Following a gaffe by Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Onur Öymen when he angered Turkey’s Alevi community by referring to the Turkish government’s strong response to a 1937 rebellion in the predominantly Alevi city of Tunceli, then known as Dersim, as an example of fighting terrorism, CHP deputy Ensar Öðüt on Tuesday made a similarly racist statement, calling Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoðlu ”Davutyan,“ an Armenian-sounding last name.
Speaking at a press conference held at the CHP Erzurum Provincial Directorate, Öðüt reacted to an American NBS TV station broadcast that labeled a part of Turkey as ”Kurdistan.“ He claimed that the government has remained silent over the dispute. Asserting that Foreign Minister Davutoðlu is also silent on this, Öðüt allegedly made a comment that was meant to insult Turkey’s Armenian citizens, observers said.
Öðüt claimed that when an American TV station broadcasts a divided map of Turkey, no US officials react. ”The TV station in question does not even say sorry, it does not say it made a mistake,“ Öðüt added. He also claimed that if Americans show a divided map of France, Germany, Italy or Greece, strong reactions would follow from these countries.
”He [the foreign minister] does not issue a statement. He makes no explanation. Foreign Minister, are you good for anything? Is your last name Davutoðlu or Davutyan? Just so we know. If you are Davutyan, you are making an Armenian initiative. What is your first name, your last name? Are you a Turk? Are you the foreign minister of Turkey? Why does the prime minister not react? Maps showing ‘Kurdistan’ have been broadcast many times; why is no one doing anything?“ he said. Although there was no immediate reaction to the CHP deputy’s charged statement, in a televised speech he later denied insulting Turkey’s Armenian citizens. According to experts, Öðüt’s words, questioning the foreign minister’s ethnicity, are clear discrimination.
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