United in outrage, differ on the cause
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 06, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - The opposition argues that the village guard system, supported by the government, and the feudal system were the real instigators behind the tragedy. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan calls it a result of hostility between family members who bear the same surname and calls on everyone to act responsibly and ensure such incidents are not repeated in the future
As he condemned the armed attack on the engagement party in the southeastern province of Mardin on Monday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also called on everyone to act responsibly and not repeat the incident in the future.
"The incident is not a terrorist attack but the result of a hostility between families. The detained have the same surname as most of the dead. No tradition and understanding can justify this action at all," Erdoğan said in his address to the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, parliamentary group meeting yesterday. Erdoğan confirmed that based on the information he received the attack was the result of enmity between two families.
Noting that many lost their lives as a result of a negative understanding of a tradition, he said he asked the universities in the region, the media, nongovernmental organizations, education institutions and opinion makers to take action on the issue. "Everybody should fulfill their social responsibilities and not repeat such incidents in the medium and long run," Erdoğan said.
President Abdullah Gül also condemned the attack and said outmoded traditions and practices should be placed under the spotlight. "Such primitive and violent acts that cause deep suffering can never be justified," he said in a written statement yesterday.
CHP sends delegation to the region
Meanwhile, the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, will send a delegation headed by CHP deputy leader Yılmaz Ateş to the region to examine the incident. The delegation will also include CHP’s former Diyarbakır deputy Mesut Değer and Adıyaman deputy Şevket Köse. The delegation will prepare a report to be submitted to the party administration as a result of its work in the village where masked gunmen armed with assault rifles attacked an engagement party in Mardin late Monday, killing at least 44 people. CHP leader Deniz Baykal said the incident should be examined very carefully in a social sense.
"We have to question the event very seriously. We can’t reduce the incident simply to ignorance. Does the incident have any connection with terror and politics? Is it the reflection of the regional conflicts? These issues should all be questioned. It is even hard to understand the attack even if it is motivated by terror," Baykal said.
"Mardin represents one of the best examples of peace, love, harmony and friendship among the religions in Turkey. It is a city that we are proud of it. The reality behind the event should be revealed," said Baykal.
Another reaction came from CHP’s Kurdish-origin Konya deputy Atilla Kart who said the politics are reinforced by the feudal system and that system could be overcome by education. Criticizing Erdoğan’s call for citizens to take responsibility to stop such incidents, Kart said the ruling party hasn’t carried out its duty on the issue so far. "The incident can be a matter of tradition and security problems. Of course, it is important for people to act responsibly, but the ruling party hasn’t taken any step so far to trigger this social responsibility mechanism. A social disaster occurred because of the unconsciousness and deficiency of AKP members," Kart told the Daily News.
Kart said the region needed to be further developed economically, educationally and socially and that the system should be changed so citizens could see themselves as true individuals. "We asked the AKP to clean up the landmines and distribute this land to the citizens of the region but the AKP rejected the proposal. Distribution of land to the citizens can bring social and economic peace here," he said.
Meanwhile, Emine Ayna, Mardin deputy of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP, described the incident as a brutal massacre and said what lay behind the incident was the village guard system, which was protected by the state. Based on the information they received, the incident occurred because of an inner conflict within a clan, which was included in the village guard system by the government, according to Ayna.
"The incident is not a terrorist attack but the result of a hostility between families. The detained have the same surname as most of the dead. No tradition and understanding can justify this action at all," Erdoğan said in his address to the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, parliamentary group meeting yesterday. Erdoğan confirmed that based on the information he received the attack was the result of enmity between two families.
Noting that many lost their lives as a result of a negative understanding of a tradition, he said he asked the universities in the region, the media, nongovernmental organizations, education institutions and opinion makers to take action on the issue. "Everybody should fulfill their social responsibilities and not repeat such incidents in the medium and long run," Erdoğan said.
President Abdullah Gül also condemned the attack and said outmoded traditions and practices should be placed under the spotlight. "Such primitive and violent acts that cause deep suffering can never be justified," he said in a written statement yesterday.
CHP sends delegation to the region
Meanwhile, the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, will send a delegation headed by CHP deputy leader Yılmaz Ateş to the region to examine the incident. The delegation will also include CHP’s former Diyarbakır deputy Mesut Değer and Adıyaman deputy Şevket Köse. The delegation will prepare a report to be submitted to the party administration as a result of its work in the village where masked gunmen armed with assault rifles attacked an engagement party in Mardin late Monday, killing at least 44 people. CHP leader Deniz Baykal said the incident should be examined very carefully in a social sense.
"We have to question the event very seriously. We can’t reduce the incident simply to ignorance. Does the incident have any connection with terror and politics? Is it the reflection of the regional conflicts? These issues should all be questioned. It is even hard to understand the attack even if it is motivated by terror," Baykal said.
"Mardin represents one of the best examples of peace, love, harmony and friendship among the religions in Turkey. It is a city that we are proud of it. The reality behind the event should be revealed," said Baykal.
Another reaction came from CHP’s Kurdish-origin Konya deputy Atilla Kart who said the politics are reinforced by the feudal system and that system could be overcome by education. Criticizing Erdoğan’s call for citizens to take responsibility to stop such incidents, Kart said the ruling party hasn’t carried out its duty on the issue so far. "The incident can be a matter of tradition and security problems. Of course, it is important for people to act responsibly, but the ruling party hasn’t taken any step so far to trigger this social responsibility mechanism. A social disaster occurred because of the unconsciousness and deficiency of AKP members," Kart told the Daily News.
Kart said the region needed to be further developed economically, educationally and socially and that the system should be changed so citizens could see themselves as true individuals. "We asked the AKP to clean up the landmines and distribute this land to the citizens of the region but the AKP rejected the proposal. Distribution of land to the citizens can bring social and economic peace here," he said.
Meanwhile, Emine Ayna, Mardin deputy of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP, described the incident as a brutal massacre and said what lay behind the incident was the village guard system, which was protected by the state. Based on the information they received, the incident occurred because of an inner conflict within a clan, which was included in the village guard system by the government, according to Ayna.