Erdogan: "Hatred and aversion” towards Kurds and Christians?

Dear Mr Erdogan,

On the day before the visit of the German Chancellor Merkel to Turkey you spoke of "not being able to understand this hatred and aversion towards Turkey”. We can assure you however that the great majority in Germany does not share such an "aversion”.

But our human rights organisation directs the question to yourself: we do not understand your hatred and your aversion towards your 15 million Kurdish citizens and the remaining 120,000 Christian inhabitants of your country. We would remind you that in Turkey

1.Kurdish schools, books, societies and parties are forbidden.

2.Elected mayors are in custody because they have, among other things, spoken to their voters in Kurdish.

3.Kurdish men and women are being tortured in police-stations and prisons.

4.There are still 4,835 Kurdish political prisoners in custody.

5.The search for, the exhumation and the investigation into the fate of 17,000 Kurds who disappeared are being hampered.

6.The reconstruction of 3,876 Kurdish villages during the Turkish-Kurdish war has still not yet begun.

7.So over two million displaced persons from these villages have still no chance of return home.

8.The murders of Christian ministers (in 2004, 2006 and 2007) have still not been cleared up

9.The confiscation of Christian churches has not been rescinded.

10.The building of Christian churches is hindered to the present day.

11.Stolen Christian and Yezidi lands have not been restored to their owners

12.The curtailing of freedom of worship of Christians and Yezidi has still not been abolished.

13.The Alevi are still officially forbidden to build their places of worship.

14.The genocide against Armenians and Assyrian Aramaeans in 1915 / 16 is still denied today.

Dear Mr Erdogan, please understand that not only your Kurdish, Christian, Yezidi and Alevite citizens, but also people concerned with human rights both in Turkey and throughout the world criticise these policies of government, the courts and the military. I should like then to suggest that you consult the internationally renowned Turkish sociologist Ismail Besikci on the situation of the minorities. He had to spend 19 years in Turkish prisons just because he spoke out clearly on some of these violations of human rights. We can gladly put you in touch with him.

Yours Truly,

Tilman Zülch, President