Immediately after the local elections of March 31, 2019, Tanju Özcan, the newly elected mayor of Bolu, took actions that are discriminatory towards refugees. Özcan announced that the municipality would stop any kind of social assistance provided to the Syrian asylum seekers and that the Syrians would not be given business license. This denouncement is not only illegal; it is also a violation of human rights.
Immediately after the local elections of March 31, 2019, Tanju Özcan, the newly elected mayor of Bolu, took actions that are discriminatory towards refugees. Özcan announced that the municipality would stop any kind of social assistance provided to the Syrian asylum seekers and that the Syrians would not be given business license. This denouncement is not only illegal; it is also a violation of human rights.
Such discourses and attitudes mean hate speech all around the world. Unless the necessary measures are taken on time, discourses and attitudes of this kind pave the way for hate crimes, racist assaults, and lynches as we have been witnessing in other parts of the world. This is a call to invite Tanju Özcan to renounce his decision, which is discriminatory, extralegal and dangerous.
For the Turkish version of the call, please see: https://www.gocarastirmalaridernegi.org/tr/duyurular/68-bolu-belediye-baskani-tanju-ozcan-i-ayrimci-hukuk-disi-ve-tehlikeli-kararindan-vazgecmeye-davet-ediyoruz
