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No joke: Ankara Mayor Blames Gulenists for Shaking Turkey With an Earthquake

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Mayor of the Turkish capital of Ankara Melih Gokcek

No joke: Ankara’s mayor suggests that an earthquake that has recently hit Turkey’s northwest might have been caused by the followers of cleric Fethulah Gulen, blamed for masterminding the July coup.

ANKARA (Sputnik) — The earthquake, which has recently hit the northwestern Turkish province of Canakkale could have been caused by the supporters of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, Mayor of the Turkish capital of Ankara Melih Gokcek said Tuesday.

“They [Gulenists] are trying to strike Turkey by causing an earthquake near Istanbul. Some people could laugh at me, but I am worried about it. All submarines and ships with serious equipment in Marmara and Dardanelles, close to Istanbul should be put under control,” Gokcek said on Twitter.

He added that a ship near Canakkale was reportedly conducting seismological researches and it was necessary to determine which ship it was and to which country it belonged. Gokcek expressed concerns about a potential earthquake that could be caused artificially and urged public investigation into the matter.

More than 100 houses were destroyed on Monday in a 5.2-magnitude earthquake that hit the northwestern Turkish province of Canakkale. At least five people were reportedly injured as a result of the natural disaster. Earlier in the day, an earthquake with the same magnitude hit the Turkish western coast again.

In July 2016, the military attempted to overthrow government, but the coup was suppressed by the state forces on the next day. The authorities accused Gulen and his followers of masterminding the attempt.

Ankara Mayor Makes Bigoted Remarks Against Armenians, Kurds

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ankara-mayorANKARA—Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek made provocative remarks concerning Kurds, Armenians and atheists on his Twitter page on Tuesday, reports Today’s Zaman.

The mayor shared three consecutive tweets about Kurds, religion, and Armenians. He first shared a video from the Cihan news agency containing old footage of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members entertaining other PKK members with a comedy skit poking fun at salat (Islamic ritualistic prayer). Alongside the video, the mayor commented: “It’s these types of PKK [members] that don’t want a peace process or an end to war. They are the enemies of Islam. Here is proof.”

He continued in another tweet, “Peace to the Kurds in the east who are putting their lives on the line for the nation and solidarity and for Islam.” In his next tweet, Gökçek continued, “But there are those posing as Kurds but are actually Armenian atheists… (By the way, I absolve our Armenian brothers and sisters that are citizens of their nation.)” The mayor later deleted two of the controversial tweets (keeping the one with the video), though Twitter users were quick to respond with comments.

What the mayor is referring to are “hidden” Armenians who were often forcefully Islamified and Kurdified among Kurds in the Dersim mountains to avoid continued persecution during the Genocide of Armenians in 1915. There are Armenians among Alevi and Turkish communities as well.

Hayko Bağdat, an Armenian columnist for the Taraf daily, tweeted back to the mayor, “Which category do I fall under, boss?” Later, Today’s Zaman spoke over the phone with Bağdat, asking him about his views on the matter, and he explained: “This is plain racism. It’s prejudice on many levels. It’s not just against one demographic of people but against several: Armenians, Kurds, atheists. It is hate speech, and if this [Turkey] were a civil country then he [Gökçek] would be removed from his position for these remarks. But these types of remarks have become commonplace with [Justice and Development Party] AK Party politicians; we see it in the president.”

In August, a similar incident involving racist comments came from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan just two weeks before the presidential elections. During a television broadcast on Star TV and NTV, President Erdoğan said: “Let all Turks in Turkey say they are Turks and all Kurds say they are Kurds. What is wrong with that? You wouldn’t believe the things they have said about me. They have said I am Georgian … they have said even uglier things — they have called me Armenian, but I am Turkish.” Criticisms were raised about Erdoğan’s assertion that being Armenian is “ugly.”

The mayor’s Twitter account continuously draws public attention, as Gökçek is known to tweet on many topics regardless of their relevance to his political responsibilities. He has over 2 million followers.