Antisemitism in the Turkish Media

[winoman]

The Middle East Media Research Institute
April 28, 2005
No. 900

The rising antisemitism in the Turkish media is a complex phenomenon
that manifests itself in several forms...

http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD90005

[TomServo]

Turks are racist? Big surprise.

[TUR-Friend]

There is no practical anti-semitism happenning in Turkey, really! There are so many Jews who live in Turkey (actually more then there are in Israel) and there's absolutely no unfriendly action towards them. Turkey and Israel cooperate economically, politically and militarily. Turkey even risks her relationship with the Arabs because of Israel, but still, the AKP government tries hard to balance the two.

Anti-semitism is not an issue in Turkey.

But, I am not saying that Turks are not racist, lol.

[winoman]

TUR friend = are you just blind (to the [negative] transformations your society is undergoing right now) or are you attempting to decieve us?

BTW - more Jews in Turkey then in Isreal - I don't think so. And are you aware of the actions Turkey undertook to drives Jews (and remaining Armenians) out of your nation in the mid 1950.s? (yes, unfortunatly - more shame on you....)

[TUR-Friend]

TUR friend = are you just blind (to the [negative] transformations your society is undergoing right now) or are you attempting to decieve us?

I might be both, actually.
Neagghh, I'd never try to do such things to my lovely Armenian friends in here. I love you all. Really.

About that Jew thing, dude, I never ever heard of such a thing. I mean, I even heard about the Armanian claims, but never about any action toward Jews. You know why? Because Jews were the only group within the Ottoman Empire that didn't try to declare independence!

But I might be wrong, I am not a Historian. But I assume you aren't one either.

[Anonymouse]

Turkey and Israel are allies. Notice that Turkey and Israel do not recognize the genocide.

[TUR-Friend]

What genocide?

[TomServo]

What genocide?

You thai now.

[winoman]

Turkey - where human rights are respected...

Human Rights Watch's Letter to the President of Turkey
April 20, 2005

President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
Cumhurbaskanligi
Cankaya
Ankara

Dear President,

Human Rights Watch is alarmed at recent death-threats directed at three staff members from the Istanbul branch of the Turkish Human Rights Association (HRA). Letters headed “Our final warning to the traitor separatists” were delivered yesterday to the home addresses of the branch president Eren Keskin, the Marmara region representative Dogan Genc, and the branch secretary Saban Dayanan. The threats were made in the name of the Turkish Revenge Brigade (TIT), a shadowy grouping with links to the extreme right.


The letter accuses the three of insulting the Turkish flag, encouraging armed separatism, and acting as “agents of Europe and the USA.” The groundless allegations and the threats appear to be related to the wave of nationalist violence in Turkey over the past two months. The violence has been linked to supposed insults to the national flag by dissident citizens.

The threats deserve an urgent and convincing official response. Extrajudicial killings and “disappearances” have claimed the lives of thirteen members of the Human Rights Association over the past 14 years. It is not clear to what extent the Turkish Revenge Brigade is a continuous and distinct organization, but certainly several fatal and near-fatal attacks have been carried out in its name. These include the murders of parliamentary deputy Mehmet Sincar and the journalist Ferhat Tepe in 1993, and the attack on Akin Birdal, president of the Human Rights Association in 1998. These same members of the Istanbul branch of the HRA who have just received threatening letters had narrowly escaped an armed attack by a lone gunman in 2001.

Human Rights Watch calls on you to ensure that these threats are investigated urgently by the Istanbul prosecution service. The three human rights defenders have told Human Rights Watch that they commonly receive threats by telephone but are particularly alarmed that these written threats arrived by post at their respective home addresses. It is unclear how the TIT obtained their home addresses, which are never disclosed to the public. Since officials from the Human Rights Association are often required to submit their personal details to the police authorities, inquiries should be made to establish whether or not the Istanbul police passed the addresses on to others. In light of the conviction of a former gendarmerie officer with links to TIT for the 1998 assault on HRA president Akin Birdal, prosecutors should also investigate whether police officers were directly involved in making the threats.

We also urge you to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to protect the three HRA officials in accordance with Article 12.2 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders which calls on states to “take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration.” Any protective measures should be chosen in consultation with the HRA.

Most importantly, in view of the serious nature of the threats, the past murders carried out in the name of this illegal armed organization, and the current context of nationalist violence, we urge that a high-level and public statement be made, affirming the legitimacy and value of the work of human rights organizations, including the Human Rights Association, and condemning the death-threats made against its staff.

Sincerely,

Rachel Denber
Acting Executive Director
Europe and Central Asia division


Cc:

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Deputy Minister and State Minister for Human Rights Abdullah Gul
Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu

[winoman]

Poor Kurds...

http://www.hrw.org/reports/2005/turkey0305/