Turkey has struggled for decades as to how a nation deals with its past issues. Every nation in the world has events in its past which reflect the horror of ignorance and prejudice. Turkey is no exception. Prime Minister Erdogan expressed his dismay about events in September, 1955 when crowds assaulted Greek shops and houses causing thousands of people to flee the land. Many Greeks who were born and raised in Istanbul decided it was not safe to live in their own homeland. The Erdogan comment aroused a fury of anger among members of opposition parties who accused him of insulting the people of Turkey. According to DEniz Baykai, leader of the Republican People’s Party, “what does he want to achieve by accusing Turkey? We should of course discuss what we did wrong, but the duty of the prime minister is to respect the rights of Turkey.” Huh!
The job of the prime minister is to be the moral conscience of a nation. In America, we have endured a president who was incapable of respecting human rights and the result has been disaster for his nation’s reputation. Prime Minister Erdogan’s comments are respected by people of the world and he has aided Turkey to hold up its head.