Posted on 11/26/2004 3:25:51 PM PST by knighthawk
ANKARA: The head of Turkey's parliamentary human rights group has accused Washington of genocide in Iraq and behaving worse than Adolf Hitler, in remarks underscoring the depth of opposition in Turkey to US policy in the region.
The US embassy said the comments were potentially damaging to Turkish-US relations.
"The occupation has turned into barbarism," Friday's Yeni Safak newspaper quoted Mehmet Elkatmis, head of parliament's human rights commission, as saying. "The US administration is committing genocide in Iraq.
"Never in human history have such genocide and cruelty been witnessed. Such a genocide was never seen in the time of the pharoahs (of ancient Egypt), nor of Hitler nor of (Italy's fascist leader Benito) Mussolini," he said.
"This occupation has entirely imperialist aims," he was quoted as telling the human rights commission on Thursday.
Elkatmis does not speak for Turkey's government but he is a prominent member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), a centre-right grouping with Islamist roots which has become increasingly critical of US actions in Iraq.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul played down Elkatmis's comments but defended Turks' right to speak freely.
"In open societies everybody can say what they want," Gul told reporters.
"Regarding US-Turkey relations we can comfortably discuss any subject," he added.
The US embassy in Ankara rejected Elkatmis's accusations.
"EXAGGERATED CLAIMS"
"Such unfounded, inaccurate, exaggerated claims are not good for relations, especially at a time of strain when Turkish public opinion is so critical of what the United States is trying to do in Iraq," one US diplomat told Reuters.
Tellingly, Elkatmis's comments, which might have sparked outrage in many Western countries, drew barely a flicker of interest in Turkey, where opinion polls point to a growing tide of anti-American sentiment.
Turkey has been especially disturbed by the recent US offensive against insurgents in the city of Falluja in which civilians also died and mosques were damaged.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan relayed Turkish concerns over the Falluja offensive in two recent telephone calls to US President George W. Bush and to Vice-President Dick Cheney.
Elkatmis accused US forces of deliberately targeting mosques and schools in Falluja.
Washington says the Falluja campaign was necessary to bring the Sunni Muslim city back under the control of the central Baghdad government ahead of planned Iraqi elections in January.
The US diplomat said Elkatmis had overlooked the fact that Iraqi insurgents like those in Falluja had abducted and beheaded a number of Turkish truck drivers in recent months.
Underlying Turkish criticism of US policy in Iraq is the fear that Kurds in the north of the country may use the general turmoil as an excuse to seek independence from Baghdad, a move which could reignite separatism among Turkey's own Kurds.
Last year, the Ankara parliament, motivated partly by such fears, refused to allow US troops to cross Turkish territory into Iraq at the start of the campaign to oust Saddam Hussein.
"The turkeys are hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement!"- Les Nessman
"The occupation has turned into barbarism
But decapitation has not yet turned that page into barbarism yet.
Main Entry: geno·cideRight, we're systematically eradicating jihadist scum. Thank you for that apt observation, Turkey. Where would we be without you?
Pronunciation: 'je-n&-"sId
Function: noun
: the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group
- geno·cid·al /"je-n&-'sI-d&l/ adjective
LOL! Had another *adult beverage* and reflected upon that post... pretty rough, wasn't it? I ain't lying, Er.
Don't Confuse them with the facts their minds are made up.
When Adolf Hitler discussed the Final Solution and the potential international ramifications of it, he said "Who remembers the Armenians?" Apparently, not the Turks.
Thanks O.C.! I haven't laughed that hard in along time!
I guess the money quit flowing And when money stops the A holes come out the woodwork.
I strongly feel that Kurdistan should be reinstated in the World of Countries. It was the Stupidity of the Britsd, France (OF Course) and Germany (Of Course) that eliminated that country after WWI. I believe they would be very loyal allies to the US, Much stronger than Turkey !!
Stupid, stupid Turks. The liberation of Iraq should have been a boost to their ailing economy. But, with unremitting negativism and obtuseness, they have done and continue to do nearly everything possible to cut themselves off from the benefits of freedom and reconstruction a across the border. Oh, well, I guess they'll have to sit, and sulk, and watch the Kuwaiti and Jordanian stock markets continue to soar.
I can't quite remember the definition of genocide. Are there any ARMENIANS here who can help me out?
Wasn't there a report a week or so ago that Turkey planned to cross over into Iraq after the elections, to deal with those pesky "Kurdish insurgents"?
Maybe the Greeks are right about Cypress?
The Ottoman's were really nice guys, too. Just ask the Crusader's
Wait until the Turk Islamofacists immigrants in Germany start acting up. The term Neo-Nazi didn't originate in the US.
i wouldnt mind seeing some genocide in turkey.
Very clever - They were hidden since there was no CNN or Aljazeera
Clinton must have written these "truthful" statements.
Sorry but i wus unable to load it (turkeydrop).
i went to the website but unable to find it there either. :|
Armenia, anyone?
It's a RAM file. Do you have RealPlayer installed on your computer?
Turks are noted experts in genocide.
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