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PM ERDOGAN COMPLAINS OF BEING CALLED 'EVEN UGLIER THINGS, ARMENIAN'
Journal of Turkish Weekly
Aug 6 2014
6 August 2014
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan has sparked a fresh debate while
trying to defend himself for labeling his opponents according to
their minority religious or ethnic identity.
"They have also said a lot of things about me. One of them came and
said I was a Georgian. Then another came up and, I beg your pardon,
called me uglier things, saying I was Armenian," Erdoðan said during
a live interview on Aug. 5, adding that he was a purebred Turk.
"What I have learned from my grandfather, my father and all of them
is that I am Turkish. That's it," he said in remarks that have caused
great controversy.
The Turkish prime minister has repeated several times during his
campaign that main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader
Kemal Kýlýcdaroðlu is an Alevi, Peoples' Democratic Party's (HDP)
candidate Selahattin Demirtaþ is a Zaza-origin Kurd, and the CHP and
other parties' candidate Ekmeleddin Ýhsanoðlu is "not even a native"
for being born in Egypt, albeit to Turkish parents.
During his speeches, Erdoðan has consistently reminded the nation's
populace that he is a "Sunni."
His comments triggered accusations of sectarianism, causing a backlash
on social media and prompting the left-leaning daily BirGun to bitingly
respond with the front-page headline: "Kýlýcdaroðlu is Alevi, Demirtaþ
is Zaza, Ýhsanoðlu is Egyptian and you are a thief."
But Erdoðan argued during his interview that no one should hesitate
to unveil his identity.
"Let everyone say what he is. An Alevi citizen can come to me and say,
'I am Alevi,' without any problem. Why it is considered discrimination
when Sunnis say 'I am Sunni.' Kurds could not say so for years. Can't
now my Kurdish brother say, 'I am a Kurd?' So let the Turks say,
'I am a Turk,'" Erdoðan said.
6 August 2014
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/169959/pm-erdogan-complains-of-being-called-39-even-uglier-things-armenian-39.html
From: Baghdasarian
Journal of Turkish Weekly
Aug 6 2014
6 August 2014
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan has sparked a fresh debate while
trying to defend himself for labeling his opponents according to
their minority religious or ethnic identity.
"They have also said a lot of things about me. One of them came and
said I was a Georgian. Then another came up and, I beg your pardon,
called me uglier things, saying I was Armenian," Erdoðan said during
a live interview on Aug. 5, adding that he was a purebred Turk.
"What I have learned from my grandfather, my father and all of them
is that I am Turkish. That's it," he said in remarks that have caused
great controversy.
The Turkish prime minister has repeated several times during his
campaign that main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader
Kemal Kýlýcdaroðlu is an Alevi, Peoples' Democratic Party's (HDP)
candidate Selahattin Demirtaþ is a Zaza-origin Kurd, and the CHP and
other parties' candidate Ekmeleddin Ýhsanoðlu is "not even a native"
for being born in Egypt, albeit to Turkish parents.
During his speeches, Erdoðan has consistently reminded the nation's
populace that he is a "Sunni."
His comments triggered accusations of sectarianism, causing a backlash
on social media and prompting the left-leaning daily BirGun to bitingly
respond with the front-page headline: "Kýlýcdaroðlu is Alevi, Demirtaþ
is Zaza, Ýhsanoðlu is Egyptian and you are a thief."
But Erdoðan argued during his interview that no one should hesitate
to unveil his identity.
"Let everyone say what he is. An Alevi citizen can come to me and say,
'I am Alevi,' without any problem. Why it is considered discrimination
when Sunnis say 'I am Sunni.' Kurds could not say so for years. Can't
now my Kurdish brother say, 'I am a Kurd?' So let the Turks say,
'I am a Turk,'" Erdoðan said.
6 August 2014
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/169959/pm-erdogan-complains-of-being-called-39-even-uglier-things-armenian-39.html
From: Baghdasarian