Turkey in No Position To School Israel on Human Rights

Until it comes terms with its own violations, Turkey should not offer lessons in human rights to other countries, writes Orhan Kemal Cengiz.
Protestors chant slogans against Israel and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as they carry a mock coffinwith the mention "In Hule masacre 50 children killed by knives" during a rally on May 31, 2012 on Taksim Square in Istanbul, marking the first anniversary of the death of nine Turks, shot in May 2010 when Israeli naval commandos seized the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara that was part of a flotilla trying to break the Gaza blockade. The crowd gathered in iconic Taksim Square under the banner of the pro-Islamic
Protesters chant slogans against Israel and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as they carry a mock coffin with the mention "In Hule, 50 children massacred by knives" during a rally on May 31, 2012 on Taksim Square in Istanbul, marking the first anniversary of the Mavi Marmara incident. - BULENT KILIC/AFP/GettyImages
orhan.jpg
Orhan Kemal Cengiz

Who can take Turkey seriously when it accuses Israel of crimes against humanity and then lays out a red-carpet state reception for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who has an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court?

Or let’s put it another way: Can the Turkey that couldn’t settle the accounts of its massive human rights violations against the Kurds in the past and couldn’t even apologize for what happened to the Armenians in 1915, place Israel’s crimes against humanity on the world's agenda?

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