CHP UNDER FIRE FOR TOLERATING RACIST ARITMAN

Today’s Zaman
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Dec 24 2008
Turkey

The lack of any serious action from the Republican People’s Party
(CHP) administration against reckless statements made by a party
deputy about the ethnic roots of President Abdullah Gul has angered
many intellectuals and politicians.

The row started last week, when CHP İzmir deputy Canan Arıtman
harshly criticized Gul for not objecting to an apology campaign
launched by Turkish intellectuals over the killings of Anatolian
Armenians at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire in 1915,
which Armenians claim constituted genocide. Arıtman said Gul was
rubberstamping the campaign because of his ethnic origins. "We see
that the president supports this campaign. Abdullah Gul should be the
president of the entire Turkish nation, not just of those sharing his
ethnicity. Investigate the ethnic origins of the president’s mother
and you will see," she said.

In response, President Gul released a statement in which he said that
both his mother’s side and his father’s side were Muslim and Turkish,
according to centuries of genealogical records. Gul also filed a
lawsuit against Arıtman.

Gul’s statement, however, fell short of stopping Arıtman from
stepping up her criticisms. The CHP deputy subsequently said Gul should
prove his Turkish origins through DNA tests. Arıtman’s incessant and
reckless statements about Gul’s ethnic roots have drawn harsh reactions
from the Turkish society, with many accusing the CHP deputy of acting
like a fascist politician. Many intellectuals and politicians, however,
have directed their criticism at the CHP administration for failing
to impose any sanctions on Arıtman to stop her from making any other
racist statements.

"Arıtman’s statements about President Gul are no different from
those of a racist. She is explicitly saying that being Armenian is a
fault. Such a statement necessitates moral and political sanctions,
as well as legal ones. The CHP administration reacted to Arıtman’s
statements, but this reaction was not strong enough to stop her. What
the CHP administration should do is take action and make Arıtman
stop talking about sensitive issues through an intra-party sanction,"
said Ali Bayramoglu, a columnist for the Yeni Å~^afak daily and also
one of the supporters of the apology campaign.

The CHP administration issued a warning to Arıtman earlier this week
after she appeared on two TV programs to discuss her remarks about
Gul’s ethnic roots. Party leader Deniz Baykal asked Arıtman not to
make any other statements to the press without the CHP administration’s
permission.

Ä°hsan Dagı, a professor at the Middle East Technical University’s
(ODTU) international relations department, pointed to increasing
racism among secularist segments of Turkish society as the origin
of Arıtman’s remarks. "The CHP deputy shows us all the extent to
which the trend of racism has expanded among secularists. Arıtman
is a female deputy from Ä°zmir, known as Turkey’s oldest cosmopolitan
city. Given the fact that she is a woman coming from Ä°zmir, I would
have expected her to act in a more reconciliatory manner on such
issues," Dagı said.

Yıldıray Ogur, a columnist for the Taraf daily, called on CHP
officials to immediately expel the reckless politician from the
party. "I am not sure if the CHP dares do such a thing. What is more
fearsome in the debate over Gul’s ethnicity is that a so-called modern
female politician is acting like a fascist," he argued.

Ogur is not the only Turkish intellectual to ask the CHP administration
to expel Arıtman from its ranks. Hasan Bulent Kahraman, from the Sabah
daily, wrote in one of his columns earlier this week that what Arıtman
had said about President Gul is could not be accepted by any decent
democratic organization, let alone a social democratic political party.

"Social democracy does not question ethnic identity. Unfortunately,
we don’t have such an understanding of social democracy. For now,
let’s just put aside the question of what kind of harmony could emerge
between neo-nationalism and social democracy, because Arıtman’s
approach is beyond that question and is related to an issue of ethnic
origins in the real sense. Arıtman is a racist. What place can racism
and questioning ethnic origins have in social democracy?" Kahraman
wrote.

Milliyet’s Semih Ä°diz criticized CHP leader Deniz Baykal for falling
short of strongly criticizing Arıtman. "Baykal’s attitude, although
he had said people’s ethnicities and religious beliefs were not
important to him, undoubtedly pleased Arıtman. Or else she should
have been immediately expelled from the party, which claims to be a
social democratic party," Ä°diz remarked.

Politicians object to Arıtman’s racist stance

Several politicians from diverse ideological backgrounds have expressed
disapproval of Arıtman’s statements, saying the Turkish nation would
not agree with such a racist discourse.

Two deputies from the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP),
Sırrı Sakık and Å~^erafettin Halis, said labeling people based on
their ethnicities is unacceptable. "It was a similar stance that led
German dictator Adolf Hitler to burn thousands of people of Jewish
origin. Arıtman sees Armenians as enemies. The CHP should rid itself
of such beliefs," they said.

Edibe Sözen, from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party),
deemed Arıtman’s remarks "disrespectful." "Politics is an art of
discourse. Hers is not a discourse that can be appreciated," she said.

Arıtman drew the ire of CHP politicians, as well, with many
stressing that they don’t share her ideas. "Arıtman made a very
wrong statement. I don’t approve of such talk of ethnicity," CHP
Chief Accountant Mustafa Ozyurek said.

CHP Adana deputy Hulusi Guvel criticized the party administration
for failing to act in the face of Arıtman’s statements. "I asked CHP
officials to take action against Arıtman. However, I don’t know what
they will do. No step has been taken against her yet. But we cannot
turn a blind eye to what she said. These remarks do not conform to
the political line of a social democratic party," he said.

Freedom and Solidarity Party (ODP) leader Ufuk Uras indicated that
it was a shame to see people engaging in politics based on ethnicity.

Democratic Left Party (DSP) Ä°zmir deputy Recai Birgun recalled
that the CHP keeps criticizing the pro-Kurdish DTP for its ethnic
politics. "There is a difference between criticizing people and
disdaining ethnic groups. I don’t think that CHP administration
will punish Arıtman, because they are not sincere in any of their
initiatives," he remarked.

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