Turkey's PM slams Islamophobia in Europe

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, "like anti-semitism and racism, Islamophobia is a crime against humanity. It is totally wrong to incriminate all Muslim people for a marginal act."

Speaking at a dinner with representatives of the non-governmental organizations formed by the consanguineous groups, Prime Minister Erdogan condemned recent racist attacks against Turkish citizens and kinsmen in European countries.

"It is unfair and even illegal to act with prejudices and ostracize some people because of their clothes, their way of living and their religious beliefs. We cannot tolerate it any way. Any offending attitudes, statements and policies against Muslim people cannot be hidden behind the excuse of freedom of expression," he said.

"Turkey has made a significant progress in its European Union process. We have been maintaining the accession negotiations with a great determination. On the other hand, there are nearly 5.5 million Turkish people living in the European Union member states. This number is higher than population of some member states. Those Turkish people made valuable contributions to development of the countries they lived in," he said.

The Turkish kinsmen who participated in the meeting for the first time highlighted on unity and solidarity. Chairman of the executive board of the International Turkish Trade Center (ITBC) in Germany, Salih Karatepe expressed contentment over gathering with the Turkish community from around the world and sharing their feelings.

Head of the Turkish Artists Association in Kosovo, Ethem Byamak appraised the event and said that he hopes a body of the Turkic World could be established in the future.

Azerbaijan’s Chairman of the State Committee for Diaspora Activities Nazim Ibrahimov delivered a speech and said the Turkic world will further unite and raise the Turkish voice.

Prime Minister Erdogan said that visa requirements were lifted with 23 countries in the last 7.5 years. "We are planning to lift visa requirements with Russia during President Dimitriy Medvedev's scheduled visit to Turkey in May," he added.


/World Bulletin/