DurDe: Erdogan’s threat calls to mind the Ottoman policy of 1915

21.03.2010 17:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Initiative for "Say Stop to Racism and
Nationalism" (DurDe) of Turkey has slammed the statement, Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made on March 16, during an
official visit to London.

`The expressions suggest that the Prime Minister, who has been
infuriated by the votes of the US House of Representatives and the
Swedish Parliament regarding the Armenian Genocide, has chosen as
target the Armenian immigrants from Armenia and Georgia, who seek to
eke out a living in Turkey. Lately, these highly vulnerable migrants
have become an easy victim for politicians in Turkey. And they are
targeted even though they lack any sort of social protection and
individual security. The fact that they live under the constant risk
of expulsion from Turkey and that they are repeatedly reminded of this
threat calls to mind the Ottoman policy of 1915 to deport Armenians.
These migrants, although insignificant in view of Prime Minister’s
considerable power are apparently the only ones on which such power
could be exercised,’ the Initiative said in a declaration obtained by
PanARMENIAN.Net .

`We would like to remind the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey that:

No one leaves the soil, on which he or she is born out of pleasure;
and no one stays in a foreign country if she or he cannot find a
proper job;
Humane treatment is a universal right for everyone, also for an
Armenian illegal migrant worker;
The official ill-treatment, which these immigrants are subjected to,
is a disgraceful hate crime;
It is unacceptable that the fate of thousands of vulnerable people is
turned into a bargaining chip to counter the decisions of parliaments
in third countries;
It is obvious that these words will also implicate the Armenians of Turkey;
Finally, these expressions constitute a massive contradiction for a
Prime Minister, whose country prides itself in a global outlook and
purports to bring together civilisations, to reconcile warring
fractions everywhere and to normalize relations with Armenia.

We, the undersigned civil society organizations
Condemn this mindset that seems even today to be inclined to the idea
of deportation, and demand that the disgraceful political haggling on
the backs of defenseless immigrants is terminated immediately,’ it
said.