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Abdullah says no, sues opposition member for defaming him by claiming he is Armenian.
CHP deputy Arıtman unapologetic as Gül denies Armenian roots
President Abdullah Gül released a statement yesterday about his family's ethnic origins in response to a Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy's attempt to link the president's attitude toward a recently launched apology campaign for the Armenian killings at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire in 1915 to his ethnic roots.
As CHP deputy Canan Arıtman who claimed that President Gül's mother is of Armenian origin, continued to attack the president in an interview published in the Milliyet daily yesterday, saying that she would like to throw a shoe at the president when she sees him in the same way an Iraqi journalist last week hurled a shoe at visiting US President George W. Bush. Gül released a statement denying claims that his family has Armenian roots.
Arıtman last week attacked the apology campaign initiated by a group of intellectuals to apologize for the Armenian massacres of 1915, which Armenians claim constituted genocide. "The false scientists signing it should apologize to Turkey," she said, claiming that Gül -- because of his "ethnic origins" -- was rubberstamping the campaign. "We see that the president supports this campaign. Abdullah Gül should be the president of the entire Turkish nation, not just of those sharing his ethnicity. Investigate the ethnic origin of the president's mother and you will see."
Arıtman drew ire with her comments, with some critics accusing her of racism.
In his statement yesterday, Gül announced that his mother's side, the Satoğlu family from Kayseri, and his father's side, the Gül family also from Kayseri, are Muslim and Turkish, according to centuries of written genealogy records.
"I respect the ethnic background, different beliefs and family ties of all my citizens and see this as a reality and also the wealth of our country with its imperial history. I also would like to emphasize that all my citizens are equal to one another regardless of any differences. No one has any superiority whatsoever over another one. Everybody has the equal and same rights under the guarantee of our Constitution," the statement read. "I am proud of our country, which has reached this level of understanding."
When Gül was asked for his opinion on the campaign, he said the state's stance is to improve relations with its neighbors. "We believe dialogue to be the solution for problems we have with our neighbors. Perpetuating problems is not useful to anyone," he said.
"I would toss a shoe and draw attention to this issue," Arıtman told Milliyet. She also responded to Gül's brother Mehmet Mecit Gül, who said that the Gül and Satoğlu families (the family of Gül's mother) would be suing her. "I wouldn't recommend suing me. They would be embarrassed. There is no legal basis for such a lawsuit," she said. "If I do sue the president on charges of supporting incidents that might lead to an ethnic conflict, that would have a legal basis."
Arıtman also dismissed claims that her remarks were aimed at insulting a particular ethnicity. "The nation has got me. I don't understand why the press just wouldn't," she told Milliyet. She said she had known about Gül's alleged Armenian background for a long time, adding that she should be appreciated for not revealing the information during Gül's election campaign.
Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan, speaking to journalists at Ankara's Esenboğa Airport on Sunday before his departure for Macedonia for an official visit, said the apology campaign was unfair as it was an attempt to unilaterally convict Turkey. However, he said, Arıtman's words were "extremely improper."
"She said things that would have never been said under the oath we take in Parliament," he said. "We can never engage in a behavior such as researching each other's roots and then drawing certain conclusions from there. I would have expected to hear Arıtman agree that her expression went overboard. But I was saddened by her new statements today in newspapers confirming her earlier statement."
Speaking at a CHP congress yesterday, Arıtman responded to Gül's statement. "I never asked the president to announce his genealogical background. I just wanted him to protect his nation and state, the duty assigned to him by the Constitution."
"Why doesn't the president show the principled stance shown by the prime minister?" Arıtman asked during the congress. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reacted harshly to the statement, saying he had nothing to apologize for.
"It is wrong for the president not to demonstrate the same stance. How can a president not protect the rights and pride of his state and nation?" she asked, telling Milliyet that the campaign had worked to create the impression in the international community that Turkey had accepted the allegations of genocide.
"Armenian intellectuals posted an online thank you letter to Gül," Arıtman said. "An Azerbaijani deputy I know will translate and send it to me. They are telling Gül: 'Thank you. You have [made yourself a place] in history by being the first president to recognize the genocide.'
"How come the president -- who never remembers democracy and freedoms in Workers' Day celebrations when women on the ground are being kicked by the police -- supports those who say we committed genocide and who apologizes for that?" The CHP also reacted to Arıtman's comments on Gül's Armenian background.
CHP issues warning for Arıtman
Meanwhile, the CHP administration issued a warning for Arıtman after she appeared on two TV news shows about her allegations over Gül without the CHP administration's permission.
The warning reminded Arıtman that, according to the party bylaws, CHP deputies are supposed to inform the party administration about the TV programs they will appear on and the press statements they will make.
It said Arıtman's television appearances ran counter to the party's regulations.
Gül files suit against Arıtman
ANKARA - President Abdullah Gül filed a case for compensation yesterday against a main opposition deputy who made controversial claims about his alleged Armenian roots.
The amount sought in the claim, YTL 1, represents symbolic compensation for damages for CHPs Canan Arıtmans false allegations about his mothers ethnic origins and her public slander of his position as a statesman, reported the Anatolia news agency yesterday. The case was filed by Güls lawyer, Ömer Küçüközcan.
Ancestry accusations
In protest to Güls approach over an apology campaign launched by Turkish intellectuals about World War I-era killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, Arıtman said Gül was a secret Armenian.
"Look at his ethnic origins on his mother side," she said in controversial remarks last week that also drew a reaction from her party. Speaking to reporters at the CHPs party congress Sunday, Arıtman said she would file a counter-claim if the president opened a case against her. The CHP deputy received a written warning from her party.
Before the case was filed, Gül said the registered history of his family that had been traced back for centuries was Muslim and Turkish.
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Maybe he's hamshen. Apparently, he thinks being called Armenian is damaging to his reputation.
CHP deputy Arıtman unapologetic as Gül denies Armenian roots
President Abdullah Gül released a statement yesterday about his family's ethnic origins in response to a Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy's attempt to link the president's attitude toward a recently launched apology campaign for the Armenian killings at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire in 1915 to his ethnic roots.
As CHP deputy Canan Arıtman who claimed that President Gül's mother is of Armenian origin, continued to attack the president in an interview published in the Milliyet daily yesterday, saying that she would like to throw a shoe at the president when she sees him in the same way an Iraqi journalist last week hurled a shoe at visiting US President George W. Bush. Gül released a statement denying claims that his family has Armenian roots.
Arıtman last week attacked the apology campaign initiated by a group of intellectuals to apologize for the Armenian massacres of 1915, which Armenians claim constituted genocide. "The false scientists signing it should apologize to Turkey," she said, claiming that Gül -- because of his "ethnic origins" -- was rubberstamping the campaign. "We see that the president supports this campaign. Abdullah Gül should be the president of the entire Turkish nation, not just of those sharing his ethnicity. Investigate the ethnic origin of the president's mother and you will see."
Arıtman drew ire with her comments, with some critics accusing her of racism.
In his statement yesterday, Gül announced that his mother's side, the Satoğlu family from Kayseri, and his father's side, the Gül family also from Kayseri, are Muslim and Turkish, according to centuries of written genealogy records.
"I respect the ethnic background, different beliefs and family ties of all my citizens and see this as a reality and also the wealth of our country with its imperial history. I also would like to emphasize that all my citizens are equal to one another regardless of any differences. No one has any superiority whatsoever over another one. Everybody has the equal and same rights under the guarantee of our Constitution," the statement read. "I am proud of our country, which has reached this level of understanding."
When Gül was asked for his opinion on the campaign, he said the state's stance is to improve relations with its neighbors. "We believe dialogue to be the solution for problems we have with our neighbors. Perpetuating problems is not useful to anyone," he said.
"I would toss a shoe and draw attention to this issue," Arıtman told Milliyet. She also responded to Gül's brother Mehmet Mecit Gül, who said that the Gül and Satoğlu families (the family of Gül's mother) would be suing her. "I wouldn't recommend suing me. They would be embarrassed. There is no legal basis for such a lawsuit," she said. "If I do sue the president on charges of supporting incidents that might lead to an ethnic conflict, that would have a legal basis."
Arıtman also dismissed claims that her remarks were aimed at insulting a particular ethnicity. "The nation has got me. I don't understand why the press just wouldn't," she told Milliyet. She said she had known about Gül's alleged Armenian background for a long time, adding that she should be appreciated for not revealing the information during Gül's election campaign.
Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan, speaking to journalists at Ankara's Esenboğa Airport on Sunday before his departure for Macedonia for an official visit, said the apology campaign was unfair as it was an attempt to unilaterally convict Turkey. However, he said, Arıtman's words were "extremely improper."
"She said things that would have never been said under the oath we take in Parliament," he said. "We can never engage in a behavior such as researching each other's roots and then drawing certain conclusions from there. I would have expected to hear Arıtman agree that her expression went overboard. But I was saddened by her new statements today in newspapers confirming her earlier statement."
Speaking at a CHP congress yesterday, Arıtman responded to Gül's statement. "I never asked the president to announce his genealogical background. I just wanted him to protect his nation and state, the duty assigned to him by the Constitution."
"Why doesn't the president show the principled stance shown by the prime minister?" Arıtman asked during the congress. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reacted harshly to the statement, saying he had nothing to apologize for.
"It is wrong for the president not to demonstrate the same stance. How can a president not protect the rights and pride of his state and nation?" she asked, telling Milliyet that the campaign had worked to create the impression in the international community that Turkey had accepted the allegations of genocide.
"Armenian intellectuals posted an online thank you letter to Gül," Arıtman said. "An Azerbaijani deputy I know will translate and send it to me. They are telling Gül: 'Thank you. You have [made yourself a place] in history by being the first president to recognize the genocide.'
"How come the president -- who never remembers democracy and freedoms in Workers' Day celebrations when women on the ground are being kicked by the police -- supports those who say we committed genocide and who apologizes for that?" The CHP also reacted to Arıtman's comments on Gül's Armenian background.
CHP issues warning for Arıtman
Meanwhile, the CHP administration issued a warning for Arıtman after she appeared on two TV news shows about her allegations over Gül without the CHP administration's permission.
The warning reminded Arıtman that, according to the party bylaws, CHP deputies are supposed to inform the party administration about the TV programs they will appear on and the press statements they will make.
It said Arıtman's television appearances ran counter to the party's regulations.
Gül files suit against Arıtman
ANKARA - President Abdullah Gül filed a case for compensation yesterday against a main opposition deputy who made controversial claims about his alleged Armenian roots.
The amount sought in the claim, YTL 1, represents symbolic compensation for damages for CHPs Canan Arıtmans false allegations about his mothers ethnic origins and her public slander of his position as a statesman, reported the Anatolia news agency yesterday. The case was filed by Güls lawyer, Ömer Küçüközcan.
Ancestry accusations
In protest to Güls approach over an apology campaign launched by Turkish intellectuals about World War I-era killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, Arıtman said Gül was a secret Armenian.
"Look at his ethnic origins on his mother side," she said in controversial remarks last week that also drew a reaction from her party. Speaking to reporters at the CHPs party congress Sunday, Arıtman said she would file a counter-claim if the president opened a case against her. The CHP deputy received a written warning from her party.
Before the case was filed, Gül said the registered history of his family that had been traced back for centuries was Muslim and Turkish.
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Maybe he's hamshen. Apparently, he thinks being called Armenian is damaging to his reputation.
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