MIXING UP NATIONALISM WITH RACISM
By Fatma Disli

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb 8 2007

There is no question the murder of journalist Hrant Dink has put
the nationalism issue in Turkey under a bright spotlight; not least
because the alleged killer reportedly disclosed he had shot Dink
because of supposed "insulting" statements against Turkishness —
in other words because of the gunman’s nationalist feelings.

Slogans chanted in street protests after Dink’s murder saying, "We
are all Armenians," disturbed some nationalist circles, claiming an
"assault on national values" igniting a flurry of polemic and debate.

Wanting to condemn Hrant Dink’s murder and its immediate causes
and aftermath, but not wanting to seem soft on "national values," a
common view holds that nationalism and racism are mixed up in Turkey
and unfortunately racism seems to be on the rise.

Bugun’s Nuh Gonultaº complains that nationalism has come to mean
racism in Turkey. He says the rapidly spreading neo-nationalism and
nationalism among the youth in Turkey actually corresponds more to
racism. Gonultaº explains that racism was a late injection into the
veins of the Turkish public because Turks, having thousands of years
of history, never adopted racism — either before Islam or after,
but rather created a wonderful culture by reconciling positive
nationalism with their religion. "Nobody has the chance to choose
their race, nation, or even their parents before they are born. It is
foolish to assume something we did not choose ourselves as a reason
for superiority," he remarks. He urges that racism is also on the
rise in the western countries like Austria, France, Germany and the
US. Gonultaº says that Turkey is being affected by this world racist
trend thanks to the Internet. According to him, racist hatred is the
major cause of assassinations, bomb attacks and other incidents in
the recent history of these countries.

Yeni ªafak’s Mehmet Ocaktan also complains about the rising nationalism
in Turkey which is based on racism, which does not welcome "peace and
brotherhood" and cannot bear to see Turkey as a democratic and lawful
state. "Those who killed Hrant Dink and those who posed for photos
with the alleged killer after his arrest are all the products of this
racist mentality," remarks Ocaktan. He says that an understanding of
patriotism built on racism unfortunately has resulted in the appearance
of killers and hate in this country.

Ocaktan thinks it will not be possible to rid Turkey of this
malediction before the youth of this country are taught the virtue
of living with others who think or believe differently.

Vatan’s Okay Gonensin outlines the historic development of radical
nationalism in Turkey and says the roots of racist nationalism date
back to first years of the Turkish Republic. However, he clarifies
that this movement became more collective and influential in the
1960s. He says in the 1960s and 1970s radical nationalism was
intensively supported to counter the "rising communism threat" in
parallel to the rising left. Gonensin holds the terrorist Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) and Kurdish nationalists also partly responsible
for increasing radical Turkish nationalism. He also urges that it is
not only right-wing people, but also leftists and Kemalists who are
experiencing conflicting concepts of nationalism today, for example
nationalism mixed up to the point of patriotism committing murder.

"In a society in harmony with the world and itself, radical nationalism
cannot be influential, but it seems that it will continue to be
influential in Turkey for a long time," adds Gonensin.

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