Mayor says ’love it or leave it’
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Doğan News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 04, 2008 00:00
HATAY - The mayor of the İskenderun region in the southern province of Hatay has put up posters calling on people who do not like the country to leave it.
On the poster, which features his photo and a map of Turkey, Mayor Mete Aslan, from the Democrat Party, or DP, said: "This country is ours. Love it or leave it," or "Ya sev ya terket," in Turkish.
This comes after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, from the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, was severely criticized for allegedly saying the same thing early last month in reaction to demonstrations in the east and the southeast of the country. The demonstrators were protesting the reported mistreatment of the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
The poster, which has "love it" on the western side of the map and "or leave it" on the eastern side, was put up all around the town.
Even the local leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, Şefik Çirkin, thought the posters unacceptable, arguing they were especially provocative considering the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP, is to hold a rally in İskenderun on Saturday.
While the mayor said he would make a statement about the posters today, locals told reporters they found the posters offensive and that every Turkish citizen had equal rights.
This comes after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, from the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, was severely criticized for allegedly saying the same thing early last month in reaction to demonstrations in the east and the southeast of the country. The demonstrators were protesting the reported mistreatment of the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
The poster, which has "love it" on the western side of the map and "or leave it" on the eastern side, was put up all around the town.
Even the local leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, Şefik Çirkin, thought the posters unacceptable, arguing they were especially provocative considering the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP, is to hold a rally in İskenderun on Saturday.
While the mayor said he would make a statement about the posters today, locals told reporters they found the posters offensive and that every Turkish citizen had equal rights.