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NO RED-CARPET RECEPTION: TURKISH PREMIER'S ELECTION CAMPAIGN MET WITH ROCKS IN HAMSHEN-POPULATED AREA
By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow
02.06.11 | 14:30
On Tuesday Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's election
campaign met with anti-government banners and rock-hurling
demonstrators at Hopa, a location populated by some 20,000 Hamshen
Armenians.
The clashes in which Erdogan himself was unscathed left at least
one protester dead and several people, including one of the prime
minister's bodyguards, injured.
Hamshens are Islamized Armenians, who mainly live in the Black Sea
coastal town of Hopa and nearby Borcka in Turkey's northeastern Artvin
province. Their total number in Turkey is about 50-60,000.
Prominent Hamshen community member Ismet Sahin, who had originally
been included in the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP)
list for this month's parliamentary elections, but eventually was
omitted from the party slate, says Erdogan had been warned about a
possible hostile reception in advance.
"Erdogan knew very well how he would be received here, and also in
Diyarbakir, where he went today, but he has insisted on coming... We
want to have a representative of our rights in parliament, but they
do not tolerate it, they are not ready for that yet," Sahin tells
ArmeniaNow.
Sahin says Erdogan came to Hopa with a large number of supporters who
were to attend a rally. That circumstance "even more angered local
residents who oppose his party and his policies towards minorities."
According to the Turkish Hurriyet newspaper, a group of demonstrators
in the town hung a huge banner, reading "Erdogan, get out of Hopa",
on a building overseeing the square where the prime minister would hold
his rally. They also reportedly hurled rocks at an Erdogan motorcade.
Police reportedly had to use water cannons and tear gas to disperse
the crowd, which resulted in one demonstrator collapsing. The man,
identified by Hurriyet as a retired teacher, later died in the hospital
due to a heart attack. The paper also reports that nine people were
wounded and six others were overcome by pepper gas sprayed by the
police during the clashes.
Parliamentary elections in Turkey are scheduled for June 12.
By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow
02.06.11 | 14:30
On Tuesday Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's election
campaign met with anti-government banners and rock-hurling
demonstrators at Hopa, a location populated by some 20,000 Hamshen
Armenians.
The clashes in which Erdogan himself was unscathed left at least
one protester dead and several people, including one of the prime
minister's bodyguards, injured.
Hamshens are Islamized Armenians, who mainly live in the Black Sea
coastal town of Hopa and nearby Borcka in Turkey's northeastern Artvin
province. Their total number in Turkey is about 50-60,000.
Prominent Hamshen community member Ismet Sahin, who had originally
been included in the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP)
list for this month's parliamentary elections, but eventually was
omitted from the party slate, says Erdogan had been warned about a
possible hostile reception in advance.
"Erdogan knew very well how he would be received here, and also in
Diyarbakir, where he went today, but he has insisted on coming... We
want to have a representative of our rights in parliament, but they
do not tolerate it, they are not ready for that yet," Sahin tells
ArmeniaNow.
Sahin says Erdogan came to Hopa with a large number of supporters who
were to attend a rally. That circumstance "even more angered local
residents who oppose his party and his policies towards minorities."
According to the Turkish Hurriyet newspaper, a group of demonstrators
in the town hung a huge banner, reading "Erdogan, get out of Hopa",
on a building overseeing the square where the prime minister would hold
his rally. They also reportedly hurled rocks at an Erdogan motorcade.
Police reportedly had to use water cannons and tear gas to disperse
the crowd, which resulted in one demonstrator collapsing. The man,
identified by Hurriyet as a retired teacher, later died in the hospital
due to a heart attack. The paper also reports that nine people were
wounded and six others were overcome by pepper gas sprayed by the
police during the clashes.
Parliamentary elections in Turkey are scheduled for June 12.