A racist and insulting statement

Controversial statements by Rize Mayor Halil Bak?rc? on Wednesday, who advised taking a Kurdish woman as a second wife as a step toward resolving the Kurdish problem, have made him a target of severe criticism. In a statement that has angered society, Bak?rc? recommended that men from his region take a second wife from the Kurdish-dominated East and Southeast, where the practice is “common,” saying this would help societal peace to flourish.

His statement was seen as both racist and insulting to the country’s Kurds and women, with many saying that such a thing, even if it was put into practice, would make no contribution to peace. Star’s Ergun Babahan thinks Bak?rc?’s advice is the manifestation of a sexist view that insults both women and Kurds and notes that it is lamentable that the holder of such an opinion is the mayor of an important city like Rize.

In his view, Bak?rc? seeing Kurdish women as deserving to only be the second wife of a Turk is an obvious sign of racism. The writer thinks a huge responsibility lies with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to take the necessary action against its mayor. “All political parties should react against this rhetoric, which has the potential to produce discrimination as much as violence.

The fabric of a society is damaged not only by weapons but also by reckless statements. So, everyone should react against this statement,” suggests Babahan.

Terming Bak?rc?’s statement a “terrible” one, Milliyet’s Asl? Ayd?nta?ba? says it is a simple case of racism to try to solve the Kurdish problem by making Kurdish women a “tool of assimilation” and “housewives.” “Seeing Kurdish women as tools who will be tamed through marriage simply means not understanding the core of the issue. This is not a unique view, either.

Remember, the Serbs acted in the same way with similar thoughts during the war in Bosnia. Some ‘smart’ academics and intellectuals proposed that the Bosnian race should be made Serbian and that the separatist movement in Bosnia could be suppressed by making Bosnian women pregnant so that Yugoslavia could remain united.

These views were welcomed in the Balkans where the level of education is very high. The result was a tragedy,” says Ayd?nta?ba?. She notes that the Serbian practice in Bosnia resulted in a humanitarian tragedy in the center of Europe where 20,000 Muslim women were raped.

“Will we have all Kurds married to a Turk in 30 years’ time? Will we deprive the Kurds who are married to Kurds of their rights and deny their identity?

Will we ignore the right of a Kurd who is married to a Turk to use their mother tongue and practice their culture?” asks Radikal’s Tarhan Erdem who finds Bak?rc?’s statement, among other things, an inconsistent one.

F Disli Zibak reported for Todays Zaman http://www.todayszaman.com

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