| This is the title of an article in a Turkish newspaper today. The taboo on talking about what happened to the Armenians is tantamount to a form of "McCarthyism" turkish style, creating mass hysteria and moral panic among the Turkish population. Leading to examples: witch hunts, pogroms,(and islamophobia) and Turkey has had its share of these in its history. It is also a form of paranoia in which case it is best to not talk to these people about the issue, as I would surely not if I visited Turkey. However, because Turkey applied for EU, they requested the infamous article 301 be changed; and as most suspect, even if the law is changed, the people`s mindset might not be. McCarthyism is bad for any country; as it is the Stalinist pogroms that were wrong, not communism (socialism) itself. It is still a free speech issue in Turkey; I am glad they released some of the high profile cases (but was it under EU pressure, since the lesser known cases are still being prosecuted?) |
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