The New Anatolian, Turkey
Aug. 11, 2006
High court gunman’s father claims there are traitors in Turkey
The public enemy is not his son but "those who are enemies of Islam
and the nation’s moral values," according to Idris Arslan, whose son
Alparslan is on trial for May’s Council of State shooting.
Answering the questions of reporters yesterday ahead of the first
hearing of May’s Council of State shooting case, Alparslan Arslan’s
father said people who don’t respect the values of the nation will be
punished.
"This nation will punish, one way or another, those who don’t respect
our values," said Arslan, who works as an Education Ministry
inspector.
Also making a call on the media, Arslan told reporters, "Don’t be a
tool of imperialist forces. Serve your nation!"
He claimed that there are people in Turkey who are against Islam.
"There are enemies of Islam in this country. There are enemies of the
Koran. We’ve sacrificed 100,000 martyrs to this country. If
necessary, we will sacrifice more," said Arslan.
"There are many Mehmets and Mustafas in this country who are indeed
Armenians or Greeks. They betray this country hiding behind
secularism," claimed Arslan.
However he also stated that he never wanted such an attack to occur.
Asked to comment on his son’s desire to attend Friday prayers while
the hearing was in progress, Arslan said his son has been in prison
for a long time and that people should understand his request given
his son’s emotional state.