Turks accuse PM Erdogan of racism

Turks accuse PM Erdogan of racism

20.03.2010 13:41 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ More than 100 protesters took to the streets of
Istanbul Friday, accusing Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
of racism over his threat to deport illegal Armenian workers.

Between 100-150 demonstrators marched along the Istiklal Avenue, the
main commercial street on the European side of the city, carrying
banners with the inscription "You are not Alone" in Turkish, English,
Armenian and Kurdish.

"Tayyip should be deported! A world without nations, borders and
classes," chanted the demonstrators gathered at the call of a
non-governmental organization campaigning for immigrants’ rights.

A statement, distributed to the press, accused Erdogan of treating
Armenian immigrants as a pawn in Ankara’s protests against some
foreign parliament’s recognition of Armenian Genocide by Ottoman
Turks.

"We strongly condemn Erdogan… and those who share his racist and
discriminatory mentality," the statement added.

The demonstration ended peacefully, AFP reported.