Ankara Mayor’s remarks on Armenians, PKK draw controversy –

Cihan – Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek made provocative remarks concerning Kurds, Armenians and atheists on his Twitter page on Tuesday. 

The mayor shared three consecutive tweets on Kurds, religion and Armenians. He first shared a video from the Cihan news agency containing old footage of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members entertaining other PKK members with a comedy skit poking fun at salat, or Islamic ritualistic prayer. Alongside the video, the mayor commented: “It’s these types of PKK [members] that don’t want a peace process or an end to war. They are the enemies of Islam. Here is proof.” 

He continued in another tweet, “Peace to the Kurds in the east who are putting their lives on the line for the nation and solidarity and for Islam.” In his next tweet, Gökçek continued, “But there are those posing as Kurds but are actually Armenian atheists… (By the way, I absolve our Armenian brothers and sisters that are citizens of their nation.)” The mayor later deleted two of the controversial tweets (keeping the one with the video), though Twitter users were quick to respond with comments.