‘Racism, Islamophobia threaten Europeans too’

Turkish deputy PM Bekir Bozdag condemns 1993 Solingen arson attack which saw killing of five members of Turkish family

By Sarp Ozer

ANKARA (AA) - Rising racism, xenophobia, discrimination and Islamophobia in Europe is not only threatening foreigners and Muslims but also Europeans, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Tuesday.

"European politicians, rulers, and authorities’ actions and discourses encourage and aggravate those who promote racism, xenophobia, discrimination and Islamophobia […]," Bozdag wrote on Twitter.

Bozdag's remarks came on the 25th anniversary of the racist arson attack in Germany’s Solingen city, which saw killing of five members of a Turkish family in 1993.

He condemned the attack and said racism, xenophobia, discrimination and Islamophobia must be fought in order to prevent new Solingen cases and massacres.

"The future of Europe and the world lies with challenging and working against all kinds of extremisms," Bozdag said.

On May 29, 1993, four people aged between 16 and 23 set ablaze the house of a Turkish family in the German city of Solingen, North Rhine-Westphalia, killing five people and injuring 14 others.

Three assailants were sentenced to 10 years in jail while the other convict was handed 15 years of imprisonment.

Kaynak:

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