Can Turkey Learn Tolerance?

[TomServo]

Re: Can Turkey Learn Tolerance?

Have you seen Michael Winterbottom's film In This World? It is about Afghan refugees who attempt to illegally migrate to London, starting from a refugee camp at Peshawar. During the journey, they cross into Turkey. I remember them making a stop at some eatery, and there was Turkish pop music playing in the background. It was bizarre to see the Afghans in such a "secular" setting.

[Alexandros]

Re: Can Turkey Learn Tolerance?


Every morning since 1933, Turkish students have had to repeat the national pledge of allegiance, in which they say, "I offer my existence to the Turkish nation as a gift."


Demilitarization of education has begun, but still has a long way to go

21 April 2009, Tuesday

AYŞE KARABAT ANKARA

“I am a Turk, I am honest, I am a hard worker and my principle is to love the elderly, protect those younger than me and love my country more than myself.” These are the first words of the Turkish pledge of allegiance.

Every morning since 1933, Turkish primary school students have had to repeat the national pledge of allegiance (Andımız), in which they say, “I offer my existence to the Turkish nation as a gift.” But this week the Human Rights Association (İHD), on the occasion of April 23, when Turkey celebrates National Sovereignty and Children’s Day, is planning to appeal to the Ministry of Education with a petition for this pledge of allegiance to be abolished.

“Such a militaristic and discriminatory approach in education can be seen only in totalitarian regimes. We will appeal to the Ministry of Education for its abolishment. If the ministry refuses to do that, we will open a court case in the administrative court. If we cannot get any results there, we will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights,” İHD Chairman Öztürk Türkdoğan said.

He recalled that last week the Ministry of Education amended a regulation under which children were organized into military-style ranks with military titles. Öztürk said such a move is welcomed, but definitely not sufficient.

The regulation, which was issued in the year 1965, ordered students to participate in official ceremonies in military style. Students had to march and form groups under the name of “squads.” Their teachers were called “commanders.”

Zübeyde Kılıç, head of the Education Personnel Union (Eğitim-Sen), said teachers welcomed the amendment, but that school curriculum remains full of militaristic, discriminatory and nationalist material.

“Education aims at development and improvement. In order to reach this aim, students have to feel themselves free. But these militaristic regulations and the pledge of allegiance, which has to be said every day, are against the sprit of education,” she said.

She added that if primary school students are learning such terms as “squad” and “commander” and being organized into military-style units they will absorb this militarism and, when they grow up, they will think that it is normal.

“The same thing is also true for the pledge of allegiance. In our schools there are different students coming from different ethnic and religious backgrounds. But such a pledge of allegiance from the very beginning brings discrimination. All the militaristic, discriminatory, nationalist and religious approaches should be cleansed from education,” she underlined.

A recent report entitled “Human Rights in School Books,” the result of a collaborative effort between the History Foundation and the Turkish Human Rights Foundation (TİHV) involving a survey of 139 textbooks, found that the books contained many militaristic, nationalist, racist and gender-biased sections. Only 11 books were found to be unproblematic.

The project found that the books did not develop critical perspectives and were problematic in terms of creating an “us versus them” mentality and not promoting peaceful values. The project suggested that Turkish school curriculum should be reviewed according to the international agreements that Turkey has signed and that the “National Security Class,” in which children are instructed by military personnel, should be abolished.

Link

[Eddo211]

Re: Can Turkey Learn Tolerance?

Turkish father sues the Education ministry for forcing his 11 year old daughter to watch racist and disturbing anti-Armenian tapes.

…………..“My daughter was very disturbed and frightened by the documentary and kept asking me if the Armenians had cut us up,” said Dr. Kaya who is suing the ministry and the child’s school for “inciting racial hatred.”
“There are many mass graves, bones and skulls in the DVD. They have interviewed old granddads who inspire confidence and compassion. When they say things like ‘They cut off his head’ and ‘they used it instead of firewood’, that is bound to stay with the children,” Serdar Degirmencioglu, a psychologist, told the Armenian newspaper Agos when news first broke that the documentary was being shown to primary school children - including ethnic Armenians in Turkey.

“You go and kill more than a million Armenians, wipe the traces of Armenians from Anatolia, grab their property, and then show children videos about ‘What the Armenians did to us’ … We are cutting these children off from the rest of the world,” said Ahmet Altan, editor of the independent newspaper Taraf. Altan is one of Turkey’s brightest writers. He has published several novels and essays which brought him fame and independence………………….

http://www.turkishforum.com.tr/en/content/2009/03/06/turkey-gets-taste-of-its-poisonous-anti-armenian-policies/

[hrai]

Re: Can Turkey Learn Tolerance?

Turkish father sues the Education ministry for forcing his 11 year old daughter to watch racist and disturbing anti-Armenian tapes.

…………..“My daughter was very disturbed and frightened by the documentary and kept asking me if the Armenians had cut us up,” said Dr. Kaya who is suing the ministry and the child’s school for “inciting racial hatred.”
“There are many mass graves, bones and skulls in the DVD. They have interviewed old granddads who inspire confidence and compassion. When they say things like ‘They cut off his head’ and ‘they used it instead of firewood’, that is bound to stay with the children,” Serdar Degirmencioglu, a psychologist, told the Armenian newspaper Agos when news first broke that the documentary was being shown to primary school children - including ethnic Armenians in Turkey.

“You go and kill more than a million Armenians, wipe the traces of Armenians from Anatolia, grab their property, and then show children videos about ‘What the Armenians did to us’ … We are cutting these children off from the rest of the world,” said Ahmet Altan, editor of the independent newspaper Taraf. Altan is one of Turkey’s brightest writers. He has published several novels and essays which brought him fame and independence………………….

http://www.turkishforum.com.tr/en/co...nian-policies/

This DVD shows turcey's intent to develop future generations of turcs with an inbuilt hatred of Armenians using tactics similar to the "blood lust" allegations against the yoods.

[KanadaHye]

Re: Can Turkey Learn Tolerance?

Awww, did I touch a raw nerve. Are you just gullable, or did I perhaps remind you about the blatant lies that you and your relatives told to con your way across Europe and into America?

Oh yeah, because we willingly left our wealthy and cultured homeland to seek a better life.

[Pedro Xaramillo]

Re: Can Turkey Learn Tolerance?

That was a very rude and insensitive thing to say Bell, do you get some twisted and callous pleasure from saying such things oh imperfect speaker

[Gavur]

Re: Can Turkey Learn Tolerance?

It is based on reciprocity

This thread is talking about if Turkey can learn tolerance against its own preople, where reciprocity is an unnatural activity.

[Eddo211]

Re: Can Turkey Learn Tolerance?

That was a very rude and insensitive thing to say Bell, do you get some twisted and callous pleasure from saying such things oh imperfect speaker

You know what it is amigo, Bells here gets a kick and of irritating Armenians (He is actually good at it) after a catnap but in all reality he is a pusycat and oh yea, I almost forgot………..a half ass historian? I know he is a critique.

Hey Bells, good luck trying to trap a Hunter.

[Pazooki]

Re: Can Turkey Learn Tolerance?

Awww, did I touch a raw nerve. Are you just gullable, or did I perhaps remind you about the blatant lies that you and your relatives told to con your way across Europe and into America?

Mongol want a banana?

[egeli]

Re: Can Turkey Learn Tolerance?

Mongol want a banana?

I don't understand, so are Turks Mongols? And are Mongol's nothing but monkeys?

You are disgusting filth, and it has absolutely nothing to do with you being Armenian.