Saturday, November 6, 2010

'lynch culture' in Turkey

Turkey has a long history of suppressing minorities in the name of nationalism, and a history of violence. There is also to a certain degree a ‘lynch culture’. Everybody who doesn’t fit it in is quick subject of an angry crowd. Mustafa Akyol experienced it and Orhan Kemal Cendiz wrote about it.
Hate crimes in Turkey
The Human Rights Agenda Association, of which I am a part, is currently conducting a project called “Combating Hate Crimes in Turkey.” Among other things, we plan to hold two public conferences on the subject, the first of which was already held on Oct. 16 in Ankara.
Discrimination and hate crimes have very deep roots in Turkey. They are so heavily ingrained in our political culture and social fabric that we are not aware of their very existence. In the first round of our conference series, Tanıl Bora, a well-known socialist thinker in Turkey, gave a rather thought-provoking lecture on “lynch culture” in Turkey.

First, he drew our attention to how the word “lynch” is used for events that could never be defined as a lynching in the real sense of the word. Politicians and public figures employ this word very often when they are criticized or verbally attacked; they claim that they have been “lynched” by their opponents. In quite a sharp contrast, real lynchings, which are not a rare occurrence in Turkey, are either never called a lynching or they never generate the emotional, ethical or legal response that a real lynching would normally attract in a democratic society.
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Day Opening - November 6

Singing break by Verissimo Dias