Madam, – Following Robert MacCarthy’s letter (March 30th) pointing out the awful inappropriateness of President McAleese’s expression of support for Turkey’s accession to the EU while that country continues to deny full religious freedom to its Christian minority, there is another aspect of the President’s State visit to Turkey which merits comment.
Mrs McAleese laid a wreath at the tomb of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. In September 1922, Mustafa Kemal was responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Smyrna in Asia Minor. This was achieved through the massacre of 100,000 Christians by Kemal’s troops, followed by the deportation of a similar number. Bizarrely, our President stated that she had admired Kemal since childhood.
Is it really necessary for this country to crawl through the sewers of history in search of diplomatic or commercial advantage? – Yours, etc,