"Stop Screening Discriminatory Documentary to Pupils"

International Hrant Dink Foundation applies to court demanding an end to school screenings of a controversial documentary about the Armenian issue.

The Ministry of Education had required that the film, "Sarı Gelin", produced by the General Staff is shown to pupils across the country. School managers were then asked to file reports concerning the results of the screenings.

The Foundation's complaint will be filed to Istanbul Administrative Court, lawyer Fethiye Cetin told bianet. Following media reports, the ministry claimed there was no central directive; the documentary was rather aimed at teachers' viewing.

In the petition, Cetin argues that the violence in the movie identifies Armenians as "bad".

"Ruptured bodies, shattered bones, piles of skulls, mass graves shown in the movie would gravely harm mental and psychological well-being of children. Frightening discourses included in the documentary like quoting old people saying Armenians burned, decapitated Turks, would result in further moral violence on non-Muslim children." 

Cetin stresses that those acts of violence are identified with Armenians in the documentary and without the ability to distinguish between reality and "bad propaganda", such connotations about Armenians would stay with children for the rest of their lives.

Founded for the memory of murdered Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, the Foundation quotes a report against discrimination presented to UN by Turkey, which assures that education in the country is employed as to create consciousness on human rights.(TK/AGÜ)