Turkish nationalist desecrates Holocaust memorial in Austria

PanARMENIAN.Net - A scandalous photo of an Austrian member of a nationalist Turkish Muslim group standing on a monument in the Mauthausen concentration camp has been circulating lately, RT reports.

The image depicts the young man, making a salute associated with and used by members of the Nationalist Movement Party of Turkey (MHP). In the picture, the little and index fingers stand for Turkey and Islam, respectively. Together they symbolize Turkish Islamists one day taking over the world.

The man standing on top of the granite plaque at the former Nazi concentration camp is identified as Abdurrahman Alpaslan, according to Austria’s Kurier. He is a member of Avrasya – a Linz-based division of what many say is the extreme right-wing Turkey-based organization, Grey Wolves. Local anti-fascist organizations say Avrasya openly supports the Islamic State. Others maintain it’s simply an organization of immigrants who look out for each other.

In Turkey, Grey Wolves are also known for frequent propaganda and inciting violence against Jews, Armenians and Kurds.

The Mauthausen Committee (MKO) was deeply distressed by the image. "Apparently, this right-wing extremist is proud of making a mockery of more than 100,000 deaths at Mauthausen,” MKÖ-Chairman Willi Mernyi said, according to Der Standard. He said such an “inhuman provocation” is all the evidence the city council should need to ban Avrasya. The Nazi death camp was liberated on May 5, 1945 by troops from the 11th Armored Division of the 3rd U.S. Army.