YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. The Council of Europe’s human rights body European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) has reported its concern about increasing hate speech and violence against religious, sexual, and ethnic minority groups in Turkey, Hurriyet reported.

ECRI recalled Erdogan’s improper statements against Armenians and indicated that the usage of hate speech by senior representatives of the state was a major concern.  

Referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s televised statement in August 2014, “They have said I am Georgian […] they have said even uglier things – they have called me – pardon my language – Armenian, but I am a Turk,” the report follows with several recommendations.

“ECRI strongly recommends that officials and political leaders at all levels stop using hate speech. The parliament and the government should adopt codes of conduct prohibiting hate speech and the authorities should encourage political parties to do likewise,” it said.

Examining the current situation in terms of legal provisions and reflecting the implementation process of the existent legal provisions and instruments in Turkey, ECRI indicated that the negative impact of hate speech damages social cohesion and underlined the problem of impunity.

ECRI also emphasized that hate speech was widely used by public figures and intellectuals and in media coverage. Referring to the Hrant Dink Foundation’s annual reports, ECRI reported that hate speech in Turkish print media had substantially increased in recent years. According to the report, the number of hate speech items recorded in the last four reports rose from 141 to 313.