Turkey launches probe into anti-Armenian textbookMarch 10, 2012 - 10:45 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Education Minister Ömer Dinçer has said the Ministry has launched a probe against a controversial book distributed by the education directorate among high schools in Istanbul’s Kartal district, which include slurs and insults against Armenians, as well as some Turkish writers and journalists. “Yes, the book obviously contains racist [slurs]. I have issued instructions to halt the distribution [of the book] and to investigate those people responsible for their distribution,” Minister Dinçer said on March 9. Dinçer added that he also felt annoyed after reading the book and agreed that it contained racist comments. Penned by Yunus Zeyrek, the book entitled “Bu dosyayı kaldırıyorum: Ermeni Meselesi” (“Closing this file: the Armenian Issue”) defines Armenians as “dishonorable and treacherous” and vilifies novelists such as Nobel Prize Laureate Orhan Pamuk and writer Elif Şafak. History and literature teachers distributed the books to students of their own volition after receiving them. In a separate development, an appeal by Mustafa Aksu, a Turkish citizen of Roma origin, will be decided by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on March 15. Aksu first applied to the ECHR in 2004, complaining of anti-Roma statements in two government-supported publications. The complaint was related to two books that described Romans as “narrow-foreheaded,large-hipped and chubby.” Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Your home is in Armenia – Ameriabank offers mortgage loans for the Diaspora To buy real estate, Diasporans can apply to Ameriabank online to buy, renovate or build a home anywhere in Armenia. Armenia-Qatar ties discussed in Doha The Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council met with the Deputy Secretary General of the National Security Council of Qatar. ARARAT special evening dedicated to Aznavour's 100th Anniv. On May 20 ARARAT legendary Armenian brandy, celebrated the centennial of Maestro Charles Aznavour with a special event. Surveying works underway in Armenia’s Kirants Surveying works are underway in the Armenian village of Kirants in the northern Tavush province. |