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NATIONAL MINORITIES FACE INCREASING DISCRIMINATION IN TURKEY: REPORT
March 21, 2014 - 19:07 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Despite March 21 being both the UN-designated
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and
the start of the Nevruz festival, which marks the first day of spring
and has been celebrated by people from diverse ethnic communities and
religious backgrounds for thousands of years, some prominent voices
in Turkey use the occasion to say that discrimination is increasing
against those who do not practice Sunni Islam or identify as ethnic
Turks, Today's Zaman reports.
Aren, a Christian of Armenian heritage in his 30s, says that on one
occasion, when he was exercising at the gym, some people opened windows
soon after he started running and said that "the room had started to
smell like an Armenian."
Other prominent incidents of racial and religious discrimination --
such as the murder of Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist who
was killed outside his office, and three Christians who were brutally
murdered at the Zirve publishing house in Malatya -- reveal that
intolerance can be deadly.
On paper, Turkey has taken significant steps to fight against
discrimination. After the long-running public debates over the
implementation of a "democracy package" -- an initiative to extend
rights to Turkey's disadvantaged minorities -- hate crime entered the
Turkish statute books for the first time in December 2013. Hate and
prejudice crimes are defined as "crimes committed against someone
or some group based on their language, race, nationality, skin
color, gender, disability, political views, philosophical beliefs or
religion." Yet, unlike the preferred definition of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), it lacks criteria
based on ethnicity and sexual orientation. In addition, the largest
ethnic minority in Turkey, the Kurds, are not specifically included
in the regulation.
Similarly, Zeynep Arslan, a representative from the Hrant Dink
Foundation who coordinates the Media Watch on Hate Speech Project, told
Today's Zaman about the project's research from the last four months
of 2013. "There has been an increase in racial, ethnic and religious
discrimination that should not be underestimated. The provocative tone
toughened in the media, criticizing the illegalization of hate crime,
especially during the Christmas season in order to target Christians,"
Arslan says. She points out that most discrimination she has uncovered
is against individuals or groups who identify as Armenian, Christian
or Jewish. "The next most serious targets of discrimination are Kurds
and Westerners," Arslan claims.
She also mentions that popular political discourse which makes
headlines also results in the increase of hate speech and
discrimination.
Turkey hosts both religious and ethnic minorities, ranging from ethnic
groups like Armenians, Jews and Kurds to religious groups like Alevis,
Shiite Muslims and Eastern Orthodox Christians. CIA World Factbook
statistics claim that an estimated 25-30 percent of the Turkish
population belong to an ethnic minority, while 25.7 percent adhere to
a minority religion, including large numbers of Alevis, a non-Sunni
Muslim group combining Anatolian folk Shiite Islam with Sufi elements.
http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/177120/National_minorities_face_increasing_discrimination _in_Turkey_report
http://todayszaman.com/news-342607-minority-groups-face-increasing-discrimination-in-turkey.html
March 21, 2014 - 19:07 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Despite March 21 being both the UN-designated
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and
the start of the Nevruz festival, which marks the first day of spring
and has been celebrated by people from diverse ethnic communities and
religious backgrounds for thousands of years, some prominent voices
in Turkey use the occasion to say that discrimination is increasing
against those who do not practice Sunni Islam or identify as ethnic
Turks, Today's Zaman reports.
Aren, a Christian of Armenian heritage in his 30s, says that on one
occasion, when he was exercising at the gym, some people opened windows
soon after he started running and said that "the room had started to
smell like an Armenian."
Other prominent incidents of racial and religious discrimination --
such as the murder of Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist who
was killed outside his office, and three Christians who were brutally
murdered at the Zirve publishing house in Malatya -- reveal that
intolerance can be deadly.
On paper, Turkey has taken significant steps to fight against
discrimination. After the long-running public debates over the
implementation of a "democracy package" -- an initiative to extend
rights to Turkey's disadvantaged minorities -- hate crime entered the
Turkish statute books for the first time in December 2013. Hate and
prejudice crimes are defined as "crimes committed against someone
or some group based on their language, race, nationality, skin
color, gender, disability, political views, philosophical beliefs or
religion." Yet, unlike the preferred definition of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), it lacks criteria
based on ethnicity and sexual orientation. In addition, the largest
ethnic minority in Turkey, the Kurds, are not specifically included
in the regulation.
Similarly, Zeynep Arslan, a representative from the Hrant Dink
Foundation who coordinates the Media Watch on Hate Speech Project, told
Today's Zaman about the project's research from the last four months
of 2013. "There has been an increase in racial, ethnic and religious
discrimination that should not be underestimated. The provocative tone
toughened in the media, criticizing the illegalization of hate crime,
especially during the Christmas season in order to target Christians,"
Arslan says. She points out that most discrimination she has uncovered
is against individuals or groups who identify as Armenian, Christian
or Jewish. "The next most serious targets of discrimination are Kurds
and Westerners," Arslan claims.
She also mentions that popular political discourse which makes
headlines also results in the increase of hate speech and
discrimination.
Turkey hosts both religious and ethnic minorities, ranging from ethnic
groups like Armenians, Jews and Kurds to religious groups like Alevis,
Shiite Muslims and Eastern Orthodox Christians. CIA World Factbook
statistics claim that an estimated 25-30 percent of the Turkish
population belong to an ethnic minority, while 25.7 percent adhere to
a minority religion, including large numbers of Alevis, a non-Sunni
Muslim group combining Anatolian folk Shiite Islam with Sufi elements.
http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/177120/National_minorities_face_increasing_discrimination _in_Turkey_report
http://todayszaman.com/news-342607-minority-groups-face-increasing-discrimination-in-turkey.html