to
the US, Serdar Kılıç, in a response to AJC President Jack Rosen. The
letter also said that Erdoğan would gladly return the award.
Agence France Press, August 6, 2014
"Today's Zaman," August 5 and 7, 2014
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