https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/turkish-president-warns-nz-over-mos...PM demands apology from Turkish President over warnings Australians would be sent ‘back in coffins’
Scott Morrison says Turkey’s President has insulted the ANZAC legacy by warning “anti-Muslim Australians” would return in coffins “like their grandfathers” in the wake of the Christchurch massacre.
After he summoned the Turkish ambassador to an urgent meeting in Canberra this morning, the Prime Minister said “all options are on the table” in reviewing ties with Turkey.
Travel advice for Australians heading to Turkey for Anzac Day is also now under review after the Prime Minister said he did not accept the “excuses” given to him this morning by Turkish Ambassador to Australia, Korhan Karakoc.
Mr Morrison, who advised Australians in Turkey to be “cautious”, demanded President Recep Teyyip Erdogan apologise for his comments.
“Remarks have been made by Turkish President Erdogan that I consider highly offensive to Australians, and highly reckless in this very sensitive environment,” Mr Morrison said in Canberra after his meeting with the ambassador.
“They are offensive, because they insult the memory of our Anzacs and they violate the pledge that is etched in the stone at Gallipoli, of the promise of Ataturk to the mothers of other Anzacs. The excuses I don’t accept are that things get said in the heat of the moment.’’
Foreign Minister Marise Payne will contact Turkey’s foreign minister later today.
Turkish President's remarks undo years of hard work:
Mr Karakoc said he and the PM shared “a frank exchange” as he left the meeting at Parliament House.
Mr Erdogan had alleged Australian Brenton Tarrant was targeting Turkey during his attack on two Christchurch mosques, and warned anti-Muslim Australians that if they visit his country they will return home in coffins like their grandfathers did after Gallipoli.
Speaking at a campaign rally in the northern town of Eregli, Mr Erdogan also criticised New Zealand and Australia for sending troops to Turkey in the World War I Gallipoli campaign, claiming their motive was anti-Islam-oriented.
“What business did you have here? We had no issues with you, why did you come all the way over here?” Mr Erdogan said. “The only reason: we’re Muslim, and they’re Christian.”
Mr Morrison said leaders of Australia’s Turkish community had told him they were disappointed in Presiden Erdogan. “I don’t think it does reflect the views of the Turkish people, or certainly of Turkish Australians,” Mr Morrison said. “I can tell you that all options are on the table. But my actions here are to be measured, to de-escalate, to not engage in a cycle of recklessness, but to engage in a positive spirit and to focus on the key issue before us.”
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her foreign minister Winston Peters will be travelling to Turkey to “set the record straight” after the president’s comments. “I want to acknowledge that we have, for decades, gone to Gallipoli to acknowledge that we want to be a world free of war, of hatred and violence. That is, you know, what many New Zealanders make that pilgrimage for,” she said in Wellington today.
“He is going there to set the record straight. That is an opportunity that he should take up.
“Now, we have to make sure that what is reflected is an accurate portrayal of New Zealand and New Zealanders. Indeed, of our Muslim community as well. And that is his intent.”
Turkey’s Vice President led a delegation to New Zealand after last Friday’s attacks and Ms Ardern said that group from President Erdogan’s government had expressed “solidarity” with her country at the time.
Labor leader Bill Shorten said Mr Erdogan’s “foolish and offensive” remarks stoked disunity and hatred. “Intemperate and regrettable remarks like this only play into the hands of those who seek to divide. They do not protect the peace and security of any nation,” Mr Shorten said.
“Many thousands of Australians and New Zealanders will shortly be heading to Turkey to commemorate the shared sacrifice of our two nations at Gallipoli, and 100 years of friendship since. It is up to all leaders of all countries to stand against hate, to demonstrate that unity makes us stronger, that hope can triumph over fear, and that love is greater than hate.”
Mr Shorten urged Turkey’s leaders to heed to words of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, inscribed at Anzac Cove: “You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears… After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”
‘You will go home in coffins’
In a reference to the World War I campaign, Mr Erdogan suggested that Australians who travel to Turkey with anti-Muslim sentimen
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