Lagendijk: Gul seems insulted by claims that he could have Armenian mother

PanARMENIAN.Net - The co-chairman of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, Joost Lagendijk said the CHP should be embarrassed about the remarks by Cinan Aritman.



"No political party should be proud of having such deputies. These remarks are scandalous, and one should be ashamed of making such statements. I can fully understand the huge reaction shown to Ms. Aritman. Each political party should be ashamed of such statements and in particular the CHP, of course. I think the best thing for [CHP leader Deniz] Baykal would be to clearly state that Aritman's tone was not the party line and instead give his reaction to the debate," Lagendijk said.



However, Lagendijk also criticized a complaint filed by President Gul against Aritman. "I am not interested at all in whether Gul's mother is of Armenian origin or not. If he would have stated that he is Muslim and Turkish and has no Armenian blood and added that what if he had an Armenian mother, it would be nice, but I understand it would be too strong for him. Having an Armenian mother is not a shame. Taking her to court would not be my first reaction. I am afraid it could imply that he felt insulted by the claims that he could have had an Armenian mother," he said, Today's Zaman reports.



The dispute between a main opposition deputy and President Abdullah Gul over the latter's ethnic origin took Wednesday 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.