Karo Paylan to Mevlut Cavusoglu: 'Are You Not Ashamed to Exhibit Racism in Multinational Beirut?'

Turkey's Armenian deputy, Karo Paylan, a member of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, has characterized the remarks of Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Beirut as racist, raising the issue in the Turkish Parliament. This has been reported by the Gazete Duvar newspaper.

Following the powerful explosion at the Beirut port on August 4, Cavusoglu visited Lebanon and stated, 'Residents of Lebanon who say they are Turkish or Turkmen will be granted Turkish citizenship. This is the order of our president.'

Paylan responded to this statement, saying, 'Lebanon is home to many ethnicities that also reside in Turkey. This racist expression has received a large public reaction.' He posed two questions to the Turkish Foreign Minister: 'Are you not ashamed to exhibit racism in multinational Beirut? Is Turkey only a republic for Turkish nobility?' The Armenian deputy questioned.

It should be noted that Lebanon is still trying to recover from the devastating explosion that occurred on the evening of August 4. According to new reports from Lebanese media, the death toll from the explosion has reached 158, with over 6,000 injured.

Beirut has been declared a disaster zone following the powerful explosion on August 4, and a state of emergency has been imposed in the city for two weeks, from August 4-18. In an extraordinary meeting of the Supreme Defense Council of Lebanon, Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced that those responsible for the disaster will be held strictly accountable. 'It is absolutely unacceptable that 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate have been stored in the port's warehouse for six years without any preventive action taken by port authorities,' emphasized Diab.

The destructive explosion in Beirut has also severely damaged Armenian community structures.