In comments made on Twitter about the Humanist Democratic Centre (CHD) party’s decision to expel parliamentarian Mahinur Ozdemir, Cavusoglu termed the move as "unacceptable".
"Is this your understanding of democracy and freedom?" he tweeted.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said in a statement Sunday that it was "worrisome" to see Ozdemir getting expelled.
"We are astonished about the non-democratic decision of a party in Belgium, who has a rooted tradition in democracy," Bilgic said.
He also said that the expulsion of Ozdemir would not contribute to the integration of 220,000 Turkish-origin Belgium citizens in the country.
Mahinur Ozdemir, who is the first woman with a headscarf to become member of the Belgian parliament, told Anadolu Agency on Friday that she refused to recognize the 1915 events as “genocide” and was later expelled by a committee from her party.
CHD President Benoit Lutgen said last week that any member of the party who denied what he called ‘the Armenian genocide’ would be expelled.
Ozdemir, who did not attend a standing ovation to commemorate the 1915 events, said there was no court order that could force one to recognize the events concerning Armenians; moreover, the European Parliament’s resolution in April for recognition of the 1915 events as “genocide” was also non-binding.
She also alleged that the CHD felt uncomfortable because of her headscarf.
www.aa.com.tr
31/5/15
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- A Belgian deputy of Turkish origin has been expelled from her party for refusing to call the 1915 killings of Ottoman Armenians as “genocide.”
Humanist Democratic Centre (cdH) said in a statement on May 29 that Mahinur Özdemir, the youngest and first Islamic headscarf-wearing member of Brussels Regional Parliament, was expelled from the party for acting against the party’s “deontological” by laws, which recognizes the killings as genocide.
According to sources speaking to daily Hürriyet, one of the reasons for the decision was a recent footage of a Belgian television network which showed Özdemir while trying to avoid a journalist when asked about how she described the 1915 killings.
cdH Chairman Benoit Lutgen had previously announced that “all genocide deniers” in the party would be immediately expelled.
Armenia says up to 1.5 million Ottoman Armenians were killed in a genocide starting in 1915. Turkey denies that the deaths amounted to genocide, saying the death toll of Armenians killed during mass deportations has been inflated and that those killed in 1915 and 1916 were victims of general unrest during World War I, when Turkish troops were fighting Russian forces.
Before her expulsion from the party, Özdemir, now an independent deputy, had also boycotted a moment of silence in the parliament to mark the 1915 killings, stressing that there was no court decision on the validity of the Armenian claims.
"My expulsion has become a black stain in cdH's and Belgian democracy's history. I stand behind my views on this issue. I'm standing strong and I'm never giving up my freedom of speech," she said in a statement.
hurriyetdailynews.com
30/5/15
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Related:
Turkey 'condemns' Putin comments on Armenia genocide
German president recognises Armenian genocide, says Berlin bears ‘responsibility’
Armenian church makes saints of 1.5 million genocide victims. --(La chiesa dell'Armenia ha santificato le vittime del Genocidio)
Turkey warns Austria over 'genocide' condemnation by lawmakers
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