Court Did not Stop Racist Documentation "Sarı Gelin"

The Administrative Court dismissed the application filed by the International Hrant Dink Foundation regarding the allegedly racist documentation entitled "Sarı Gelin" (Blonde Bride). The foundation had applied in order to stop the distribution of the controversial documentation at schools.

The full title of the documentary is "Sarı Gelin: The Inside Story of the Armenian Problem". It deals with the events of 1915, when, so many Armenians and also an increasing number of Turks say, millions of Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire were forcibly sent into exile. Many people starved, die of exhaustion or were killed by gangs.

The court dismissed the trial because the procedure subject to the case was not a definitive procedure necessary to be conducted and because it was classified as an announcement.

Officials of the foundation announced to appeal against the decision.

The documentary was sent out to primary schools by the Ministry of National Education and the Provincial Directorates of Culture in June 2008. The National Education District Directorates sent a writing to all schools in January 2008, calling the schools to show the movie to all students.

Doctor Serdar K. claimed that the documentation had negative effects on his daughter in fifth grade. He filed a criminal complaint against the Ministry of National Education, the Istanbul Directorate of National Education and the primary school visited by his daughter.

He wrote the following in his petition:

"The documentary entitled "Sarı Gelin" was shown to my daughter on 13 February without my knowledge and permission as the father. My daughter was strongly influenced by the documentary; she was afraid and asked many questions starting with 'Did the Armenians stab us?'"

"This sort of documentation develops feelings of hate and enmity which damage my daughter's psychology. It is an attack on the rights of my daughter and as the father also on my rights by the school I entrusted my daughter to. My daughter was strongly taken aback and kept on asking questions despite my affirmations that all peoples are brothers. A criminal complaint became compelling to punish the people responsible for this". (EÜ/VK)