Turkish PM refuses to take blame for victimization of Alevis
In an apparent response to salvoes by the main opposition Republican Peopleâs Party (CHP), Prime Minister Ahmet DavutoÄlu has strongly refuted any blame for the sufferings of Alevi citizens.
DavutoÄlu also again expressed his bewilderment for the Alevi populationâs apparent support for the CHP, saying that Alevis have been victimized under CHP-led governments in the past.
âThe Alevism tradition in Turkey was interrupted twice. The first took place when Sultan Mahmud II closed down BektaÅi lodges in the name of modernity. Afterward, during the [CHPâs] single-party rule, measures aimed at these kinds of movements were taken and the perpetuity of Alevism was interrupted. Is the AK Parti [Justice and Development Party, AKP] or Sunnism responsible for this?â he said, speaking to reporters on board a plane returning to Ankara from the Philippinesâ capital Manila, on Nov. 18.
âThe CHP was in power when KahramanmaraÅ happened,â DavutoÄlu said, referring to the MaraÅ massacre of 1978 in which at least 111 people, mostly Alevis, were killed and hundreds of others wounded at the hands of ultra-nationalists backed by state officials.
âWhen Madımak took place, the SHP [the now dissolved-Social Democratic Populist Party] was a coalition partner. If it is being said that it was committed by the counter-guerrillas, then [late social democrat leader Bülent] Ecevit should have been investigated,â the prime minister added.
Ecevit was the leader of the CHP in 1977, and later led a coalition government in 1999 as the head of the Democratic Left Party (DSP).
Using the byword, âMadımak,â DavutoÄlu was referring to the Sivas massacre of 1993 in which 37 intellectuals were killed when a mob of...
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