Senior lawmaker: Flag is Turkey's red line

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - The head of a joint parliamentary commission between Turkey and the European Parliament on Friday criticized a Greek lawmaker for ripping apart a Turkish flag.

"The [Turkish] flag is our nation's red line. Whoever violates this line, finds us [against them]," Ismail Emrah Karayel said in a written statement.

Karayel said xenophobia, racism, and Islamophobia should not be part of the EU.

"We expect this outrageous attack to be strongly condemned by the European Parliament," said Karayel, urging punishment for its perpetrators.

During an EP debate, Wednesday over a large number of migrants on Greek islands, Greek lawmaker Ioannis Lagos blamed Turkey for the "stream of migrants coming into" his country and "getting away with whatever it likes."

He then tore a Turkish flag made of paper into pieces and balled up the scraps, throwing them to the floor.

Lagos is one of the most prominent figures of the far-right racist Golden Dawn party.

In 2019 he was found guilty of attacking an Athens community center which was hosting asylum-seekers.

Lagos' action has been condemned by Turkey's foreign minister and the ruling party as well as the Greek Foreign Ministry.