RACISM

HDP Istanbul MP Garo Paylan brought the impunity of the hate crimes against the minority groups to the parliamentary agenda.

European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) released the fifth monitoring report on Turkey. In the report, official authorities' hate speech is criticized and it is pointed out that the hate speech is not effectively punished.

This anti-elite uprising, however, has been carefully guided and spurred on by media and political elites in Britain for years. Scapegoating of migrants, particularly those from the EU, forced on the UK by supposedly draconian policies from Brussels, has reigned supreme for well over a decade. The familiar argument that migration is a drain on British jobs and resources has been spurred on by the most widely read newspapers in the UK, with centre, right, and sometimes leftist politicians fanning the flames.

Garo Paylan had filed a lawsuit against Tolga Adıgüzel, who is the chair of Kars branch of a Turkish nationalist organization, because of his racist statements about pianist Tigran Hamasyan who performed at Ani last year. Adıgüzel is sentenced to 7 months and 15 days of imprisonment and imposed a 11.240 TL fine. The judgment is suspended.

The deputy chairman of a Swedish-Turkish association Barbaros Leylani has resigned after derogatory comments he made about Armenians last week at a Stockholm rally.

Human Rights Association (İHD) will file criminal complaints against Prime Minister Davutoğlu, who have been criticized because of his “Armenian gangs” statement, and Aşkale Mayor Başaran who said “I gratefully commemorate our honorable ancestors who wiped the Armenians off.”