[ad_1]
Two days after the French government imposed the ban, Paris announced on Wednesday the dissolution of the Turkish nationalist group “Gray Wolves”, while Ankara promised a “firm” response to the Paris move.
The government’s decision comes after a memorial honoring the victims of the Armenian genocide near Lyon was defaced with graffiti including the phrase “Gray Wolves” over the weekend.
Turkish Gray Wolf Movement Emblem
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanan said in a tweet carrying the announcement of the group’s dissolution that the latter “incites discrimination and hatred and is involved in acts of violence.”
Later, Turkey promised a “firm response” to the French move, describing it as a “provocation”. “We emphasize the need to protect the freedom of expression and assembly of Turks in France,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced in a statement, adding: “Our response to this decision will be absolutely firm.”
The extremist group is considered a loyal wing to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has entered into a dispute with French President Emmanuel Macron over geopolitical issues related to hotspots, and also recently over France’s confrontation with extremist Islam.
The monument was stained with huge letters “RTE” in yellow, in reference to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the phrase “Gray Wolves”, an extremist Turkish movement supporting Erdogan, which Paris promised yesterday to dissolve.
From the Nagorno-Karabakh region on October 4
On the other hand, an Armenian association in France expressed its anger, and the Committee for the Defense of the Armenian Cause said in a statement: “This unbearable desecration … is one of a series of events intended to intimidate and intimidate French citizens. of Armenian origin “.
The defamation of the monument and the ban on the “gray wolves” coincided with intense tensions in France between the Armenian and Turkish communities over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Turkey strongly supports its ally Azerbaijan in the military conflict over the enclave, which was part of Azerbaijan before it was controlled by Armenian separatists after a war in the 1990s following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
On Wednesday night, security forces in Desin Charpio intervened to prevent 250 members of the Turkish community from fighting a fight with the Armenians. A few hours earlier, a fight between both sides left 4 people injured, one of them in critical condition.
Armenians waged long and continuous campaigns to gain worldwide recognition for the mass slaughter of their ancestors under Ottoman rule between 1915 and 1917 as “genocide.”
A Turkish national organization called “Gray Wolves” or “Ogaklari” was formed in the 1960s and is classified as one of the fanatical nationalist neo-fascist groups.
The “gray wolves” group is closely linked with Dolt Bahçeli’s Turkish National Movement Party, which is allied with Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party.
The movement has been involved in major terrorist operations, and the movement focused its operations on the Kurds in the 1990s as it participated in battles against the PKK organization in western and eastern Turkey.
The movement believes in the ethnic superiority of the Turks and seeks to restore their glories and history and unify the Turkish peoples in one country, as well as antagonize other nationalities such as the Kurds, Greeks and Armenians.
Analysts believe that the MHP’s role is crucial in allowing Erdogan to continue to extend his control over Turkey, as Bahçeli’s support for him was a major factor behind his victory in the 2018 presidential elections.
