Armed attack to the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo

ABTTF President, Halit Habip Oğlu: “If this attack provokes similar aggressions in Islamophobic, racial and xenophobic forms, this will not only pave the way for more hate-motivated discourse but also have a spillover effect for hatred-based racial violence to find broader space in our communities.”

An armed attack to the headquarter of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo took place yesterday in Paris. 12 people lost their lives as a result of the attack carried out by 3 armed men at around 11:30. The editor-in-chief of the magazine Stephane Charbonnier who has been receiving death threats for a long time also died together with his 2 police escorts. The armed attackers also targeted a police car and clashed with the police officers on their way out of the crime scene.

The publication of the cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammed in November 2011 had received strong reactions from Muslims all over the world. France had to temporarily close down around 20 governmental representations and other public institutions abroad as a result of these reactions. According to the statements of one of the surviving cartoonists, the attackers claimed to be belonging to Al-Qaeda. The police declared that the attackers were running away and shouting as, “We took revenge for the prophet.”

Huge demonstrations took place yesterday throughout Europe right after this violence that caused tremendous shock for European and French public. Today, a nationwide mourning was declared in France.

In his speech after this terrible attack, the president of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), Halit Habip Oğlu stated, “We very strongly condemn this inhuman aggression and declare that we stand always against any kind of terrorist activities. We would like to assert our greatest sympathy and solidarity with the French people in this significantly tragic day. We wish the greatest patience to those who lost their beloved ones and speedy recovery to the wounded. We also believe that no connection should be sought between this attack and the religion of Islam, therefore this violence should not provoke further aggressions in Islamophobic, racial and xenophobic forms. Otherwise, the basis of co-existence would be damaged and this will not only pave the way for more hate-motivated discourse but also have a spillover effect for hatred-based racial violence towards Muslims to find broader space in our commmunities. All of us should stress our belief in humanity once more in these days and behave more rational.”