The Los Angeles Turkish Association has lobbied the City of Carson, to erect a statue of controversial Turkish dictator, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the City’s International Sculpture Garden. The Carson City Council is scheduled to vote on the proposed installation of the Ataturk monument on Wednesday, March 4th.
Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, a few miles from Los Angeles International Airport and near Long Beach.
The move comes amid a massive online campaign to stop the proposed culture from being installed— led primarily by Armenian and Greek Americans, who see Ataturk as a mass murderer of millions of innocent people during a campaign of ethnic cleansing in Turkey as he rose to power in the early 1920s.
Turks consider Ataturk the founding father of the Republic of Turkey and almost a century after his rise to power he still commands an important presence in daily Turkish life. His image and likeness appears everywhere in Turkey— in school classrooms, on public buildings and signs and billboards.
Organizers raised more than $150,000 for construction of the statue and are seeking the City Council’s approval.
Those who oppose the campaign have launched a campaign via Facebook and dozens of protestors plan to attend the meeting to voice their concerns.
18 comments
Why you do not erect in the meanwhile a statue for ADOLF HITLER wright beside it
I am protesting the bulging of Kemal’s statue
From Wikipedia, under “ATATURK”:
“Ultimately, many Greeks consider the reconciliation with Turkey among the greatest foreign policy achievements of Venizelos’ final term as Prime Minister. Greece renounced all its claims over Turkish territory and the two sides concluded an agreement on 30 April 1930. On 25 October, Venizelos visited Turkey, and signed a treaty of friendship.[136] Venizelos even forwarded Atatürk’s name for the 1934 Nobel Peace Prize,[137] Even after his fall from power, Greco-Turkish relations remained cordial. Indeed, Venizelos’ successor Panagis Tsaldaris came to visit Atatürk in September 1933 and signed a more comprehensive agreement, called the Entente Cordiale, a stepping stone for the Balkan Pact.
Greek Premier Ioannis Metaxas said of Atatürk and the Turkish-Greek alliance, that “…Greece, which has the highest estimation of the renowned leader, heroic soldier, and enlightened creator of Turkey. We will never forget that President Atatürk was the true founder of the Turkish-Greek alliance based on a framework of common ideals and peaceful cooperation. He developed ties of friendship between the two nations which it would be unthinkable to dissolve. Greece will guard its fervent memories of this great man, who determined an unalterable future path for the noble Turkish nation.”
Ataturk was a real criminal …he trained Armenian Turkified-Islamatized orphan as a pilot
Sabiha Gokcen (her real name Hatun Sebilciyan) to bomb her race in Dersim 1937-38…Without knowing that she was Armenian…this was some of reasons that Turks gunned down journalist Hrant Dink …
Because he published the story of Sabiha being Armenian Orphan…
Is there more criminal than such a man…?
How Many Innocent Children Were Trained
To Gun Down Their Own Race
‘Still–Till Today!’
Urgent––Urgent––Urgent
The world should know, their Turkish populaces should know,
That some Turkish Army Members are Turkified Armenians!
Trained to kill their nation the real Armenians . . .
Born from innocent mothers, trained to kill their
brothers, sisters, relatives, kin . . .!
How can anyone imagine such a distress!
If ‘thy’ discovered . . . through studying DNA . . .s
His real genes, his artful origin, his honest race . . .
Tell me . . . Who can oppress? . . . How can Thee Oppress!
Such an unbelievable tragic–despairs!
Unknowingly––Unknowingly
“Even to kill any human is a sin, how about your kin?”
Like the Armenian female orphan,
Pilot Hatun Sebilciyan (Sabiha Gokcen)
Ataturk trained her to be a pilot and send her to bomb
Her Armenian Turkified nation, in Dersim (1937-1938);
Bombing 10.000 innocents, and the rest 50.000, leaving them homeless.
Was it a tiny genocide! Pain is never healed yet!
If anyone use word Dersim or says, “I’m from Dersim”
Everyone who lived during that era will remember what does it mean!
“Dersim and its despairs!”
Bombing innocents and only innocents;
As no fighter left to fight against savages, against Turkish godless race!
The world should know who are the savage Turks . . .
See her birthdate, she was born and died the same day and month
(on March 22, 1913, and died in March 22, 2001*, a real lie)
And how unrealistic that orphans they know their birthdates!
Sylva~MD~Poetry
From the Poetry Collection will be in press soon
“Bring-Out Our genocided Skulls & Artful Hands” 2015
The fact that anyone would consider erecting a statue to a dictator that believed in the torture and murder of a group of innocent people simply because of the religion that they chose to practice I find repulsive. Did they forget about “The Armenian Genocide” perhaps and all the atrocities that occurred. I, myself, had family members live through the genocide and have heard first hand of the evil and disgust that took place. Therefore, it is my hope that City Council take a good look at all of this information before making a final decision on erecting this statue.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Kananian
Is this a joke? With the 100 year annivesary of the Armenian Genocide upon us this year, who do the Turks think they are fooling? Does anyone believe evil should be recognized with a statue? What happened when communism fell where are the statues of Stalin and Lenin? What became of the statue of Sadam Hussein? If they want a cultural statue maybe one of all the orphans of the genocide would be appropriate City of Carsen?
This is absolutely unacceptable. If I wanted to be offended (or even killed) for my sex, religion, or ethnicity, I would have gone to Turkey. I do not need to see this genocidal barbarian’s face erected in my beautiful California.
This man is equivalent of Nazi Hitler…is anyone erecting a statue honoring Hitler. He is a mass murderer and killed his rivals one by one. He was a dictator who could not stand opposition. That why Hitler admired him and emulated him. Shame on Carson citY!
http://ci.carson.ca.us/content/livebroadcast.asp
This Statue will erect there. No has a power one stop it. I am proud to be Turk. Long live Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Long live Turkiye!
Well, it is turned down. The statue of your bloodthirsty Genocidal dictator Kemal, will NOT contaminate our beautiful State. I know that in your turk territory he is worshiped as a god, but I guess instead of going through DeKemalization, like the Germans went through DeNazification, you chose to stay ignorant, and barbaric.
I ,together with the rest of the civilized World, will cheer when (this made up and held by brutality) country called turkiye will be disintegrated along original ethnic lines(despite your continuous Genocidal policies) , starting with the Kurds.
First, read history and learn more about Ataturk. You armenians betrayed us during WW1. Then were kicked out as you deserved.
Ataturk was such a great leader and he spared your life.
Well, my education? You are not in a position to talk about my education. I am an engineer and high level grad student. It is the point we will never ever reach in your useless life.
you will **
I’m glad the beautiful city of Los Angeles wont be defaced by the statue of a bloodthirsty genocidal barbarian.
My Father in law was thrown out of Turkey (Symnra) he never talked about the Turks because of the many Atrocities that happened to the Greeks during the period of time Fear prevailed
It does not matter if this statue erected or not. Ataturk is always in my mind and heart. He saved us from barbaric armenians and greeks. He will live forever. A lot of people appreciate him not only Turks. The ignorant people who blames him should read history instead of believing everything that they hear from media. LONG LIVE ATATURK LONG LIVE TURKIYE