ADDS DETAILS THROUGHOUT, CORRECTS GRAF 10
By Umar Farooq
WASHINGTON (AA) – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday urged nations to reject all forms of terrorism and said Islamophobia is a big threat to the world.
Cavusoglu spoke at the United Nation General Assembly's 73rd plenary meeting, where a draft resolution was introduced on the elimination of racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia.
“Islamophobia and racism go hand in hand, ” Cavusoglu said, referring to the Christchurch attacks in New Zealand last month, where a white nationalist terrorist killed at least 50 Muslim worshippers.
The terrorist was condemned by countries all across the world, with New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern describing it as one of the darkest days in the nation's history.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation also organized an emergency meeting, at the request of Turkey, and requested the UN name March 15, the date the attack happened, a day of solidarity against Islamophobia.
Cavusoglu said that there should be a declaration put forth so that nations can mobilize in a global manner to show that all are a part of humanity.
“We cannot ignore violence, ” he said. “We have to have one common voice against these acts of violence. ”
Turkey's top diplomat also told the UN that terrorism should not be associated with any religion.
“We should all reject the use of words such as Islamic terrorism, Christian terrorism, Jewish terrorism or Buddhist terrorism, ” Cavusoglu said.
He added that the ideology of terrorism “does not have a religion, a language, a race, or nation. ”
Last year, then-U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Wess Mitchell said that Turkey suffered more casualties from terrorism over the past few years than any other American ally.
Ankara is a part of the international coalition to defeat Daesh, and has been also fighting against the PKK, PYD, YPG, and the FETO terrorist organization.
