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The Grand Turk
Turkish soccer player attacked for being ethnically Kurdish
2014-11-06
A Turkish-German footballer targeted in an allegedly racist attack has left his club and flown out of Turkey. Striker Deniz Naki, who plays for Turkish Super League club Genclerbirligi, was attacked in Ankara on Sunday and got a black eye as well a minor injury to a hand.
Did he roll on the ground and grab his shin?
He had recently expressed support on social media for the Kurds defending the strategic Syrian border town of Kobane from Islamic State (IS) attack and posted comments and pictures criticising IS militants.

Naki told the BBC he was attacked by three men while out buying food. Once they recognised who he was, he said they they started insulting him for being of Alevi-Kurdish origin - a religious and ethnic minority in Turkey. Turkey has an Alevi population of up to 15 million, including both ethnic Kurds and Turks.

"They were swearing and asking: 'Are you that dirty Kurd? Are you Deniz Naki?'" he said. "Then they said: 'Damn your Kobane, damn your Sinjar'. I tried to calm them down. But suddenly one of them punched me in the eye. Trying to defend myself, I punched one of them back and started running away.

"As I was running I heard them shout: 'Was the first warning not enough? This is your second and last warning. Leave this country, leave this city, leave this football club!'"

He boarded a flight back to Germany on Tuesday night.

Asked about his future plans, the 25-year-old told the BBC he had no intention of returning.

"There is no tolerance. I would only go back because I love my country, I love my hometown. That's it. I will carry on with my career in Germany."
Posted by:3dc

#5  Plenty of Kurdish Christians too. Turks want to repeat their genocide of the Armenians.
Posted by: OldSpook   2014-11-06 23:45  

#4   'Oh, they're like the Jews, only Muslim.'

Except for the ones who are Yazidi, Communist or Jewish, but basically Mrs. Glenmore is right. And anyway, most of the Jewish Kurds moved to Israel.
Posted by: trailing wife   2014-11-06 21:30  

#3  I was trying to explain the whole Kurd thing to Mrs. Glenmore & she said 'Oh, they're like the Jews, only Muslim.' She' got a point.
Posted by: GLenmore   2014-11-06 20:15  

#2  It's not the government here, but the popular opinion, so it's instructive.
Erdogan's endgame is visible here; he'll deal with Syria or ISIS as needed. The Kurds, however, aren't going to be allowed to walk. Over somebody's dead body.
Posted by: ed in texas   2014-11-06 18:55  

#1  Again, Turkey proves its self to be a hostile nation. Kick them out of NATO, rescind all faoverable economic and military treaties, kick their ambassador out, and recall ours for "consultation". Cut off ALL m,military assistance. Arm the hell out of the Kurds.
Posted by: OldSpook   2014-11-06 15:36  

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