Turkey on Wednesday (September 8) “strongly condemns” the Cyprus government’s request that English teachers tear up a textbook that mentions the founder of the Republic of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (Mustafa Kemal Ataturk). Page.
A statement from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the latest controversial move by the Greek Cypriot government “revealed the degree of radicalization of the distorted mentality towards Turkey and Turkish Cyprus.”
The statement said: “We strongly condemn the untimely, hostile and unacceptable attitude of the Greek Cypriot administration.”
Earlier Wednesday, schools in the Republic of Cyprus were instructed to remove a textbook from the curriculum because of its “praise” for Ataturk.
The Ministry of Education had earlier told middle school teachers in an e-mail to “tear off page 36 before handing it to students.” This instruction has been leaked on social media.
After publicly criticizing the page describing Ataturk as “Turkey’s greatest hero,” the ministry decided to completely withdraw the English textbook.
The ministry defended its decision on the grounds that Ataturk was not a leader to be praised.
“Therefore, it is impossible to accept textbooks that promote or even praise his personality and’leadership’,” the ministry said in a statement.
It added: “Atatürk’s name is directly related to crimes against humanity such as the Armenian genocide, and our country, the United States, France and many other countries have clearly condemned such crimes.”
The Ministry believes that the basis of modern education is “respect for human rights and will not compromise to beautify such historical crimes.”
Niyazi Kizilyurek, the only Turkish Cypriot member of the European Parliament and a member of the European Parliament of Cyprus, condemned the move as a decision that “we can only find in a totalitarian regime.”
“We have recently seen the Turkish government interfere with the history teaching in Turkish Cypriot schools,” said a member of the European Parliament.
“Unfortunately, in both communities, the education sector is out of date, and with these interventions, the situation has gotten worse,” Kizilyurek added.
The Turkish army occupied a third of northern Cyprus in 1974 in response to the failure of Nicosia’s coup to unify the island with Greece.
The overwhelming majority of the Republic of Cyprus is Greek Cypriots and has been a member of the European Union since 2004, effectively controlling two thirds of the southern part of the island.
Only Ankara recognizes the independent Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
The entire territory of the island of Cyprus is officially regarded as the territory of the European Union.
