Need to criminalize hate speech

But, this country does not have a modern minority description that would provide the minorities not only "first class rights" like the rest of the society, but also some "added" rights to preserve, protect and promote their ethnic, cultural, religious or communal peculiarities, the absence of which would mean Turkey losing some of its most beautiful "flowers."

Pluralism is the biggest asset this country has inherited. Naturally, there were mistakes in the past, there are mistakes now and there will be mistakes in the future. However, we must try not to repeat the past mistakes and learn the value of our pluralistic society and accommodate ourselves accordingly rather than, for example, questioning the ethnic background of the President of the Republic as if someone with an ethnic background other than an ethnic Turkish one was a potential traitor. Indeed, that minority perception, which contradicts with what we have inherited over the ages, is one of the main problems of modern Turkey.

An Atatürk anecdote
I read Yavuz Donat’s column in daily Sabah. He was writing about an anecdote he heard from İstanbul’s Bakırköy district mayor, Ateş Ünal Erzen, who reportedly heard it from İnan Kıraç.

One day, at around 6:00 p.m., İsmet İnönü, the prime minister at the time, visited President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk at the Florya presidential residence.

- I hope nothing is wrong İsmet, you have come without prior notice...

- My Pasha, the minorities issue... We will bring the issue to Parliament... What would you say on the issue?

- İsmet, it is too late now... Come early tomorrow morning and let’s have a word on the issue.

After İnönü leaves, Atatürk summons all the staff of the residence and orders them, "Keep only the tulips... Root out all the rest of the flowers and throw them! Immediately!"

İnönü visits Atatürk early next morning and seeing the terrible situation of the garden asks the staff:

- What happened?

- Pasha ordered, we have rooted out all flowers except tulips...

Then, İnönü enters Atatürk’s room and asks:

- My Pasha, the garden is devastated... What has happened?

- I ordered the minorities be rooted out İsmet...

İnönü receives the message...

- İsmet, I did not say "How happy is the one who says I am a Turk," for nothing. Everyone who feels he is a Turk is the son of this land. And, no one should consider legislating to create a law on minorities...

It is high time...
That was just an anecdote, but a very meaningful one that translates well to the dangers posed by the present day crooked mentality of some that we must all stand against. Perhaps it is now high time for Turkey to take a revolutionary step and instead of, for example, trying to get rid of the contentious Article 301 of the Penal Code, instead we radically amend the article and turn it into one criminalizing hate speech and actions against the Turkish nation and state organs, but more so against minorities and minority identities. Of course, in undertaking such an amendment attention must be paid to the wording of the text of the article and to make sure that we don’t end up having a hate crime law serving the domination of the majority over the minorities.

Yes, indeed, it might be shameful, but this country does not yet have any legislation criminalizing hate speech and actions. Perhaps such a law would have helped to dissuade people resorting to hate crimes and perhaps Fathar Santaro, Hrant Dink and many other victims of hate crime could have been saved. But, of course, we need to have as well a president who would not consider as an insult and demand a symbolic compensation because of an idiotic question by an opposition politician about whether there was Armenian blood from his mother’s side, but instead would say "What if I had Armenian blood? We are a synthesis of an imperial past, centuries of togetherness of many peoples."