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PM PLEDGES TO ELIMINATE "MINORITY" CONCEPT IN SOCIAL LIFE
Hurriyet Daily news, Turkey
Feb 12 2015
ANKARA
The Turkish government is determined to eliminate the phrase "minority"
in social life, regardless of whether it exists in international legal
documents, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said at a gathering
with opinion leaders from the country's non-Muslim minorities.
"I consider this table to be a conversation circle around which not
only the new Turkey but also the new Balkans, the new Middle East
and the new Caucasus will be built together," Davutoglu said in his
speech at the dinner he hosted late on Feb. 11.
"Whoever makes a distinction between 'primary' and 'second-class'
citizens merely on the basis of the concept of being a religious
minority, then that person is putting dynamite in the foundations of
that state," he added.
"As I had told the religious leaders who I gathered at Dolmabahce,
we are determined to eliminate the minority concept in social life,
though it may exist in some international legal documents such as
the Treaty of Lausanne," he added, referring to the Lausanne Treaty,
in which the newly born Republic of Turkey defined its minorities and
their rights. On Jan. 2, Davutoglu had met with non-Muslim religious
leaders at the Prime Ministry's office in the historic Dolmabahce
Palace in Istanbul.
However, before hosting non-Muslim leaders in Ankara on Feb. 11,
Davutoglu gave an interview to public broadcaster TRT Haber.
In the interview, broadcast live, Davutoglu criticized U.S.-based
Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen for collaborating with certain circles,
including "anti-Islam lobbies," in the run-up to the centennial
anniversary of the 1915 massacres of Ottoman Armenians in Anatolia,
which many say amounted to genocide.
Davutoglu also slammed main opposition Republican People's Party
(CHP) leader Kemal Kılıcdaroglu for calling on people to take to
the streets against "authoritarianism" that he said is present in
the country.
"He [Kılıcdaroglu] says he will defend the rights of those who wear
masks [during demonstrations]. He uses expressions that indicate that
he will also defend the rights of those who throw Molotov cocktails.
At the same time, the head of the parallel structure is in the New
York Times," he said in an unfinished sentence, referring to the New
York Times' publishing of an editorial penned by Gulen on Feb. 3 that
was full of criticism against the government, including on the issue
of minorities' rights.
"An individual who is viewed with very great respect by a segment of
this country, or a movement that is regarded with respect, would he
pen an article in a way that would mobilize anti-Turkey lobbies and
anti-Islam lobbies in America, at a time when the country is passing
through the most critical thresholds?" Davutoglu asked.
"It is like you are attempting 'whistleblowing' only two months before
April 24, when people are trying to mobilize all of the American
lobbies," he said, referring to the tradition date on which the 1915
events are commemorated by Armenians.
"When we are considering what kind of measures we would take against
an attack on Turkey in the 100th anniversary, you published an article
provoking and encouraging aggressors," the prime minister added.
February/12/2015
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pm-pledges-to-eliminate-minority-concept-in-social-life.aspx?pageID=238&nid=78292&NewsCatID=338
From: A. Papazian
Hurriyet Daily news, Turkey
Feb 12 2015
ANKARA
The Turkish government is determined to eliminate the phrase "minority"
in social life, regardless of whether it exists in international legal
documents, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said at a gathering
with opinion leaders from the country's non-Muslim minorities.
"I consider this table to be a conversation circle around which not
only the new Turkey but also the new Balkans, the new Middle East
and the new Caucasus will be built together," Davutoglu said in his
speech at the dinner he hosted late on Feb. 11.
"Whoever makes a distinction between 'primary' and 'second-class'
citizens merely on the basis of the concept of being a religious
minority, then that person is putting dynamite in the foundations of
that state," he added.
"As I had told the religious leaders who I gathered at Dolmabahce,
we are determined to eliminate the minority concept in social life,
though it may exist in some international legal documents such as
the Treaty of Lausanne," he added, referring to the Lausanne Treaty,
in which the newly born Republic of Turkey defined its minorities and
their rights. On Jan. 2, Davutoglu had met with non-Muslim religious
leaders at the Prime Ministry's office in the historic Dolmabahce
Palace in Istanbul.
However, before hosting non-Muslim leaders in Ankara on Feb. 11,
Davutoglu gave an interview to public broadcaster TRT Haber.
In the interview, broadcast live, Davutoglu criticized U.S.-based
Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen for collaborating with certain circles,
including "anti-Islam lobbies," in the run-up to the centennial
anniversary of the 1915 massacres of Ottoman Armenians in Anatolia,
which many say amounted to genocide.
Davutoglu also slammed main opposition Republican People's Party
(CHP) leader Kemal Kılıcdaroglu for calling on people to take to
the streets against "authoritarianism" that he said is present in
the country.
"He [Kılıcdaroglu] says he will defend the rights of those who wear
masks [during demonstrations]. He uses expressions that indicate that
he will also defend the rights of those who throw Molotov cocktails.
At the same time, the head of the parallel structure is in the New
York Times," he said in an unfinished sentence, referring to the New
York Times' publishing of an editorial penned by Gulen on Feb. 3 that
was full of criticism against the government, including on the issue
of minorities' rights.
"An individual who is viewed with very great respect by a segment of
this country, or a movement that is regarded with respect, would he
pen an article in a way that would mobilize anti-Turkey lobbies and
anti-Islam lobbies in America, at a time when the country is passing
through the most critical thresholds?" Davutoglu asked.
"It is like you are attempting 'whistleblowing' only two months before
April 24, when people are trying to mobilize all of the American
lobbies," he said, referring to the tradition date on which the 1915
events are commemorated by Armenians.
"When we are considering what kind of measures we would take against
an attack on Turkey in the 100th anniversary, you published an article
provoking and encouraging aggressors," the prime minister added.
February/12/2015
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pm-pledges-to-eliminate-minority-concept-in-social-life.aspx?pageID=238&nid=78292&NewsCatID=338
From: A. Papazian