Marking of Alevi house in Turkey draws condemnation

Duvar English

Marking of a house belonging to an Alevi family has drawn condemnation in Turkey, with many urging authorities to find the perpetrator.

Unknown assailants wrote "Go away Alevi!" and painted an "X" on the wall of a house in the Gaziemir district of the western province of İzmir, sparking concerns among the Alevi community.

Marking of houses were followed by attacks against Alevis in the past in Turkey, with people getting killed on sectarian grounds.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu condemned the incident, saying that he perpetrator will "pay the price for it."

"I accept that marking on the house as a mark painted on my house. Our friends will find the person responsible for it," Soylu said, adding that the Interior Ministry is a party in the case.

"This person will be found and will pay for it. Very few of these incidents took place during my term, but none of them were left unsolved. No one has the right to disturb people's peace," he also said.

Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesperson Ömer Çelik also commented on the issue, saying that the incident is being handled with sensitivity and everything about it will be uncovered.

Çelik dismissed criticisms against the AKP over not taking the incident seriously.

"We accept the attacks carried out against the ethnic, sectarian, social or political identity of any of our citizens as an attack against all of us," he said.

AKP deputy leader Mahir Ünal, meanwhile, emphasized Turkey's ethnic and religious diversity.

While an investigation was launched into the attack, İzmir Governor Erol Ayyıldız said that the incident is not sectarian, but one that stemmed from a fight.