Ahmet Türk, co-chairpersonof the Democratic Society Party (DTP), apologized to the Assyrians.
Türk visited the historicaland touristic sites of the Midyat district of the Mardin province with , DTP’s co-chairperson and Mardin Deputy, Aysel Tuğluk, DTP’s Diyarbakır deputy, andİbrahim Binici, DTP’s Şanlıurfa deputy. Later, the DTP group visited the MidyatAssyrian Culture Association and met with Yuhanna Aktaş and the other membersof the association.
“We feel the pain of theevents in our heart”
“Since we feel the pain ofthe events in out heart, we feel the need to apologize. Lately, it has becomefashionable in Turkeyto apologize, but ours is very different. We want to show out Assyrian brothersand sisters that we stand by their side, we support them and we have a newperspective that prioritizes integration. We are always ready to apologizeabout mistakes. Ours is not the kind of apology that simplifies the matter. Webelong to this land. We are struggling to make sure that the people can livetogether.”
“There exists a magnificentcivilization with its Kurds, Armenians and Ezidis, with different peoples. Weare humans when we can maintain our differences. Of course there was adifficult period for our Armenian and Assyrian brothers and sisters. OurKurdish brothers and sisters are going through a similar period today. Keepingin mind that our Kurdish brothers and sisters were used against our otherbrothers and sisters in the past, we should investigate the history carefullyand take lessons from it. Perhaps we, the Kurds, are also responsible for thedestruction of this heritage. Today, we feel ashamed when we look at one of ourArmenian ad Assyrian brothers and sisters. I want to state this very clearly.”(TK/TB)
