The problem in the Turkish society today is not the Armenian Genocide or the scandal surrounding Garo Paylan, but rather – the fascist policies pursued by the country’s government, a Turkish journalist says in a column addressing the Turkish-Armenian lawmaker’s recent speech.
Garo Paylan, who was elected to Turkey’s parliament from the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic party, was suspended from three sessions after a public remark on the Armenian Genocide in a parliament debate devoted to the constitutional reforms.
“Garo Paylan says he knows very well what befell his ancestors; he uses the banned term to say that a crime of genocide was committed. And then Paylan is being punished, stripped off the right to attend three sessions. The term used is later removed from the session’s protocol. The worst punishment in the Middle Ages was consignment to oblivion, which is to say you do not exist and have not ever existed, and never had a name and an identity. What we see in Turkey is not the Armenian Genocide or Garo Paylan; there is only fascism,” reads the column published in Yeniozgurpolitika.org.
According to the columnist, the Turkish parliament is attempting to intimidate Paylan into abandoning his policy.
Condemning the sanction against Paylan, the Turkish columnist goes on to insist that such a remark should have rightfully been voiced only by an Armenian. “We need only a little bit fair,” he says.
