Özür Diliyorum

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The Özür Diliyorum ( Turkish for I apologize ) campaign is an initiative in the form of a signature campaign that was launched in December 2008 by various Turkish journalists, professors and politicians. It calls for an apology for the "Great Disaster" that Ottoman Armenians were exposed to in 1915.

The campaign was originally initiated by Professor Ahmet İnsel , the politician Baskın Oran , Dr. Cengiz Aktar and the journalist Ali Bayramoğlu started. The campaign stressed forgiveness for not being able to speak openly about the events of 1915 for Armenians. In the first 24 hours of publication, the campaign was signed by 5,000 people and by January 2009 had 30,000 signatories. The campaign, which was directly related to the Armenian genocide, sparked an uproar in Turkish society and death threats against the signatories.

The campaign

Most of the campaign took place online. The notice on the website where people are signing states:

“My conscience does not accept to remain indifferent to the denial of the great catastrophe that befell the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire in 1915 and to deny it . I reject this injustice and apologize to my Armenian brothers and sisters, whose feelings and pains I share. "

The organizers emphasized that the initiative was not politically motivated, but personal and individual.

The website is available in many languages ​​including Arabic , Armenian , Greek , Russian and English .

The campaign currently has more than 32,000 signatories.

Turkish government reaction

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said:

“I neither support nor accept this campaign. We have never committed a crime, so we do not have to apologize; it will be of no use other than inciting people, disturbing our peace and undoing steps that have already been taken. "

"These Turkish intellectuals must have committed the genocide because they are the ones who ask for excuses."

Aftermath

Those who signed the apology received numerous death threats. Ece Temelkuran , one of the signatories, said she had received 200 emails, 150 of which were death threats.

The judge of the 2nd Criminal Court of Şişli , Hakki Yalçınkaya , ordered that the site özürdiliyoruz.com should be closed and that the signatories should be punished according to Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code - an article which, among other things, makes insulting Turkish government institutions criminal.

Known signatories

Prominent signatories include:

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Özürr Diliyoruz Front Page . Özür Diliyoruz. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  2. ↑ Aydınlardan kampanya: Ermenilerden Özür diliyorum . In: Radikal , December 4, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2013. 
  3. ↑ a b Turkey: Erdogan refuses to apologize to Armenians . In: Spiegel . Retrieved May 15, 2013. 
  4. ↑ Nora Shahnazarian: Breaking the Nation's Taboo . In: Eurasia Policy . 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  5. ^ A b Robert Tait: Turkish PM dismisses apology for alleged Armenian genocide . In: Guardian , December 17, 2008. Retrieved May 15, 2013. 
  6. ↑ Asli Aydintasbas: Should Turkey Apologize to the Armenians? . In: Forbes , December 26, 2008. Retrieved May 15, 2013. 
  7. ↑ a b c Kampanyayı lince dönüştürdüler . In: Evrensel , December 20, 2008. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved on May 16, 2013. 
  8. ↑ Esra Özyürek: A Turkish 'I apologize' campaign to Armenians . In: Los Angeles Times , January 5, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2013. 
  9. ↑ "Özür diliyorum" yine takip altında (Turkish) . In: Radikal , March 3, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2013.