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'MINORITY GROUPS FACE INCREASING DISCRIMINATION IN TURKEY'
Today's Zaman (Turkey)
March 20, 2014 Thursday
by MELTEM NAZ KASO
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
have used the occasion to tell Today's Zaman that discrimination is
increasing against those who do not practice Sunni Islam or identify
as ethnic Turks.
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." Another man of Aren's age referred to a
dumbbell as being "as heavy as an unbeliever's dead body." He tells
Today's Zaman that this is far from being the most severe incident
he has experienced in Turkey in terms of discrimination due to
his ethnicity and religion. He could well be right. 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.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) issued a
public declaration in January 2014 to draw attention to these gaps
in Turkey's hate crime legislation. So far, no subsequent changes
have taken place.
Erdal Dogan, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the
Zirve murder case, thinks that the problem of ethnic and racial
discrimination is deeply rooted in Turkey and will not be resolved
soon. "Since the founding of the Turkish Republic, our country had been
built according to the concept of 'oneness.' To 'Turkify' everyone,
governments normalized hate speech and did not recognize ethnic or
religious differences," Dogan tells Today's Zaman. According to the
lawyer, the goal of such policies was to label as an enemy all those
who were not Sunni Muslim Turks.
Dogan is of the opinion that legal amendments to criminalize
discrimination are ineffective due to the lack of emphasis on
constitutional equality. "The [Justice and Development Party] AK Party
government has underdelivered with the democracy package," he says. He
thinks that political leaders -- regardless of the political party
they adhere to -- are not sincerely dedicated to fighting against
discrimination and hate crimes. "They [politicians] have resisted
[drives to outlaw discrimination]."
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.
From: Baghdasarian
Today's Zaman (Turkey)
March 20, 2014 Thursday
by MELTEM NAZ KASO
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
have used the occasion to tell Today's Zaman that discrimination is
increasing against those who do not practice Sunni Islam or identify
as ethnic Turks.
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." Another man of Aren's age referred to a
dumbbell as being "as heavy as an unbeliever's dead body." He tells
Today's Zaman that this is far from being the most severe incident
he has experienced in Turkey in terms of discrimination due to
his ethnicity and religion. He could well be right. 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.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) issued a
public declaration in January 2014 to draw attention to these gaps
in Turkey's hate crime legislation. So far, no subsequent changes
have taken place.
Erdal Dogan, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the
Zirve murder case, thinks that the problem of ethnic and racial
discrimination is deeply rooted in Turkey and will not be resolved
soon. "Since the founding of the Turkish Republic, our country had been
built according to the concept of 'oneness.' To 'Turkify' everyone,
governments normalized hate speech and did not recognize ethnic or
religious differences," Dogan tells Today's Zaman. According to the
lawyer, the goal of such policies was to label as an enemy all those
who were not Sunni Muslim Turks.
Dogan is of the opinion that legal amendments to criminalize
discrimination are ineffective due to the lack of emphasis on
constitutional equality. "The [Justice and Development Party] AK Party
government has underdelivered with the democracy package," he says. He
thinks that political leaders -- regardless of the political party
they adhere to -- are not sincerely dedicated to fighting against
discrimination and hate crimes. "They [politicians] have resisted
[drives to outlaw discrimination]."
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.
From: Baghdasarian