Gul files suit against Turkish parliamentarian who claimed that his mother is of Armenian origin

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey's President Abdullah Gul has filed a lawsuit against Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Canan Aritman, who claimed that Gul's mother is of Armenian origin. "Aritman, who has political motivations, caused doubts about the performance of the president, who has non-political responsibilities," the petition states.



"The defendant's claim, which is based on racism and discrimination, is a heavy assault on the client's personal and family values, honor and reputation." The 1 YTL lawsuit

petition submitted by the president's lawyer, Omer Kucukozcan, refers to Aritman's claims.



The petition states that Gul stands at an equal distance from all citizens in his current position and that in his previous duties as a Deputy Foreign Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Prime Minister and President, he expressed his ideas openly at the national and international platforms on the topic and on Turkish-Armenian relations.



"My client's views have been distorted and it was suggested that he has ethnic ties on his mother's side, as if he stands closer to a part of society because of that," the petition states.



The petition also states that according to the news reports, CHP head Deniz Baykal has been uneasy about Aritman's statements.



"It would be impossible to compensate for the damages that occurred because of this issue; however, we demand a compensation of 1 YTL only to identify the injustice," the petition states, Today's Zaman reports.



Last week, member of MHP, parliamentarian Canan Aritman "reminded" of the Armenian origin of the President's mother. "Abdullah Gul should be the president of the whole Turkish nation, not of his ethnic origin. Investigate the ethnic origin of the president's mother, and you will see," she said.



In response, President Gul announced that his mother's side, the Satoglu family from Kayseri, and his father's side, the Gul family also from Kayseri, are Muslim and Turkish, according to centuries of written genealogy records.



"I respect the ethnic background, different beliefs and family ties of all my citizens and see this as a reality and also the wealth of our country with its imperial history. I also would like to emphasize that all my citizens are equal to one another regardless of any differences. No one has any superiority whatsoever over another one. Everybody has the equal and same rights under the guarantee of our Constitution," Gul said. "I am proud of our country, which has reached this level of understanding."