Hall of Shame
1. Turkish Security Forces
For killing children and elders and wounding hundreds of people by shooting at them during
the protests. And also for using gas against the guerrilla forces of HPG during a period
when HPG
declared one sided truce.
2. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his party AKP
In most countries the politicians would protest when the army decides to take matters in their
own hands, especially when the consequence is that 15 civilians are killed. But in Turkey the
politicians not only fail to protest to such violence, they also sanction it and threaten the
inhabitans with more violence.
“You who let your children roam the streets, or let your children be used by the terrorist organizations, tomorrow your cry will be in vain. Our security forces will act against anybody, whether it be children or women, that works as a tool for terrorism. I want this to be known. Nobody should make wrong calculations.”
– Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a speech “to the mothers and fathers of Diyarbakir” in the Bilkent Hotel, Ankara on March 31, 2006.
3. Main opposition party leader Deniz Baykal and his party CHP
In most countries the opposition would protest when the governing party/parties are not
protesting against the use of excessive violence by the armed forces. However, Baykal and
his party, members of the Socialist International, do the opposite; they sanction the violence
against civilians. And they did this by claiming that Erdogan "should not only talk, he should
act", implying that Erdogan should sanction more violence against the protestors.
4. 149 European members of PACE* who sided with the Turkish Security Forces by signing an appeal
When a country is killing 15 civilians during a protest, including children, most European
countries usually protest. But not these 149 members of Pace* who shortly after the riots
stated:
"Terrorism cannot have any justification under any pretext.
We are mindful that terrorism threatens European countries, resulting in violent attacks
perpetrated in Spain, the Russian Federation and the UK.
We also condemn and reject the violent activities of the PKK/KONGRA-GEL terrorist
organisation which has recently escalated its criminal activities which resulted in loss of
life and material damage in Turkey."
Thus, the appeal does not say a single word about killing a 3-year old child or beating
a 78-year old man to death. These politicians care more about "material damage" than the
lives of 15 civilian Kurds killed by Turkish Security Forces. Their stand is not only a shame
for themselves, but also for the countries and political parties that they represent. Justifying
terrorism is exactly what they did by sanctioning state terrorism. For a complete list of the
signatures and the whole declaration, Click Here.
