CHP’s Yarayıcı Asks: Who Attacked Jewish Cemetery?

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Republican People’s Party (CHP) Hatay MP, Hilmi Yarayıcı has brought the incident of attack on Jewish graves in Asri Cemetery in Antakya province two days ago to parliament's agenda.

The parliamentary question has reminded that people of different beliefs coexist in Hatay for thousands of years.

Yarayıcı stating that Hatay is being turned into a “headquarter” of jihadist organizations following the civil war in Syria spoke as follows:

“Hatay has started to lose this attribute of it. Jihadist existence climbing with the civil war in Syria, attacks targeting Christian and Alawi religious leaders, sect-based discourse of the government, increasingly growing security concern in citizens of different belief groups have been increasing the tension”.

Questions

Yarayıcı posed following questions to Minister of Interior, Efkan Ala:

- Did any attack take place against different sect and religious groups or against their prayer halls in the last 10 years? If it did, were the perpetrators identified?

- Did any intelligence reach your Ministry as to any potential attack to be launched on different sect and religious groups residing in the city? Did you take any precaution if it did?

- Could the perpetrators of the attack on Jewish graves in Asri Cemetery be identified? What sort of actions have been taken if they were identified?

- Hatay is a city where different beliefs coexist in peace. Do you have any action plan against damage inflicted on this attribute of the city by the jihadist groups, which organize easily and are fueling sect war? (NV/TK)