Member of the Turkish opposition Democratic-RepublicanParty Canan Aritman keeps insisting that the country's president, Abdullah Gul, has Armenian origins.
"They didn't allow us to prove the fact [that Gul has Armenian origins]. They rejected all kinds of motions for listening to witnesses and studying the census records. It's very pity that laws no longer function in Turkey, and judges fear authorities," Aritman said.
The president's uncle is a pious man. But it's a great pity he didn't tell the truth. If he is really a God-fearing person, why doesn't he swear Koran that my statement is untrue. Speaking of someone's true ethnic origin, is not an insult," the oppositionist claimed.
It came after the Ankara court's decision accusing Aritman of hurling a personal insult at the Turkish president and imposing a 2,000-lira (approximately $1,300) compensation to Gul's uncle, Ahmet Sataoglu.
Aritman said the statement on Gul's Armenian origins had been made by the president's uncle; Sataoglu filed a suit against the parliamentarian.
Following Aritman's statement, the Turkish president said he and his family had Muslim origins. Later, Gul's family lodged a court appeal against Aritman. The court ruled that the Turkish parliamentarian had to pay 1 million Turkish liras for making groundless statements on the president's ethnic origins.
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