Tweet
PM'S USAGE OF "ARMENIAN' AS SWEAR WORD ATTRACTS MORE ANGER
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Aug 7 2014
A statement by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which he
apologized before using the word "Armenian," as when one asks to be
excused before uttering a swear word, has continued to draw anger.
In televised remarks on Tuesday, Erdogan said: "Let all Turks in
Turkey say they are Turks and all Kurds say they are Kurds. What
is wrong with that? You wouldn't believe the things they have said
about me. They have said I am Georgian. ...They have said even uglier
things -- they have called me -- excuse me for saying this -- Armenian,
but I am Turkish."
The Turkish-Armenian weekly newspaper Agos on Thursday used the
headline, "May Allah forgive [Erdogan]," in reaction to the prime
minister's insults. The newspaper, which has a secular stance, also
quoted a Quranic verse: "O mankind, indeed, We have created you from
male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one
another (al-Hujurat 13)." Agos' editorial on the topic included the
question, "We wonder if the prime minister is aware of the values he
is trampling underfoot with his [anti-Armenian] words."
Erdogan has also recently made off-handed comments about the ethnicity
and religious background of his political rivals Republican People's
Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıcdaroglu and Peoples' Democratic Party
(HDP) leader and presidential candidate Selahattin DemirtaÅ~_. Erdogan
in recent remarks has said, "Kılıcdaroglu, you are an Alevi and I am
Sunni. You should state this openly. DemirtaÅ~_, you are Zaza. Don't
be worried about speaking out about this."
Agos reported that Erdogan grimaced while pronouncing the word
"Armenian." Agos commented: "We are perhaps very lucky to live in
this country. There is no place for boredom. Every second, we have the
possibility to encounter an 'even worse' version and amuse ourselves
with the unique descriptions from the pendulum of hatred deemed fit
for our share."
The newspaper also noted "The 'excuse me for saying this' phrase has
been used by Erdogan before, for Greeks on June 10, 2011, regarding
books written about Erdogan." It further said, "Erdogan said,
'All these books are [claiming] we are Jewish, Armenian, excuse my
language, Greek."
Agos noted that in Turkish, the words "excuse me for saying this,"
are usually used when one is about to cuss.
On Thursday, a group of individuals of Armenian descent held a
protest against Erdogan's statement in front of the Agos daily,
where its editor-in-chief Hrant Dink was shot in 2007. A member of
the group told the reporters there: "The reason we are here today
is the discriminatory words of the prime minister. I think he needs
the votes of the nationalists and that is why he is displaying this
discriminatory attitude."
In a related development, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) on
Thursday filed a complaint against Prime Minister Erdogan on charges of
a violation of Turkish Penal Code (TCK) Article 216, which criminalizes
publicly degrading a segment of society on the basis of class, race,
religion, denomination, gender or regional differences.
The HDP's complaint follows a similar complaint filed by a CHP deputy
on Wednesday.
On Wednesday a group of Armenian intellectuals including Anna Turay,
Arat Dink, Aris Nalcı, Garo Paylan, Harutyun Ozer, Karin KarakaÅ~_lı,
Kenan Yenice, Hayko Bagdat, Nazar Binatlı, Nazar Buyum, Ohannes
Kılıcdagı, Rober KoptaÅ~_, Sebu Aslangil, Å~^ake Yalcın, Tatyos
Bebek and Yetvart Danzikyan also published a joint text, entitled "We
are beautiful." The text said the signatories "never praised any racist
who was among them as their representative and never saw "Turkishness"
(or Kurdishness, or Islam) as the reason behind our oppression."
One exception was Markar Esayan, a Yeni Å~^afak writer of Armenian
descent known for his unconditional support for the Justice and
Development Party (AK Party) government. Esayan in his column in the
daily said: "We are Armenians, and no worries, we can tell a real
racist by looking them in the eye. As a citizen of Turkey who has
supported the AK Party for 12 years I will vote for Erdogan again
this Sunday for a New Turkey."
Esayan claimed that Erdogan used the word "ugly" to avoid using the
word "spawn." He admitted that the prime minister's statement was
partially problematic, but he praised Erdogan for having closed the
century of the Unionist racist state tradition of Turkey, a reference
to the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), which came to power in
1908 after a coup and who are seen as the predecessors of Turkey's
Kemalist founders.
https://www.todayszaman.com/national_pms-usage-of-armenian-as-swear-word-attracts-more-anger_354889.html
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Aug 7 2014
A statement by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which he
apologized before using the word "Armenian," as when one asks to be
excused before uttering a swear word, has continued to draw anger.
In televised remarks on Tuesday, Erdogan said: "Let all Turks in
Turkey say they are Turks and all Kurds say they are Kurds. What
is wrong with that? You wouldn't believe the things they have said
about me. They have said I am Georgian. ...They have said even uglier
things -- they have called me -- excuse me for saying this -- Armenian,
but I am Turkish."
The Turkish-Armenian weekly newspaper Agos on Thursday used the
headline, "May Allah forgive [Erdogan]," in reaction to the prime
minister's insults. The newspaper, which has a secular stance, also
quoted a Quranic verse: "O mankind, indeed, We have created you from
male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one
another (al-Hujurat 13)." Agos' editorial on the topic included the
question, "We wonder if the prime minister is aware of the values he
is trampling underfoot with his [anti-Armenian] words."
Erdogan has also recently made off-handed comments about the ethnicity
and religious background of his political rivals Republican People's
Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıcdaroglu and Peoples' Democratic Party
(HDP) leader and presidential candidate Selahattin DemirtaÅ~_. Erdogan
in recent remarks has said, "Kılıcdaroglu, you are an Alevi and I am
Sunni. You should state this openly. DemirtaÅ~_, you are Zaza. Don't
be worried about speaking out about this."
Agos reported that Erdogan grimaced while pronouncing the word
"Armenian." Agos commented: "We are perhaps very lucky to live in
this country. There is no place for boredom. Every second, we have the
possibility to encounter an 'even worse' version and amuse ourselves
with the unique descriptions from the pendulum of hatred deemed fit
for our share."
The newspaper also noted "The 'excuse me for saying this' phrase has
been used by Erdogan before, for Greeks on June 10, 2011, regarding
books written about Erdogan." It further said, "Erdogan said,
'All these books are [claiming] we are Jewish, Armenian, excuse my
language, Greek."
Agos noted that in Turkish, the words "excuse me for saying this,"
are usually used when one is about to cuss.
On Thursday, a group of individuals of Armenian descent held a
protest against Erdogan's statement in front of the Agos daily,
where its editor-in-chief Hrant Dink was shot in 2007. A member of
the group told the reporters there: "The reason we are here today
is the discriminatory words of the prime minister. I think he needs
the votes of the nationalists and that is why he is displaying this
discriminatory attitude."
In a related development, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) on
Thursday filed a complaint against Prime Minister Erdogan on charges of
a violation of Turkish Penal Code (TCK) Article 216, which criminalizes
publicly degrading a segment of society on the basis of class, race,
religion, denomination, gender or regional differences.
The HDP's complaint follows a similar complaint filed by a CHP deputy
on Wednesday.
On Wednesday a group of Armenian intellectuals including Anna Turay,
Arat Dink, Aris Nalcı, Garo Paylan, Harutyun Ozer, Karin KarakaÅ~_lı,
Kenan Yenice, Hayko Bagdat, Nazar Binatlı, Nazar Buyum, Ohannes
Kılıcdagı, Rober KoptaÅ~_, Sebu Aslangil, Å~^ake Yalcın, Tatyos
Bebek and Yetvart Danzikyan also published a joint text, entitled "We
are beautiful." The text said the signatories "never praised any racist
who was among them as their representative and never saw "Turkishness"
(or Kurdishness, or Islam) as the reason behind our oppression."
One exception was Markar Esayan, a Yeni Å~^afak writer of Armenian
descent known for his unconditional support for the Justice and
Development Party (AK Party) government. Esayan in his column in the
daily said: "We are Armenians, and no worries, we can tell a real
racist by looking them in the eye. As a citizen of Turkey who has
supported the AK Party for 12 years I will vote for Erdogan again
this Sunday for a New Turkey."
Esayan claimed that Erdogan used the word "ugly" to avoid using the
word "spawn." He admitted that the prime minister's statement was
partially problematic, but he praised Erdogan for having closed the
century of the Unionist racist state tradition of Turkey, a reference
to the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), which came to power in
1908 after a coup and who are seen as the predecessors of Turkey's
Kemalist founders.
https://www.todayszaman.com/national_pms-usage-of-armenian-as-swear-word-attracts-more-anger_354889.html