Turkey says Swiss ban violates freedoms

Turkey demonstrated an all-out reaction Tuesday to a Swiss ban on minarets, saying it was violating basic human rights and freedoms.

President Abdullah Gül, speaking to reporters in Ankara before departing for Jordan, said the issue should be followed seriously.

“This is a noteworthy example in terms of showing how animosity toward Islam, as we call it ‘Islamophobia,’ has been developing in the Western world. This is a disgrace for the Swiss,” said Gül.

In Parliament, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the ban was a reflection of increasing racist and extreme nationalist waves in Europe, recalling the remarks he made earlier that Islamophobia was a crime against humanity just like anti-Semitism.

“What is the relationship of a mosque minaret with fundamentalism? That is an outdated, primitive understanding,” said Erdoğan, addressing his ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, deputies.

His remarks came in response to the Swiss justice minister who said the ban targeted not Muslims but fundamentalism.

“The ban and making such a statement are two separate mistakes,” said Erdoğan, adding that the referendum result in a country considered the cradle of democracy and freedom worried many people.

“Such kinds of issues cannot be taken to referendum … these are rights coming from birth. I am speaking as the prime minister of a country, of a civilization that proved mosques and synagogues can co-exist on the same street for centuries,” Erdoğan said. “It is incomprehensible that while we are restoring such temples, [the Swiss] are taking such steps.”

The referendum by the nationalist Swiss People’s Party labeled minarets as symbols of rising Muslim political power that could one day transform Switzerland into an Islamic nation. The initiative was approved 57.5 to 42.5 percent during the referendum Sunday. Not only Muslims but also international organizations criticized the vote. Europe’s top human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe, indicated that the heavily criticized vote could be overturned.

Erdoğan expressed the hope that European Union member states, and such institutions as the European Court of Human Rights, would display sensitivity and would not allow the world to be dragged into tension.

“Bearing the title of co-chairman of the Alliance of Civilizations, it is my duty to remind you that it is necessary to turn back from this mistake as soon as possible,” said Erdoğan. “The world would no longer wants to see chauvinist approaches in this era.”

He said there should be a limit to what can be taken to referendum in democracies, stressing that basic rights and freedoms cannot be put to vote. “Switzerland has made a mistake. I am calling for common sense,” he said.

In a written statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the Swiss vote has caused disappointment and is unfortunate. It called on Switzerland to correct the decision, adding that more than 100,000 Turks living in Switzerland were worried.

“Switzerland, having a respected place in the international arena with its tradition of respecting diversity and reconciliation, is expected by Turkey and the international community to take steps to correct this situation, which does not comply with its traditions,” the ministry said.

The opposition also criticized the ban, with Republican People’s Party, or CHP, leader Deniz Baykal considering it as an important development for Europe to question itself and its outlook toward Islam and for Turkey to question both Europe and itself.

“Europe cannot put this aside,” said the party leader in Parliament.

Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, leader Devlet Bahçeli strongly condemned the ban and called it a "black stain on Europe's human rights and freedom of religion and conscious record." In a written statement, he said the referendum result showed Western values were confined to Christianity and discriminated against other religions.