MEPs react to Gul ethnic origin dispute

PanARMENIAN.Net - European Parliament members have reacted strongly against Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Canan Aritman's remarks on President Abdullah Gul's ancestry.



The most powerful reactions have come from the Socialists, the sister party of CHP in Socialist International. Hannes Swoboda, a vice chairman of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, labeled Aritman's remarks as "racist, nationalist and unacceptable."



Another Socialist heavyweight, Jan Marinus Wiersma, another vice chairman of the Socialist Group, said the CHP deputy's statements have a racist undertone.



Co-chairman of EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee Joost Lagendijk said every political party should be ashamed of such statements. Hannes Swoboda, the Vice Chairman for Socialist Group said Artiman's assertion was uttered in a "racist fashion."



"First of all, the question is whether it is true or not; I mean, does President Gul have Armenian blood? But even if it is true that President Gul has Armenian blood in his veins, this is not an argument at all. These kinds of remarks are racist, nationalist and unacceptable. Even if it is true, the remarks have been used in a racist fashion. It is totally unacceptable. She either has to apologize or resign. These two alternatives would be the choices of politicians in a democratic country. Also in a democratic country, if she would resist resigning, the party leader could ask her to resign or she could be evicted by the party caucus. It shows that the CHP and its present leadership are far from European standards," Swoboda said.



He also added that even if Gul had Armenian blood that would mean nothing, highlighting the fact that Turkey has many citizens of Armenian origin. "They are full citizens and have the right to become everything," he said.



"Hikmet Cetin has Kurdish roots; you have politicians from Arab descent. The French president is from Hungary, and he has many ministers from Africa in his cabinet. The meaning loaded on "Armenian" is a huge disgrace for Turkey. In Europe, a politician who would make such racist remarks would at least have to apologize," Swoboda said, Today's Zaman reports.



The dispute between a main opposition deputy and President Abdullah Gul over the latter's ethnic origin took on another dimension Wednesday with the request of a DNA test from Gul to prove his ethnic background.



Canan Aritman, the Izmir deputy of the Republican People's Party, or CHP, said Gul had Armenian roots, which is why he has not openly rejected the apology campaign carried out by a group of intellectuals. In a counter-statement Gul said his family was 100 percent Muslim and Turk and filed a lawsuit against Aritman.