MAYOR SAYS BEING CALLED ARMENIAN ‘DISGUSTING’
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 26 2015
ORHAN KEMAL CENGÃZ
Melih Gokcek, the mayor of Ankara and a member of the ruling Justice
and Development Party (AK Party), sent a Twitter message to Cem
Ozdemir, a German deputy of Turkish descent for the Green Party,
asking Ozdemir if he is of Armenian descent.
I do not know what prompted Gokcek to send such a message, but he is
known for his nationalist and discriminatory attitudes. Therefore,
it is no surprise seeing such a message from him.
Anyway, upon this provocative message, Hayko Baðdat, a Turkish
intellectual of Armenian descent, apparently wanted to put a mirror in
front of Gokcek. He wrote an open Twitter message to Gokcek, saying:
“It is official, they gave the capital to an Armenian. What a shame!”
Baðdat also added the hashtag “melihgokcekermeniymiþ” (Melih Gokcek
turned out to be Armenian) to this message.
What happened after all these tweets and countertweets is quite unique
to Turkey. Gokcek sued Baðdat for insulting him. In the petition he
said he was insulted by being called “Armenian.”
“Using a word in the sense of disgust toward someone so loved and
honored by the people is a serious violation of my client’s personal
rights and a great disrespect against anyone who has voted for,
supports, loves and honors my client,” the statement by Gokcek’s
attorney reads.
Is this a racist accident in which the mayor and his lawyer revealed
their mindset, or a political game in which the mayor is trying to
attract international attention and preparing to present himself as
victim to the nationalist segments of this society?
Whatever the motivation, these cheap racist remarks and this show are
hard to imagine in a democratic society. Turks, for example, should try
to imagine the mayor of Berlin or New York using the word “Turk” in the
sense the mayor’s lawyer referred to in his petition. I guess, in this
case, everyone would be keenly aware of the bitter taste of racism.
However, when such racist remarks are used against Armenians in Turkey,
we will not witness mass demonstrations nor will we see his voters
calling on the mayor to resign.
Quite historically, these racist words were uttered by the mayor
of the capital when the anniversary of Armenian genocide, April 24,
is approaching.
What would more clearly show Turkey’s need to confront its past than
these racist words? Could anyone in a country in which past atrocities
are fully faced utter such racist words? His racist remarks force us
to reflect upon the importance of facing past atrocities.