I Apologize campaign

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

The campaign was originally started by Professor Ahmet island that the politicians Baskın Oran, Dr. Cengiz Aktar and journalist Ali Bayramoğlu. The campaign stressed the forgiveness that it was Armenians not possible to talk openly about the events of 1915. In the first 24 hours of release, the campaign of 5000 persons was signed, and by January 2009 had 30,000 signatories. The campaign, which was directly related to the genocide of the Armenians, led to an uproar in the Turkish society and to death threats against the signatories.

The campaign

" My conscience does not accept it, to remain indifferent to the denial of the Great Cataclysm, which 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 pain I share. "

The organizers stressed that the initiative was not politically motivated, but personally and individually.

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

Currently, the campaign has more than 32,000 signatories.

Reaction of the Turkish Government

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said:

"This campaign, I support neither, nor do I accept them. We have never committed a crime, so we did not apologize; it will have no benefit except that it incites people who disturbs our peace and undoes steps that have already been done. "

" The genocide must these Turkish intellectuals have committed, since they are the ones who apologize. "

Aftermath

Those who have signed the apology, received numerous death and death threats. Ece Temelkuran, one of the signatories, said that it has received 200 emails, of which 150 were death threats.

The judge of the 2nd Criminal Court of Şişli, Hakki Yalçınkaya arranged, that the page should be özürdiliyoruz.com closed and that the signatories shall be punished in accordance with Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code - an article that makes punishable under other Beleigigung Turkish government institutions.

Known signatory

Prominent signatories include:

  • Cem Özdemir
  • Leyla Zana
  • Adalet Ağaoğlu
  • Fethiye Çetin
  • Halil Berktay
  • Hasan Cemal
  • Murat Belge
  • Yavuz Bingöl
  • Orhan Kemal Cengiz
  • Ufuk Uras
  • Selahattin Demirtas
  • Lale Akgun
  • Pınar selectivity
  • Enis Batur
  • Filiz Kocali
  • Hidayet Tuksal
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