TURKEY REVERTS TO ITS ISLAMIC ORIGINS

PanARMENIAN.Net
21.04.2007 GMT+04:00

R. Erdoghan’s party, practicing Islamic way of Turkey’s development,
may cause more complications on country’s way to Europe.

More and more Turkey moves away from civilization, reverting to the
times of Abdul Hamid II, when a Christian’s life didn’t cost anything
at all, and the Muslim murderers became national heroes. Both now and
then the murder weapons were found in the hands of the ignorant youth
having no occupation. As it has been observed, Islamic fundamentalists
are mainly made of those having no occupation, not job, and of
psychologically unstable people.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ And who can in this case be more attractive than a
young man doped up with Pan-Turkism ideologies and "the exclusiveness
of the Turkish Nation", which in fact doesn’t even exist. These young
people are ignorant of many facts, though they are perfectly good at
seeing "internal enemies" and know much about Islam. As the Turkish
journalist Burak Bekdil writes, they only know the book "These Crazy
Turks" and the movie "Wolves Valley." Perhaps this is enough for
killing Christians.

The assassination in Malatya was based on Turkish society’s fears that
the official Ankara may put an end to the existence of the Turkish
secular state. The representatives of today’s political elite in
Turkey many a time have spoken about their intentions of giving up the
principle of separation of church from the state, which has been the
main attainment of the first president of the Turkish Republic Mustafa
Qemal Ataturk. R. Erdoghan’s party, practicing Islamic way of Turkey’s
development, may cause more complications on country’s way to Europe.

Germany was among the first countries that condemned the committed
crime. It can be explained by its position in EU and by the fact that
it insists on the "privileged partnership" and not on full membership.

During its last visit to Berlin R. Erdoghan considered possible to
issue ultimatum to Europe. But the recent events, which most likely
will still continue, bring to naught all the statements about "Turkey’s
devotion to democracy and progress." Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Federal Republic of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemned harshly
this crime. Secretary General of the Christian Democratic Union Ronald
Pofalla announced that Turkey is a lot far from freedom of religion
typical to Europe. Green Party co-chair Claudia Roth announced in
the interview with Deutsche Welle, that the international community
expects quick and thorough investigation of the cruel murder from
Turkey. By the way, this is what one doesn’t have to doubt. The
direct murderers will be caught just as it happened in Hrant Dink’s
case. But the question is whether or not this will put an end to the
persecutions Christians have to suffer.

Several days after the cruel murder of the three Christians, including
one citizen of Federal Republic of Germany, the Turkish police caught
ten suspects.

All the detainees are young people from 17 to 20. Both of them had
the weapons used to commit the murder.

They already confessed to the crime and announced that they had done
it in the name of "motherland and faith", as well as intended to
"teach a lesson to all enemies of Islam."

The representatives of Turkish Protestants publicly called the
oppression of Christians, which has recently become even more violent,
"a hunt for witch in the manner of the Middle Ages." According to
the member of the International Catholic Organization Michael Rag,
people not hiding their Christian creed in Turkey "are in the center of
attention of extremists, and Hrant Dink’s murder is the most evident
proof of the above mentioned." Ragg also points at the conditions
the only Catholic priest of the country has to live and work in
Turkey. After the attempted murder of the priest two years ago,
he doesn’t leave home without guards. Another catholic clergyman in
the beginning of last year was shot dead, when the protests against
publication of the caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in the western
media were in full swing.

Terrible murders in Malatya demonstrated the brutality the fanatics
are capable of. The radical nationalists openly call the Christians
the enemies of the country, and the attacks on them have recently
become even more violent, some of them having deadly outcomes. It is
a complete absurdity to think that the Christian missioners undermine
the political and religious basis of the country. Turkey’s population
is over 70 million people and only about one hundred and thousand
of it are Christians. This is just a small minority which only wants
to live its life in peace and at the same time continues to struggle
for its religious rights," writes the Mannheimer Morgen.

"PanARMENIAN.Net" analytical department