Prostest Against Racist Gathering

Members of the Basic Rights and Freedoms Association protested an oath-taking ceremony by an extreme-nationalist group -so-called 'Kuvay-ı Milliye' Association- in the city, whose images were recently revealed on televisions and websites.

Broadcasted images showed a retired army officer and several others gathered around a table and taking an oath to "protect the Turkish motherland", including hate-speech and racist connotations.

Mersin is among the cities where mass populations of Kurds, who have been forced to emigrate from the southeastern region of Turkey, domiciled in the last 20 years.

During the periods when tension rise following lack of resolution in the decades long Kurdish issue, Mersin had witnessed incidents of clashes between the Kurdish population and nationalists in recent years.

Protesters gathered in front of the Kuvay-i Milliye Association's offices and called for an investigation into the racist, nationalist remarks captured and broadcasted.(AK/EÜ)