From: "Katia M. Peltekian" <[email protected]>
Subject: ANKARA: Discriminatory Words Of Ministry Of Defense Arouse Reactions
BIA, Turkey
Nov 15 2008
Discriminatory Words Of The Ministry Of Defense Arouse Reactions
The Organization of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed People
(MAZLUMDER) takes Minister of Defense Vecdi Gönül to
court for his words that justify ethnic discrimination.
Bia news center – Ankara-istanbul
14-11-2008
The Organization of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed People
(MAZLUMDER), filed a criminal complaint against Ministry of Defense
Vecdi Gönül, accusing him of discrimination.
In the complaint, the association said Gönül justified
the discrimination between ethnic groups and praised the
discrimination witnessed at the period of the founding of the Turkish
Republic by stating in his speech that `If there would be Greeks in
the Aegean region and Armenians in many regions in Turkey today, then
could there be today’s national state?’
MAZLUMDER claimed that Gönül violated the Turkish Penal
Code (TCK) as well as the international conventions that Turkey is
also a member, praising `the crime and the criminal.’
The Association to Research and Face the Social Events sends out an
invitation for a `maturation’ meeting Cafer Olgun of the Association
to Research and Face the Social Events has invited Gönül
to a meeting of facing the past events held in the organization.
In the text handed out to the public, Olgun says `they do not want to
hide their feelings of regret’, asking the following questions.
`Did you think how much you offended our Armenian and Greek citizens
who live in this country and everyone with a good sense, when you
emphasized that the `state’ and the `nation’ came into existence
through forced migration, disciplining and forced exchange of
populations? What have you understood from the critics and reactions?
Have you thought of apologizing and resigning?’
While wishing that Gönül should see this meeting as an
opportunity to develop himself democratically, he said that he should
realize that the position he occupies should also come with the
responsibility of rendering account of his deeds to the civil
society.’ (TK/TB)
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
