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ISTANBUL: Head Of Rights Commission Calls On Prosecutors To Act Agai

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  • ISTANBUL: Head Of Rights Commission Calls On Prosecutors To Act Agai

    HEAD OF RIGHTS COMMISSION CALLS ON PROSECUTORS TO ACT AGAINST RACIST SIGNS

    Today's Zaman
    Feb 28 2012
    Turkey

    The head of Parliament's Human Rights Commission, Ayhan Sefer Ustun,
    has called on the country's prosecutors to take action against
    protesters who displayed racist and discriminatory signs at a rally
    to commemorate the victims of the Khojaly massacre, which saw 600
    Azerbaijanis killed by Armenian forces in 1992.

    Many Azerbaijanis also attended the rally, held Sunday in Ä°stanbul's
    Taksim Square. Some of the protestors held signs with remarks that
    targeted Armenians. One read "You are all Armenians. You are all
    bastards," referring to the phrase "We are all Armenians," used many
    times in various rallies held in protest of the lack of action taken
    to solve the murder case of Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist
    who was assassinated in 2007.

    Ustun, speaking to journalists on Monday, said some of the slogans at
    Sunday's rally praised the murderer of Dink and were about Armenians.

    "The posters there had completely racist, discriminatory expressions
    that are hateful. We made amendments to the penal code in 2005. The
    law states the terms for those who commit overt discrimination.

    However, because prosecutors don't act on these [laws], racist and
    discriminatory expressions are still used. They want us to pass a
    law against hate crimes. Yes, we should do that. But first, we should
    apply the laws that we have."

    He also stated that the "ugly signs" held up by protestors during
    the demonstration invalidated what was being done. "Whatever is
    necessary [for justice regarding Khojaly] should be done, but that
    crowd shouldn't have used those expressions. It completely devalued
    what was being done. We always say Turkey will be a great state. It
    will embrace all colors. We always say we are striving for the ideal
    of co-existence. But it is unacceptable that such racist language is
    being used -- that other people are being insulted."

    In response to a question about what he thought of the participation
    of Interior Minister Ä°dris Naim Å~^ahin in the demonstration, who
    also made a speech while he was there, Ustun said: "This is for each
    individual to decide. I don't know if he saw those signs or not,
    so I can't really answer."

    Meanwhile, the Human Rights Association (Ä°HD) filed a criminal
    complaint on Tuesday against the organizers of Sunday's rally and
    Interior Minister Ä°dris Naim Å~^ahin for displaying "signs with racist
    and hateful content." A group of Ä°HD members who met outside the
    Caglayan Courthouse in İstanbul filed the complaint. Meral Cıldır,
    a spokesperson for the group, indicated that some Armenians in Turkey
    feel increasingly threatened. She said Å~^ahin's speech also included
    instances that could be considered racial crimes.

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