Erdogan insults French parliamentarian with Armenian roots
It never occurred to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan that French delegate of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE) Muriel Marland-Militello, who addressed him a question during the PACE spring session, could have Armenian origin.
Erdogan did not only ignore the French parliamentarian's question but also insulted her from the PACE rostrum.
Speaking to Turkish NTV, Marland-Militello said that that her grandparents lived in Istanbul before the 1915 Armenian Genocide and she was a descendent of Armenian Genocide survivors.
"My grandfather's name was Seyran and my grandmother's name was Madlen. One evening in 1915 they had an unexpected guest who warned them about the upcoming tragic events [mass killings of Armenian people] and they were able to flee from the genocide," Marland-Militello told the Turkish TV.
"The Turkish premier did not know my family roots. He could simply give a positive answer to me. His answer was not a correct one. He just said I was French. I know that expression and what it means in Turkish. I understood that he said something insulting French people. I did not reply as such conduct is disrespectful in PACE." said Marland-Militello.
The French parliamentarian drew a sharp response from the Turkish Prime Minister when she asked him a question about the protection of minorities in Turkey during his appearance before the PACE.
In reply, Erdogan said ironically, "You are speaking about something you are not aware of. You are clearly French, in Turkey you are French too. In Turkish, when somebody does not know something or speaks out of context, it is said that they are from France."
