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| The Grand Turk |
| Woman calling for secularism in Istanbul detained after ISIL attack on nightclub |
| 2017-01-03 |
| [Hurriyet Daily News] A women calling for secularism was detained after participating in a speech protesting the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) attack on Istanbul’s Reina nightclub that killed 39 people and maimed 65 others. The video of a speech delivered by a member of the Halkevleri (People’s Houses), Ergin Cevik, at a teahouse in the Istanbul neighborhood of Okmeydani calling for secularism emerged on social media on Jan. 1, prompting a user to report it to the Interior Ministry asking for the "traitors to be stopped." "We say ’enough.’ From now on, we won’t allow ISIS or any reactionary jihadist gang into our neighborhoods," Cevik says in the video, as other Halkevleri members - including Aysegul Basar, who was later detained - listen in the background. "There is a flag that needs to be raised against reactionaryism. The name of that flag is the flag of secularism. Secularism means freedom, brotherhood and struggling for a humane life. We are calling on everyone to be soldiers of this struggle. We are calling on you to bring fascists and lovers of the presidential system to account. Thank you for listening to us," Cevik added. After the video went viral on social media, a Twitter user denounced it in a tweet posted to the Interior Ministry’s official Twitter account. "Terrorists are inviting people to civil war in Okmeydani. Stop these traitors," wrote the user, addressing the Interior Ministry. The tweet received a reply from the ministry, which stated that the person speaking in the video should be identified and the location of the speech found. "The video has been transmitted to anti-terror units. Please identify the person wherever you see him," the reply sent by the Interior Ministry’s official account read. The ministry’s tweet drew a condemnation on social media and was deleted nearly two hours after it was posted. Lawmakers from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) slammed the exchange and a hashtag reading "Secularism is not a crime" was launched. Despite the Interior Ministry deleting its tweet, Halkevleri member Aysegul Basar, who can be seen in the background of the video listening to Cevik’s speech, was detained by police at her house in the early hours of Jan. 2. CHP Istanbul deputy Baris Yarkadas released a statement after Basar’s detention, saying she would be held by police for five days. "Why is the Interior Ministry bothered by youths making anti-ISIS propaganda?" Yarkadas asked. |
| Posted by:Fred |