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TURKISH HYPOCRISY IN HOLOCAUST WARNING
Postmedia Breaking News
April 17, 2013 Wednesday
Considering the source - and the history - this is rich.
Late last week, Turkish President Gul warned that European face a
new Holocaust if they aren't more tolerant of non-Europeans. He was,
undoubtedly, referring to Muslims.
"Islam and migrants have been a reality in Europe for centuries. As
long as the continent of Europe doesn't approach segments which are
different from the majority with tolerance, particularly in regards
to religion, an occurrence of new inquisitions and Holocausts, as
well as incidents evoking Srebrenica, are probable," he said.
Turkish president Abdullah Gul (right) with Russian prime minister
Dmitry Medvedev. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
According to the Hurriyet Daily News, Gul's remarks were included
in a speech he delivered an international symposium on "Migration,
Islam and Multiculturality in Europe." He reportedly said racism
and a lack of tolerance of different cultures and lifestyles are
"chronic diseases" in Western societies.
"When politics begins 'otherizing' a segment, then we see the
alienation of migrants and minorities from the country in which
they live and from the society in which they live as an inevitable
consequence. As seen in countless examples in history, countries
which have been able to perpetuate societal and cultural diversity
in unity and harmony have stood out in history.
"Correspondingly, countries which have exerted efforts to either
destroy or put pressure on societal and cultural diversity due
to different fears have first of all lost their human richness;
subsequently, they have experienced a loss of economic and political
power," the president said.
He then goes on to praise multiculturalism, implying, of course,
that Turkey is just such a tolerant multicultural place.
This would be funny if it were so deliberately ignorant. Turkey may
be ethnically diverse, but the claim of tolerance is sheer hypocrisy.
To be sure, Europe has a dark history of anti-Semitism and racism,
but it was the Turks of the Ottoman Empire who gave the world the
first genocide of the 20th century.
In 1915, the Turkish government slaughtered hundreds of thousands of
Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks. The Armenian genocide is the most
infamous, but thousands of Greeks who could trace their presence in
Anatolia to antiquity, were expelled from their homeland.
Even today in Turkey, the country's minorities - Kurds, Armenians,
Alevis, etc. - still suffer widespread discrimination. Jews, too, are
the targets of Turkish hostility, particularly since much exaggerated
(by Turkey) Mavi Marmara incident in 2010.
Turkey's Jewish community, which numbered nearly 100,000 in the early
decades of the last century, is now about 20,000, and even this small
number continues to be harassed, especially since the fundamentalist
Islamic government Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power.
Erdogan has questioned the "dual loyalty" of Turkish Jews.
You have to wonder which "victims" the Turkish president has in mind
for the next Holocaust. If Gul wished to obtain some credibility for
his "Holocaust" remarks, he should have at least acknowledged his
own country's sorry contributions to history.
Related articles
Turkey Warns Europe Of New "Holocaust" If They Don't Accept Islam.
(themuslimissue.wordpress.com)
Postmedia Breaking News
April 17, 2013 Wednesday
Considering the source - and the history - this is rich.
Late last week, Turkish President Gul warned that European face a
new Holocaust if they aren't more tolerant of non-Europeans. He was,
undoubtedly, referring to Muslims.
"Islam and migrants have been a reality in Europe for centuries. As
long as the continent of Europe doesn't approach segments which are
different from the majority with tolerance, particularly in regards
to religion, an occurrence of new inquisitions and Holocausts, as
well as incidents evoking Srebrenica, are probable," he said.
Turkish president Abdullah Gul (right) with Russian prime minister
Dmitry Medvedev. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
According to the Hurriyet Daily News, Gul's remarks were included
in a speech he delivered an international symposium on "Migration,
Islam and Multiculturality in Europe." He reportedly said racism
and a lack of tolerance of different cultures and lifestyles are
"chronic diseases" in Western societies.
"When politics begins 'otherizing' a segment, then we see the
alienation of migrants and minorities from the country in which
they live and from the society in which they live as an inevitable
consequence. As seen in countless examples in history, countries
which have been able to perpetuate societal and cultural diversity
in unity and harmony have stood out in history.
"Correspondingly, countries which have exerted efforts to either
destroy or put pressure on societal and cultural diversity due
to different fears have first of all lost their human richness;
subsequently, they have experienced a loss of economic and political
power," the president said.
He then goes on to praise multiculturalism, implying, of course,
that Turkey is just such a tolerant multicultural place.
This would be funny if it were so deliberately ignorant. Turkey may
be ethnically diverse, but the claim of tolerance is sheer hypocrisy.
To be sure, Europe has a dark history of anti-Semitism and racism,
but it was the Turks of the Ottoman Empire who gave the world the
first genocide of the 20th century.
In 1915, the Turkish government slaughtered hundreds of thousands of
Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks. The Armenian genocide is the most
infamous, but thousands of Greeks who could trace their presence in
Anatolia to antiquity, were expelled from their homeland.
Even today in Turkey, the country's minorities - Kurds, Armenians,
Alevis, etc. - still suffer widespread discrimination. Jews, too, are
the targets of Turkish hostility, particularly since much exaggerated
(by Turkey) Mavi Marmara incident in 2010.
Turkey's Jewish community, which numbered nearly 100,000 in the early
decades of the last century, is now about 20,000, and even this small
number continues to be harassed, especially since the fundamentalist
Islamic government Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power.
Erdogan has questioned the "dual loyalty" of Turkish Jews.
You have to wonder which "victims" the Turkish president has in mind
for the next Holocaust. If Gul wished to obtain some credibility for
his "Holocaust" remarks, he should have at least acknowledged his
own country's sorry contributions to history.
Related articles
Turkey Warns Europe Of New "Holocaust" If They Don't Accept Islam.
(themuslimissue.wordpress.com)